Ben Finnegan

Experience

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  Glenroyal Hotel & Leisure Club

  Jun 2006 - Jan 2007

  Porter
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  Sound Decisions Ltd

  Feb 2007 - Sept 2011

  Sales Rep Team Leader

  Managed a team of 5 selling products at top international rugby matches to crowds of 50-80 thousand people.

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  103.2 Dublin City FM

  Jan 2009 - Jan 2011

  Sports Presenter and Rugby Correspondent

  -Rugby Correspondent for Dublin City FM, reported live from International matches and gave regular interviews on various station programmes-Co-presented ‘This Sporting Life’ every Tuesday evening and ‘Sunday Sport’ once every month-Co-produced ‘This Sporting Life’, arranging interviews with various sport stars and journalists and ensured that all shows ran smoothly and according to plan

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  Camping Lago Barasona

  Jun 2010 - Sept 2010

  Holiday Campsite Amenities Manager

  - Worked as Chief Recreation Officer for a camp-site of more than 1000 people in North Spain.- Organised and co-ordinated all social events for the entire camp-site in Spanish using own initiative and skills.- Planned and timetabled events and sourced all necessary resources.- Learned and developed new skills in how to deal and communicate with people not only in native language but in a foreign language also.

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  Tourism Ireland

  Mar 2012 - Mar 2013

  Project Manager (Voluntary Position)

  -Initiated Irish heritage project in Salamanca during the St Patrick’s Day global celebrations, by arranging for the lighting of the Plaza Mayor in Salamanca Spain in green lights-Initiated meeting with the Mayor of Salmanca who agreed to the project-Managed all marketing, publicity & distribution of invites for the project, receiving coverage in local and national Spanish & Irish newspapers, radio shows, numerous online blogs, and websites.-Received letters of congratulations from Irish President, Taoiseach,Tánaiste, Minister for Tourism, Tourism Ireland and Salamanca Politicians-As a result of my efforts the ’Greening’ of the Plaza is now an annual event Show less

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  Kings Foundation

  May 2012 - Oct 2012

  Training Coordinator

  In my role with Kings I had to carry out the following functions both as a trainer with Norwegian Cruise Line and as Assistant Manager on Kings Camp in London.- Implement and develop innovative children’s programs for Norwegian Cruise Lines - Plan and deliver role specific training to new and existing staff - Uphold full engagement by all staff throughout the training by creating fun and interactive sessions- Increase knowledge of effective planning in the delivery of sports and activities to children- Provide staff with new resources and concepts to implement within their activities- Reinforce company objectives and values in order for staff to meet brand standards- Be a motivating, positive role model to the coaches and lead by example- Ensure staff progress through best practice and regular review- Enhance quality of NCL youth programs to increase customer ratings and repeat cruisers- **Awarded as 'Vacation Hero'​ on the Norwegian Spirit**- Assisted in managing of Kings Sports Camp in London- **Named as Kings 'Top- Performing Staff Member 2012'** Show less

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  Maynooth Students' Union

  Feb 2014 - Jun 2015

  -Chief spokesperson and representative for 10,000 students locally & nationally -Carried out review project across all Universities of Ireland assessing the standards and needs of students across the varying student life experiences-Created MSU Community Engagement initiative and ran various community orientated events-Co-ordinated and planned implementation of MSU’s marketing strategy 2013/14 -Introduced new branding and marketing strategies for MSU and increased bar gross profits by 60k-Led a constitutional referendum and re-wrote Maynooth Student Unions constitution. The highly innovative ‘Don’t be a goat, get out and vote’ campaign we ran resulted in a record 30% turnout of the student body and a historic 96% ‘YES’ vote win -Member and active contributor of various University Committees including Governing Authority & Academic Council Show less -Initiated and successfully developed a collaborative partnership between Maynooth University and Maynooth Students’ Union in the strategic delivery of a unique student experience-Responsible for day to day operations of entire MSU organisation including management of 50 staff and its 3 commercial entities-Delivered full structural review of Student Union including governance and management structures-Led organisation wide HR project introducing new policies and job specs including the implementation of an employee handbook-Recruited 4 new full time staff including a new General Manager plus 45 part time staff and led the interviewing and selection process-Delivered comprehensive commercial service review of student services provided through the Students’ Union resulting in structural changes/performance reviews/HR practices/profitability growth-Formulation of an annual budget of over €1.4 million including management of 3 commercial budgets and payroll of all staff -Responsible for creating and implementing a coherent and intensive training schedule for all current and new staff at MSU-Responsible for overall management and organisation of all large scale social events in MSU Venue-Carried out weekly payroll and ensured suppliers were invoiced and paid accordingly Show less

  • President

    Jul 2013 - Jun 2015

  • Interim General Manager

    Feb 2014 - Sept 2014
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  Mediaworks Ireland

  Jun 2015 - Jun 2016

  Media & Marketing Campaigns Coordinator

  Media planning and buying for a broad portfolio of clients operating in very competitive sectors, within one of Ireland's most awarded media agencies. Clients included Lidl, Liberty Insurance, Pandora, Citroen, RCSI, KBC Bank, Irish Life, REPAK, Oxfam, Trocaire & USIT.-Implementation and monitoring of marketing campaigns on small and large scales.-Planning advertising campaigns across all forms of media including TV, Radio, Outdoor and Digital.-Media Buying; securing discounted rates for clients and booking in the media placement with suppliers-Constantly maintaining and building excellent relationships with clients.-Managing and building excellent relationships with media owners such as RTE (TV & Radio), TV3, Irish Independent, Newstalk and Today FM.-Post campaign analysis completed after each campaign, learnings were then compiled and implemented for future campaigns.-Preparing regular competitive reports and market analysis for clients across sectors such as FMCG, financial services, retail and education.-Knowledge of B2B and B2C brands.-Target audience segmentation using tools such as TGI Show less

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  Mary Immaculate College, Ireland

  Jun 2016 - Sept 2018

  Deputy Director - International Relations

  Deputising to the Director of the International Office to facilitate exchange agreements, establish institutional linkages and coordinate externally funded international projects and programmes. Charged with playing a key role in the development of relationships between MIC and potential partners nationally and internationally.Responsibility for a wide range of duties relating to the functioning and administration of the International Office, including management of summer school programmes, recruitment of international students, supporting their student experience and the coordination of students for participation in exchange programmes worldwide. -Assisting in development of strategic, financial and marketing plans for international student and staff mobility -Assisting in the ongoing development and implementation of the Internationalisation Strategy (2017-2021). -Research for international marketing campaigns, including identifying target audiences and appropriate communications channels.-Assist in implementing contracts for international services, memoranda of understanding and agency agreements. -Planning, arranging and making international visits to universities and schools to represent Mary Immaculate College as well as the organizing of prospective visits by potential students, groups, partners and potential partners to Mary Immaculate College. -Representing MIC at International conferences and other events such as NAFSA, IIE Generation Study Abraod and EAIE. -Developing the College’s relationships with Education in Ireland, Government departments and other relevant agencies. -Managing the marketing functions of the International Office-Managing and coordination of small and large scaled recruitment events such as the “Study Abroad Fair” -Marketing and promotion of the English Language School and Faculty Led Summer programmes Show less

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  Irish Council for International Students (ICOS)

  Aug 2017 - Jan 2020

  Chairperson- Board of Directors
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  Maynooth University

  Sept 2018 - now

  Program Director for the Maynooth University International Summer SchoolDevising and implementing Maynooth University's strategy for international short-term programs Enhancing current and developing new global partnerships with like-minded third-level institutions across Non-EU countriesLeading the promotion and co-ordination of international short-term program learning experiences and student mobilityDeveloping new memoranda of understanding and service agreements with international partner institutionsPromoting the University's programs overseas, including preparation of promotional materialWorking with faculties and departments to identify and develop programs for international studentsGenerating increased revenue from international activitiesManagement of short-term program staff, budget and all associated activitiesAlso experienced in managing the University's Non-EU semester study abroad programmes from September 2020 to October 2021 Show less

  • Senior Administrative Officer - Arqus Alliance Manager

    Jan 2024 - now

  • International Officer- Program Director International Short-Term Programs

    Sept 2018 - Jan 2024