Samantha Linson-Vawdrey

SAMANTHA LINSON --· linked.com/samanthalinson Public Relations & Communications enthusiast with a passion to help clients realize and articulate their Social Media and Marketing goals, and guide them to pushing their limits and breaking their boundaries to enhance their brand. A proven reliable resource in any environment. Skilled in Social Media Management, Verbal/Non-verbal Communications, Crisis & Corporate Communications, and Microsoft Office. Strong research professional with a Bachelor's degree focused in Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication from Michigan State University. EXPERIENCE DECEMBER 2017 – APRIL 2018 JNR DIGITAL PROJECT MANAGER, EVENTERPRISE • Design and maintain a favorable public image for the business and our clients. • Assist to coordinate all digital promotional activities and events. • Leverage existing consumer relationships and cultivate new business contacts. • Work with other departments to help promote brand recognition. • Assist in the selection of marketing and promotional materials. • Train, mentor and coach entry-level sales employees on all company tasks and objectives. • Head our US sales division from recruiting, hiring, training/developing and growing. JULY 2017 – NOVEMBER 2017 CAMPAIGN MANAGER, PROOF MANAGEMENT • • • • • • • • • • • Design and maintain a favorable public image for clients. Coordinate all promotional activities and events. Leverage existing consumer relationships and cultivate new business contacts. Work with other departments to help promote brand recognition. Assist in the selection of marketing and promotional materials. Train, mentor and coach entry level employees on all company tasks and objectives. Run live promotional events from set up to tear down. Assist in managing a team of 15 people. Assist HR by conducting second round interviews in the hiring process. Cross train on all campaigns for over 25 clients. Help with forecasting inventory and managing inventory for each campaign. AUGUST 2015 – JUNE 2017 ADMINISTRATOR, GENERATION SCHOOLS • • • Administrator by title with a focus in project management, marketing and communication. Created and published company procedures and policies with a focus in communication. Educated and assisted with the training of staff as the company grew. • • • • • • • • • • • • • Handled day-to-day administration tasks such as correspondence with parents, clients and staff. Administrative duties included filing, handling client relations, creating and maintaining company documents, etc. Head of the Uniform Division, which creating the process from the beginning, includes finding/hiring quality supplier, handling stock, purchasing, distribution, creating uniform policy, promotion and system management. Created content and managed the company Facebook page, and personally handled the Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn and Google profiles. Assisted with all public relations, advertising and communications. Articulate and communicate project goals and scope, translate business needs and deliverables to team. Oversaw and hosted company events for staff, each school individually and as a group, Head Office, and client events. Helped to create the School’s subsidiary businesses (Swim Academy & The Venue) and also managed their social media pages and marketing to ensure brand consistency and awareness. Act as a Liaison between the client and the organization via relation and customer relation management. Attend daily internal calls to update the Managing Director on any incidents and recommend effective and efficient solutions. Good understanding of business development lifecycle. Creation of folders at Head Office in order for team members to store documents appropriately. Capture core meeting notes for shareholders, client and team meetings – capturing action items, risks, issues, and progress and reviewed with Managing Director and administrative team. MAY 2014 – SEPTEMBER 2014 SOCIAL MEDIA/PR INTERN, 1000 DRAWINGS • • • • • • • • • • • Created and developed the event management system for each small event leading up to the main event for the company to be successful with reaching each fundraising and awareness goal. Wrote, edited, managed and published online content for all of our platforms. Published leisure/informational articles. Involved in the project management process for a 2,000+ person event. Worked with independent contractors, creating a volunteer sign-up site, managing logistics and vendors. Worked with partner companies, organizations, sponsors and followers to create an engaging two-way communication path. Grew the follower base and increased engagement by over 20% for each platform. Wrote four major press releases for local online news columns to ensure brand consistency and event promotion. Supported the Managing Director for anything and everything, as it was a three person team. Creation and maintenance of several projects leading up to the main event. Capture core meeting notes – capturing action items, risks, issues, and progress and reviewed with Managing Director. 2 • • • • • • Active Participation in Project Management training sessions at Cape Town University of Technology. Responsible for working with engaged sponsors to achieve the budget necessary to keep the NPO running throughout my internship and to ensure the main event was a success. Create, coordinate and manage all aspects of the main event whilst providing weekly updates to the project team. Responsible for creating weekly reports, capturing all expenses and following up with sponsors to provide necessary resources to ensure the project could continue. Develop new strategies and solutions with fast-changing environments. Act as a Liaison between the client and the organization via relation and customer service management. MAY 2014 – SEPTEMBER 2014 BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION/ENTREPRENEURSHIP INTERNSHIP, TWENTYFIFTY • • • • • • • • Assisted with event planning ranging from in office workshops, hosting guest speakers and hosting events for clients renting out the office. Lead and oversaw company planned/hosted events. Learned the inner workings of a collaborative business and how to manage the daily operations that come with a creative and open plan work environment. Dealt with language barriers and found efficient ways to communicate within a multicultural environment. Managed the Hoot Suite account to ensure quality and frequent posts were made on all social media platforms. Gather Software and Business requirements through client research and client interviews to develop event plans. Event management involving overseeing projects from deployment to successful completion Act as a Liaison between the client and the organization via customer relation management. MAY 2013 – SEPTEMBER 2013 PR & COMMUNICATIONS INTERN, OLDCASTLE INC. • • • • • • Assisted in the research and creation of a Crisis Communication Response Guide. Worked with company clients and business partners to create advertising campaigns for award ceremonies, business promotion and events. Worked directly under the Head of Communications and learned the day-to-day operations of how to create and manage corporate communications in the most professional and effective manner. Proactively managed systems development, implementation and deployment, project risks and issues utilizing the use of internal resources and market research. Develop risk mitigation plans and effectively communicate project statuses to Head of Communications. Assisted with the processing, interpretation and presentation of employee communication survey data. 3 JUNE 2012 – SEPTEMBER 2012 SUMMER INTERN, KEY PLASTICS INC. • • • • • • • • • • Works with the management and intern team to coordinate all phases of projects from envisioning through deployment for small to medium-sized projects. Manage administrative activities. Organized a company event held for over 300 employees. Secured a location and venue, negotiating contracts with vendors and supervising the event committee. Completed all necessary tasks within a given timeline and stayed within budget. Presented to board members on a weekly basis regarding the tasks completed by myself and other projects. Team Leader of the 4 member summer intern team. Communicated and followed-up with the mangers to identify any changes to the timeline and develop marketing strategy for employee events. Proactively manages changes in project scope, identifies potential crises, evaluates severity and likelihood of issues, and proposes contingency and mitigation plans. Worked with safety and team managers at the plant to recreate better technical machine information and instruction sheets for employees to review upon working with each machine. EDUCATION JUNE 2015 BA IN ADVERTISING, MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY JUNE 2015 SPECIALIZATION IN PUBLIC RELATIONS, MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY SKILLS • • • Communication Public Relations Advertising & Marketing • • • Customer Relationship Management Social Media Management Project Management • Dog walker & cat socializer at local animal shelter Volunteer for Holly Christmas in Action ACTIVITIES • • Google Analytics Certification Attended the National Top Leaders Conference, October 2017 4 •