Sarah Clifford
London
Summary
Experienced strategic and crisis communications specialist using creativity and data to drive meaningful change and meet objectives. Confident and people-first leader dedicated to building a culture of trust, empowering teams to grow and deliver exceptional results. Award winning communicator for work on COVID-19, BREXIT, and climate change.
Overview
10
10
years of professional experience
4
4
years of post-secondary education
Work history
Senior Campaign Manager
BFBS Creative
London
2021.07 - Current
- Prepared and delivered strategic communications coaching for over 50 Foreign Office Ambassadors; wrote briefings on the digital landscape; provided 121 advice on social media usage to support delivery of UK government priorities abroad.
- Attended high-level government briefings to lead on development of integrated communications strategies to influence behaviour alongside evolving policies. Continuously review and clarify strategies in response to data, crises, and media landscape.
- Advised on development of Ministry of Defence's declassification of information countering foreign disinformation on social media. Received 5+ million social views and broadcast coverage from BBC, Politico and The Guardian.
- Built strong networks with senior stakeholders across government and defence sector to identify strategic business opportunities and impactful policy collaborations.
- Responsible for editorial oversight and quality assurance of all strategic campaign plans and creative content delivered by the strategy team.
- Developed and implemented new standard operating procedure for onboarding to ensure a supportive culture for a high-performing team through user manuals. Following internal success, developed this into new revenue stream delivering consultancy workshops for clients looking to improve team culture.
- Optimised operational relationships with Finance department to monitor cashflow and revenue targets against all strategic projects.
Senior Digital Content Manager
Ministry of Justice
London, City of London
2020.07 - 2021.07
- Developed audience-first data-driven social media objectives with regular performance reviews to optimise content production. Overall 25% engagement rate increase on departmental and ministerial portfolios.
- Designed and implemented new response procedure to rebuttal communications across courts portfolio, enabling timely, measured and suitable action to improve online conversation sentiment.
- Delivered accessibility best practice training to MOJ, HMCTS, HMPPS and Home Office digital teams to ensure full digital output compliance and servicing diverse audience needs.
Digital Content Manager
10 Downing Street
London, City of London
2020.02 - 2020.07
- Supported governmental communication effort during onset period of COVID-19 pandemic. Delivered rolling strategic messaging around fast-paced policy adaptations and public resilience priorities.
- Coordinated cross-government communications activities based on analysis of real-time trending narratives and concerns.
- Established strong functional network of cross-government digital teams to organise communication content. Streamlined messaging, efficient use of resources, and alignment with ministerial agendas.
- Translated ministerial and policy updates into audience-centric digital assets using Adobe Suite, photography and videography.
Digital Content Manager
Cabinet Office
London
2019.07 - 2020.02
- Produced daily digital content for both departmental and ministerial channels covering animations, gov.uk updates.
- Handled policy updates on digital channels for Secretary of State and Junior Ministers to inform hard to reach audiences of important legislative changes. Increased following on ministerial and departmental social channels by 30% in 6 month period.
- Filmed and photographed ministers in dynamic environments including House of Lords, international conferences and Royal events for use in internal and external communications.
Marketing and Production Executive
The Burlington Magazine
London
2017.02 - 2019.07
- Designed and implemented digital content strategy across organisational website, email platform and social media channels resulting in 35% increased website traffic over 2 years.
- Developed gallery catalogues for fine art retailers to boost advertising revenue through industry partnerships.
- Supported core operations across subscriptions, marketing, advertising, and administration.
Account Manager
Sponge Marketing
London, City of London
2016.07 - 2017.01
- Established relationships with diverse media representatives to secure exposure for clients resulting in far-reaching newspaper coverage, including 12-page feature spread.
- Secured social media influencer partnerships for Caribbean island, contributing to programme delivery for tourism sector.
Education
Master of Arts - English Literature
University of Warwick
Coventry 2015.10 - 2017.01
Bachelor of Arts - English Literature
Loughborough University
Loughborough 2012.09 - 2015.08
Skills
- UK Security Clearance
- Excellent communication skills
- Deep understanding of digital landscape
- Coaching high-level stakeholders
- Data driven problem solving
- Collaborative brainstorming
- People-first leadership
- Soft process optimisation
- Active listening
- Project management
- Adobe, Asana, Canva, Kahootz, Mailchimp and MS
- Conversational Spanish
Timeline
Senior Campaign Manager
BFBS Creative
2021.07 - Current
Senior Digital Content Manager
Ministry of Justice
2020.07 - 2021.07
Digital Content Manager
10 Downing Street
2020.02 - 2020.07
Digital Content Manager
Cabinet Office
2019.07 - 2020.02
Marketing and Production Executive
The Burlington Magazine
2017.02 - 2019.07
Account Manager
Sponge Marketing
2016.07 - 2017.01
Master of Arts - English Literature
University of Warwick
2015.10 - 2017.01
Bachelor of Arts - English Literature
Loughborough University
2012.09 - 2015.08