Sarah Martin

I graduated with a First Class (Honours) degree in Social Sciences in July 2023, with the Open University.

I have a passion for promoting diversity and inclusion in workplace environments. I sit on the school board for Equality and Diversity and am involved in developing and implementing inclusive programmes and initiatives to educate and drive change within the workplace, to promote engagement, retention and business success.

A creative and experienced Business Development professional, who has over 25 years experience working in education and finance sectors.

I have a track record of collaborative, cross-functional teamwork within high pressure environments. I am adept at project managing/planning and managing multiple priorities at once. Extensive experience of exceeding sales targets and increasing revenue income streams. I am a self-motivated individual with expertise on expanding connections, implementing pricing models, vendor relations. Effective at identifying customer/researchers needs to deliver solutions.

Other experience in customer relationship and management, sales and business development strategies. IP, contract negotiation, Non-disclosure agreements, enterprise and consultancy activities. I have extensive events management skills and over my career have organised over 25 large corporate events in the UK and internationally.

I am a detail-orientated and analytically minded individual, who excels in fast-paced environments with challenging deadlines. Demonstrates excellent interpersonal and communication skills to establish connections and trust with stakeholders, senior managers and external partners.

A natural problem solver, who takes an analytical and balanced approach to solve problems. Happy to take on new challenges to harness interpersonal skills and collaboration to deliver high quality customer service and results and maximising opportunities to influence

key decision-making business strategies. Proven track record of managing budgets, and financial controls, confident in planning logistics and strengthening relationships.

Hardworking with strong organisational and IT skills to help with planning and prioritisation.

• I attended international events such as the 2018 G7 Summit (Turin, Italy), the H2020 ‘Sunfish events (Rome, Italy), the `Forum International de la Cybersecurity 2018 (Lille, France), the GovTech Summit 2018 & 2019 (Paris, France), the first Pan-African Cyber Defence Summit (Nairobi, Kenya) 2018, and national events including CyberUK, the Royal Society ‘Successful Nation Showcase', the PETRAS National Cybersecurity of the IoT, and the NCSC Academic Centres of Excellence conferences since 2017
• In 2019, I have organised, recruited sponsors, raised funds and run HECC,1 a national Capture-the-Flag event with students from 24 teams from all the top Cyber Security Universities in the UK (https://hecc.io/), and a national Cryptocurrency Masterclass (http://bit.ly/CryptoMstClass) for the Police, NCA and SEROCU (South East Regional Crime Office)
• I ran a scheme of summer internships for placement of undergraduate and graduate students in top Cyber Security companies nationally
• I was, involved in various projects and networking with the core members of the Cyber Security Academy, including ROKE Research, DSTL and Northrop-Grumman and SEROCU
• I ran a blog of my professional activities (https://medium.com/@Sar_martin81) and am in the Editorial Board of the Southampton Cyber Security blog (https://medium.com/cybersoton)
• I was the Editor of the Southampton Cyber Security website (https://cyber.southampton.ac.uk) and related marketing material
• I run a seminar series hosting both external and university speakers
• I organised thematic evenings and fair
• I was seconded as a Project Manager during my time at Natwest to oversee a new IT online banking platform. This ran for 6 months and involved a trip to Chennai, India
• I have undertaken a secondment as an Area Director for 3 months whilst working for Natwest
• I have won Business Relationship Manager (South East) in 2008 and 2010
• Supervised team responsible for executing well on projects, leading to 72% increased revenue.
• Was nominated for a Faculty award for outstanding contribution to my school in June 2023.

Other hobbies and interests , I lead a very active lifestyle, and I am a keen member of my local gym and running club. I have run two international marathons in Paris and Rome along with several half marathons, 10k and 5k races. I enjoy cycling, spending time outdoors and enjoy hikes and skiing. Other interests I have are music, the arts, cooking and travelling. I undertake volunteer work to support local charities and in 2015 I ran the Bournemouth Half Marathon in aid of Diabetes UK raising over £800. I have completed the two Santa Fun Run's for Naomi House Children's Hospice I have raised funds towards the University of Southampton's Cancer Immunotherapy Centre. Aside from work I enjoy running, and have ran multiple races from 5km to marathons. I volunteer for a local group called Street Angels providing support to homeless people in Southampton. This ranges from giving out food, clothing etc, managing donations received, and advising how they can access a range of services.