Wenzhe Chen

As an administrator for several different teams, I am the first port of call for comms, specialising in the Learning Dept. Responsibilities include:

• Booking educational visits, negotiating the course requirements and liaising with Education Managers.
• Handling payments, invoicing and follow-ups; serving as the schools registrar and helpdesk.
• Staff lead in a project to reform the booking process, as well as the educational offer; researching all data for the focus group.
• For the Visitor Experience, Tours, Events and Membership depts, responsibilities include resolving complaints, registration, ticketing, staffing the phone lines, inboxes and replying to social media.

As one of the lead reps for the DEI Group, this involved setting up a new network for our diverse ethnicities.

• Raised our profile through organising events, tours, outreach, and Museum-wide articles
• Led on issues affecting the institution, such as decolonisation and representation. This ranged from direct action in protesting far right speakers to arranging DEI (re)training for all staff
• Created a Talent Pool for disadvantaged paybands, alongside a new policy of in-house hire.
• I also ran a free service for any English language needs, admin and job applications.

Stepped down after 2 years max as Chair.

As the Main Shop supervisor for the retail team my duties included:

• keyholder cashiering, range planning, visual merchandising, managing staff, stock and visitor flow.
• Taking biannual stock takes over 30,000 items as well as organising daily or ad hoc deliveries.
• Dealing with all staff, merchandise and customer issues.
• Duty Manager over floor operations and a team of up to 40.

Left this role to work in the head office, for the Comms Centre.

Lead copywriter for the marketing division of the EMEA/ LatAm branch of an insurance and financial advisory.

• Policing the brand guidelines, proof-reading content
• Creating copy for in-house and external campaigns
• Registering and running training programmes
• Disseminating weekly reports, analysing data and KPI's into manageable articles with highlighted trends.

This was a contract job that ended after 5 months cover.

Responsible for the daily running of floor operations over six sites to ensure the upkeep of books and multimedia sections, which then took in 30% of sales.

• Creating several nature-themed ranges, visual merchandising
• Processing daily deliveries, discrepancies and returns
• weekly / monthly sales analysis, and an End of Year Report
• organising book signings and marketing promotions.
• Copywriting for e-commerce, writing over 100 reviews for the website and the museum's Evolve Magazine.

I took leave for 5 months to work as a contractor (see above). In 2016 I finally left to become a Retail Supervisor.

Internship at a new architecture firm in East London, specialising in contemporary residential projects.

• Creating client reports, briefs, assessments and formal presentations.
• Building architectural models, mapping out plans on InDesign
• General office admin including filing, printing and emailing clients
• Input into the designs, processes and site visits
• Managing work traffic and scheduling meetings and deadlines.

The office closed following the global economic downturn, post 2008.

Brand Ambassador in the luxury section of Westfield London mall

• staffing info desks, directing customers, booking concierge services
• dealing with all visitor issues, managing crowds, wayfinding, and customer complaints
• collecting purchases and liaising with the brand stores
• vital support during evacuations and daily breakdowns

left for a full time post at the Natural History Museum.

Staffing the visitor centres at the Royal Palaces.

• Selling entry, combination and group tickets to 6,000 daily visitors, initiating Gift Aid donations alongside data capture.
• Keyholder cashier duties included reconciling discrepancies, generating sales reports and lodging takings.
• Acting manager of the Visitor Centre in Windsor Castle on weekends. Daily tasks included creating rotas, reports, purchase orders and invoicing.
• Dealing with all staff / visitor / group/ guide issues.
• For Buckingham Palace: answering phone enquiries and booking entry for the 13 sites of the Royal Collection charity.

Left on moving to London.

In charge of the art, reference, children's, photography, travel and history sections in the Victoria St branch of Books Etc. Later made lead for the stationery lines, calendar shop and promotions.

• covering tills, cash office, info desk and customer orders
• Setting up suppliers and new lines from reps, negotiating discounts; invoicing and returning stock
• Managing monthly promotions from Head Office to tight deadlines -ordering the picked titles, setting up price points and phasing out promotional lines at given dates.
• Other duties included creating interior and window displays and writing book reviews.

Left on moving back to Windsor.

This was a part time/ summer job through college and university, helping on the front, information and registry desks in three local libraries.

• Taking loans, returns and fines on the front desks, cashiering
• Maintaining customer records, with general office duties such as data entry, filing and processing inter-library loans
• Receiving and cataloguing new inventory
• Helping / training customers with IT sessions

Left on moving to London.