Megan Page-Cowman

In my role at Edelman Global Advisory, I supported the implementation of strategic programmes that helped multi-sector clients navigate the changing UK political environment, including in the transport, energy and technology sectors. My accountabilities were: - Building collaborative relationships with external clients and colleagues at all levels and liaising with Government, Parliament and International Business Leaders, including coordination of industry Round Tables; - Monitoring political announcements and national and local political activity and drafting briefing material and policy briefings for clients; - Supporting political engagement programmes, including creating stakeholder maps, horizon scanning, outreaching to relevant offices and handling logistical arrangements; - Researching and developing biographical and policy briefings to tight deadlines; - Event management and planning, including liaising with MPs offices, coordinating with the parliamentary events team and third-party suppliers, as well as handling the logistics.

As a part-time Library Assistant, I was responsible for managing borrowings, customer enquiries, payments, the front desk and shelving. Employed in a public-facing role since September 2017 as a Library Assistant, I was required to be flexible and resilient to support the job's requirements; managing frequent changes to both location and team while working in an in-person, customer-facing role. This developed strong working-together skills and I find it comfortable to work with diverse groups of people and customers.

Living independently in a French ski resort; working in a local company, Go Montgenèvre, I supported the Resort Manager in undertaking general client-facing customer services including problem-solving and duty rotas.

In my second internship at FoodCloud Ireland, a non-profit organisation, I was an analyst virtually engaging with key stakeholders, specifically within the EU, researching UK and EU existing and emerging Energy and Food security policy documents. I developed my knowledge of European food bank networks, EU and UK legislation and funding programmes, preparing research summaries on these policies and organisations for FoodCloud's Senior Leadership Team and suggesting possible policy strategies and ideas from this research. Feedback I received states “Megan is smart and astute – very grateful for her help and impressive work.’ – Emma Walsh, International Partnerships Director, FoodCloud.

At Tancredi Communications, I developed key skills for a communications, public relations and affairs, and digital media executive. I was involved in constructing a large selection of daily media content, which was used to upload a minimum of four daily Tweets to our client’s Twitter feeds, raising and influencing the profile of the business and our clients. My other responsibilities included preparing and circulating individually tailored daily press briefings, and preparing journalist and social media publication lists relevant to my client’s objectives, and identifying risks and opportunities. This meant I completed a horizon scan of key media strokes and then I prepared and circulated this into a summary briefing report to the internal senior leadership team and key high-profile and celebrity clients - to a daily 8am deadline. The briefings covered a wide range of topics relevant to clients, including climate change, corporate sustainability, ESG, sport and the Arts, and global/domestic politics. I also undertook reactive and proactive media research, proposing social media messaging to manage clients’ media profiles. I undertook my research and analysis with accuracy despite time pressure, while also adhering to the company’s confidentiality requirements. While at Tancredi I was proactive in proposing and developing a new weekly bulletin and analysis to update senior clients on relevant political developments. This was well received as an engaging digestible format to keep clients updated; Tancredi adopted my suggestion into business as usual. I undertook this internship in a hybrid work environment, managing and organising my own deliverables and I was commended by my line manager on my focused attitude and consistent reliability in achieving deadlines, much of which was delivered without direct supervision. Feedback received: "[Megan] proved to be trustworthy and reliable ... and demonstrated enthusiasm and a keen intellect as well as analytical skills."

At FoodCloud, as a Research Analyst Intern, I was tasked to research existing and develop new complex policy ideas to address food poverty issues and the associated climate impact. This involved strong communication skills and horizon scanning to develop the report and policy recommendations built in strong evidence; engaging with key stakeholders for interviews and to present the final report; and developing summary papers and communications for digital and social media, and various stakeholders. I undertook research on global food insecurity policies, analysing data to prepare briefings and present to FoodCloud’s Senior Leadership Team. My proposed actions supported FoodCloud to expand their influence and achieve their goal of persuading the Irish government to recognise food poverty as a legitimate political issue. Subsequently, I prepared and presented a virtual PowerPoint briefing to the FoodCloud COO, referencing the successes of British, American and EU foodbanks in obtaining government support and funding to tackle food insecurity and waste. Based on this model, I mapped out future grant funding gaps and domestic and international opportunities for FoodCloud which was adopted, successfully generating additional funding for FoodCloud. Due to the success of this programme and my contribution, I was re-engaged the following year to support further strategy development and raise FoodCloud’s EU profile. It is worth noting that in 2020, due to pandemic restrictions, I worked autonomously using digital tools, managing and organising my work, while engaging with the team and presenting my quality work virtually to the Board’s deadlines.