EDUCATION

1975-1980
The Convent of Our Lady of Good Counsel, High Lane, Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Manchester
Gained GCE ‘O’ levels in English Literature, English Language, Mathematics, French, Spanish, Scripture, Geography, Art

1980-1982
Tameside College of Technology, Ashton-under-Lyne, Tameside
Followed a 2 year secretarial linguist course which included further studies in French and Spanish, French shorthand and typing, and conversational German.

Year 1:
London Chamber of Commerce - Secretarial Studies Certificate
Royal Society of Arts - Typing II, Shorthand I, Spanish II

Year 2:
London Chamber of Commerce - Private Secretaries Certificate, Secretarial Language Certificate (French)
Royal Society of Arts - Typing III, Shorthand II
Foreign Languages for Industry and Commerce - Spanish

CAREER HISTORY
I left college in 1982 and worked at the University of Manchester and UMIST in a number of roles relating to the development of new and emerging science and technology issues. For the past 10 years or so I have been heavily involved in the day to day management of large multi-disciplinary research projects funded primarily by the European Commission and covering a wide range of subjects. Collaborators throughout Europe, and occasionally beyond, included universities, research institutes and major commercial organizations. I played a major part in managing the administration and assisted in monitoring the budgets associated with these projects. The job enabled me to maintain an interest in European languages and cultures and to travel throughout the UK and Europe on project business.

Some key aspects of the role are detailed below:
Maintained, developed and improved office systems, procedures and processes.
Provided Personal Assistant service including shorthand note-taking and transcription for complete confidentiality.
Arranged itineraries for business trips, including travel, accommodation and meeting arrangements both in the UK and abroad.
Organised large international workshops/conferences in the UK and throughout Europe, managing venue hire, catering arrangements and delegate registrations.
Provided secretarial services to a number of project committees as required, including dissemination of venue details, agendas and minutes.
Generated original ideas and creative output, including artwork/logos.
Ensured quality control of documents and standards of output were maintained.
Assisted in the design, launch and maintenance of dedicated project websites, ensuring content was kept up to date.

Knowledge, Skills and Experience:
Well educated, including GCEs and specialist linguist secretarial training.
Knowledge of several European languages (currently French, Spanish, German – in order of competence).
Excellent word-processing/IT skills.
Substantial long-term experience of working within a team environment.
Ability to work under extreme pressure, adopting a very flexible approach to working hours and practices in order to meet deadlines, and the ability to manage time effectively in less pressured periods.
Excellent organisational and interpersonal skills gained over many years.
Proven high level written and oral communication skills ensuring effective transfer of information.

Software Knowledge:
* Microsoft Office Suite
* Macromedia Contribute / Mambo / Joomla / Wordpress (for web administration)

Additional Information:
* Hold a full, clean British driving licence and am a car owner.