CV of a public affairs professional

If you know of anyone needing  someone with media,policy and campaigns experience show them this CV its rather good its mine

Mark Cooper

 markcooperma@googlemail.com

Personal Profile

An award-winning, highly motivated individual with strong communication skills gained through various operational and strategic roles. I have a strong working knowledge of Scottish and British public affairs through experience in an MPs office and through working for one of Scotland’s leading third sector organisations.

I have significant campaigning and lobbying experience both as a campaign leader, as a member of a campaign team and as a candidate in the 2010 General Election. My work has been recognised by the Public Affairs industry. The successful Barred! Campaign – which I founded and ran – won the 2010 Devolved Campaign of the Year at the Public Affairs News Awards.

Education

Aberdeen University (2003-2007)MA (Hons) Politics and International Relations (Lower Second Class)

• Modules included: Scottish Politics, British and European Politics, and Research Methods in Social Science.

Boroughmuir High School (1997-2003)

• Highers: Modern Studies, History, Psychology
• 6 Standard Grades at Credit Level: English, Physics, Computing Studies, German, History, Modern Studies
• 1 Standard Grade at General Level: Maths

Employment

Scottish Labour
Campaign Volunteer (March 2011-May 2011; February 2012-May 2012)

• Data gathering and inputting which enabled voters to be targeted
• Collected voter data on a door-to-door basis helping enable Labour vote to be targeted
• General administrative tasks

Capability Scotland
Parliamentary and Policy Officer (October 2009 – October 2010)

• Promoted the involvement of disabled people in policy and campaign work by collating their views into organisational responses to Government consultations
• Heavily involved in external stakeholder relations with other disability organisations, national media, and civil servants, central and local government and by representing Capability on the Cross Parliamentary Group on Disability.
• Lobbying with the Senior Policy Advisor to exert influence to ensure that laws are passed to improve the rights of disabled people and to help change societal attitudes.
• High-level writing and drafting skills included writing parliamentary briefings, consultation responses, and newspaper articles.
• Conducted research on disability equality, which led to the production of reports, which were used to campaign on issues and inform press releases.

Capability Scotland
Scotland Policy Officer (July 2009 - October 2009)

• Headhunted by Capability Scotland as a result of the Barred! Campaign.
• Led a campaign for equal accessibility for disabled people in bars across Edinburgh whilst raising awareness across Scotland. This campaign resulted in legislative change.
• Liaised with Scottish Parliament and government officials.
• Promoted the work Capability Scotland across a range of media giving interviews, and writing articles, for numerous trade magazines and national media.
• Developed Capability Scotland’s social media strategy understanding the importance of social media in engaging with communities.

Lehman Brothers
Data Analyst (September 2008)

• Hired by the bank but bank collapsed before start date.

Nigel Griffiths MP Office

Officer volunteer (June 2005 – September 2008)

• Worked for Nigel Griffiths during university holidays and on a more regular basis throughout 2007 and 2008)
• Supported MPs’ workload through research, general administration work, and constituent responses.

Achievements

• Founded and ran the award-winning Barred! Campaign. This work was recognised by the Public Affairs News Awards and successfully amended legislation. The campaign also gained national recognition through Capability and other charities.
• Prospective parliamentary candidate in Orkney and Shetland at the 2010 General Election for Scottish Labour. This unique role helped hone my project management and media relation’s skills.
• Was a member of the Debating Society at Aberdeen University and represented the University at competitions across Scotland
• Competent with all Microsoft applications, e-mail and all social media platforms.

References

Available on Request