Following our call for applications to become members of the UXPA UK Committee, we have three candidates standing for election for the Communications Officer role. It’s time for you, the UXPA UK membership, to cast your vote for who you want to take on the role.

The candidates are listed in alphabetical order by surname. They each outline their vision, goals and a short bio for your consideration. You will find details of how to vote on the bottom of the page.

Elaine Amoah

Vision for the role

I would relish the opportunity to work for the committee and help contribute to spread the word for your messages, initiatives and events. You will find me to be enthusiastic and extremely driven to achieve positive outcomes. This role is something that I would really enjoy and believe I would excel in:

• My ambition is for this to be a hands-on role.
• I want to ensure that I get UXPA’s name out there and that your voice is heard in the community.
• I would like to oversee all social media platforms and ensure that the platforms have the best prominence.
• Work closely with members to ensure that we have the best content in the monthly newsletter and that the content we are sharing is engaging and of true value to people.
• I would act in accordance with the responsibilities set out. I hope to fulfil my responsibilities while also helping other team members where I can with their projects.
• Although, a ‘Salary Survey’ is sent out, I would also like to regularly utilise survey monkey to ensure we understand the motivations and needs of the community so we can help to fulfil these. This will perhaps shed a light on new avenues and opportunities worth exploring.
• In addition to organising my own event each year, I would love to improve the groups visibility and engagement by running some more fun networking events such as ‘speed dating’ so that the community can share information with like-minded people and perhaps work with the mentoring team on this too for the community to find mentors.
• I hope to perform all duties with due adherence to UXPA’s policies and procedures.

Goals for the 1st year of term

I would be committed to this role and supporting the dynamic and fast-moving field of UX. I would love to immerse myself in my responsibilities to understand my role in more depth and how the committee works and ways I can bring and apply my skills to ensure the best delivery of the groups communications by:

• Helping to maintain and build UXPA’s reputation. I want to help the group to get as many people as possible on board in terms of members and volunteers as well as take a proactive role in funding initiatives.
• It would be great to work on creating or developing brand guidelines and a copy style guide to ensure communications are consistent and the brand can build a tone of voice.
• Draft, edit and distribute materials for press and members.
• Plan, develop and implement communications strategies.
• Develop, manage and write content for the newsletter.
• Maintain and operate social media accounts and support the implementation of a social media strategy. Although you have an active Twitter account, I would like to create dedicated Instagram and Facebook accounts which I think may encourage more engagement than the Pinterest page. I have a professional camera and I’m passionate about taking photos so I would love to have an active role in taking photos during events and therefore ensure we have up to date photos on all platforms to increase the visibility of the group.
• Help market and communicate events.
• Represent UXPA at events.
• Provide creative, editorial and operational support for communications projects.
• Maintain a library system for media coverage.

Summary of experience

• I have excellent written communication skills by writing a daily newsletter on the latest industry news, technology and innovations in my previous role as a Research Manager, in a full service advertising agency as well as contributing to the agency blog.
• I have developed excellent project management and organisation skills from solely managing the research department within the agency. This also enhanced my verbal communication skills and team building skills as I worked with all levels of seniority and across all divisions in the agency.
• I acted as an ambassador for the agency by frequently attending technology and innovation conferences hosted by companies including; The Future Foundation, Trendwatching and Mintel.
• I have previously worked as a Press Assistant in a media communications charity which has given me the ability to understand the importance of a media presence and developed my skills in writing press releases, content development and overseeing design and production processes.

Biography

• I graduated from The University of Manchester with a degree in Sociology in 2010, where I developed my passion for observing users, analysing data and understanding people’s underlying behaviours, which led to my career in UX.
• I have worked in a vast array of industries including financial services, media and entertainment, telecoms and technology, healthcare and retail.
• I am a highly skilled practitioner, with over five years’ experience working with a multitude of high profile clients and employing a range of different research techniques and methodologies.
• I thrive on understanding complex business problems and have an instinct for what is important to people.
• As mentioned, I previously worked at a full service advertising agency, where I developed my UX skills and managed various end-to-end research studies. I focused on specific target audiences’ needs; analysing user journeys, tasks and users’ expectations, while addressing the needs of the business and complying with the business strategy.
• In my spare time, I like to attend comedy improvisation classes, I have an eclectic taste in music and food, I have attended acting and drawing classes and really enjoy travel so I feel I would be a good fit to the UXPA culture and team.

Adam Banks

Vision for the role

UXPA has a strong brand, and the UK events are well attended. However, most of the communication is currently limited to posting about the events whilst they happen (Twitter, Facebook) or advertising them in advance. I would ensure that UXPA-UK is more active socially, outside of the organised events – using social platforms to keep members informed about:

• related events, meetups, etc. (outside of UXPA)
• interesting articles by members
• movements in the industry
• information on ‘big’ moves for individuals (e.g. big job moves, new projects)
• social causes that need UX volunteers

In order to build our brand, I would also look to publish more frequent updates or interesting articles from the committee.

Goals for the 1st year of term

• Increase engagement with members and the wider UX community, by improving conversations between the committee and members.
• Ensure that all members are able to find relevant information – e.g publicise events widely and timely.
• Archive all information on the website – make sure that members can find everything relevant to their membership and events when needed (without having to rely on searching Facebook or Twitter).
• Expand engagement with members and others, particularly via Twitter. Send out communication more frequently – some of it scheduled (whilst remaining careful to stick to relevant content). ITTT would allow us to manage communication much more easily, and ensure members see regular, relevant information from us.
• Publish a regular roundup of “important events in UX in the UK” – with the help of other committee members. This is outside of the monthly newsletter, covering things not directly related to UXPA-UK (but still relevant to members).

Related Experience

• I have recently setup my own UX agency in East London offering qualitative research, and design of UX research spaces and hardware.
• I worked at Google for 5 years in UX Research, and before that for 5 years there in design.
• I’m in my 2nd year of the HCID MSc at City University.
• I attend many UX events, and am embedded in the UX community. I know a lot of people in the UX world in London and the UK – both through work and socially; personal connections are always very helpful in a communications role, especially in finding interesting people to get involved in events.
• I’m in charge of communication and social media for my company, and I’ve helped several former colleagues and friends build websites and social media systems for their companies.
• My brother-in-law is a digital social media consultant – a good resource for advice and help!

Biography

• I worked at Google for ~10 years (2007-2016). This is where my interest in UX developed; I worked as a researcher on various Google technologies, and also designed and built all of Google’s design and research centres globally.
• Before Google I worked for Goldman Sachs as a technical designer – designing and building Audio Visual systems and various User Interfaces.
• I also led their London video production team (making training and promotional materials).
• I left Google earlier this year to start my own UX agency with another Google researcher.
• I have a degree in English Literature from Sussex University.
• In my spare time I make my own beer, travel often, and watch a LOT of movies. I watch many posts and shows in London.
• I have a strong interest in politics and current affairs.
• I’m very interested in emerging technologies, and in the moral and philosophical implications of technological advances.

Irfan Qureshi

Vision for the role

• To provide the committee with insights on current trends and news in the UX world and UXPA community which can be used to make informed decisions on future events and discussions.
• To provide the UXPA community with reliable channels for news in the industry including UXPA, an outlet to share their ideas, frustrations and seek inspiration from fellow practitioners.
• To be the middle-person between the committee and the community, bringing both together and increasing engagement and conversations.

Goals for the 1st year of term

• Review existing activities and tools used and propose any modifications that help create efficiency.
• If not already in use, learn from data available through Google Analytics, MailChimp and other sources to make informed decisions on “what’s next”.
• Increase engagement on social platforms and newsletter through insights gathered from data and committee members.
• Create consistency in design and templates used by UXPA to promote events on social platforms.
• Create a feedback method for newsletter subscribers to learn about what they want to hear about more.

Related Experience

• I’ve been volunteering for societies and charities for most of my life in almost every country I’ve lived in. I currently volunteer for the Zoological Society of London but in the past I have volunteered for The Fairtrade Foundation, Oxfam, Kyrenia Animal Rescue.
• I have also worked for non-profits and charities as a marketer and sat on the Marketing Committee of the Association of Taxation Technicians and the Chartered Institute of Taxation.

Biography

• I am a marketer during the week, zoo keeper by the weekend. I have been involved in marketing for almost six years in different industries from Telecoms to Tax. I’ve been involved in conservation, in one manner or another for an equivalent amount of time.
• With a background in computer programming and a Masters in marketing, I help businesses and entrepreneurs succeed and not descend into the abyss of obscurity.
• I’m currently in full-time employment at Futureheads Recruitment since May 2016 as their marketing manager.

How to vote

You can cast your vote via PollDaddy using the link below. To register your vote you will need to:

• Provide the email address you used  to register with UXPA.
• Cast your vote
• PollDaddy will send you an email to the registered email address with a link for you to confirm the email address. This is important. If you don’t complete this, then your vote will not be registered.
• We need you to provide your email address to verify your UXPA membership. Remember, only current UXPA members are eligible to vote.

Cast your vote here: http://poll.fm/5pl7v

Questions? Please contact: secretary@uxpa-uk.org