Niamh Connolly

What’s your job title? 

I am the Marketing and Communications Manager for the College of Medicine, Nursing and Health Science- the communications part covers mostly external comms such as press releases, but I hope to be able to do more with internal comms soon.

How long have you been working here? 

I started in the College shortly before the pandemic 2.5 years ago, but I have been working in the University for my whole professional career.

Where did you work before this position? 

I have worked in the University since I finished my degree. Previous to my current role I was university marketing officer with responsibility for student recruitment, prior to that I worked as the University marketing manager and I also worked in the University Library.

What does your day-to-day look like? 

My day varies massively- I could be working press releases, or producing content such as photoshoots or video content. When I’m working on a video shoot I will wear multiple hats- I will plan the shoot, brief the videographer, determine the best location, conduct the interview, and generally make the interviewees feel at ease in front of the camera and then work with the videographer to deliver the required cut or cuts. I spend a lot of time planning comms strategies- such each press release that goes out from the College- each release will have an external comms strategy to include a social plan. I work closely with people from across the College but also units outside of the College such as the University press team and the Development team.

How do you prefer to start your work day? 

I start every day by reading the news alerts for the University. This frames the social media for the day and may require some follow-up if there are unexpected items. After that I start on the to-do list!

How do you prefer to end your work day? 

I end every day with a to-do list for the following day! I never get to the end of the list.

What’s your favorite task at work? 

There are two things I love- firstly anything that requires my creative brain- be that content creation, writing, creating new web pages, video production or sometimes just developing ideas creatively. Secondly I love working with people, asking questions and finding out more about their work and their passions. I see my role as mostly connecting people- connecting people with journalists, with marketing opportunities, with the wider-world. Pitching stories for example requires listening to one person and then telling that story on. I think it helps that I don’t have a scientific or health background- I feel I ask the questions that will help the public understand the research or whatever it is we are communicating.

What motivates you at work? 

I love my job. I love the variety. I appreciate the opportunity to work with people who have a real impact in this sector. A few years ago I had a really valuable session with a career psychologist and he identified really quickly that I have a need to work with people who have an impact on the world. This is one of the reasons why I think this role is a good fit for me. I think naturally people’s motivation can take dips and I think that having routine and discipline in my day helps get me through any motivation dips.

What’s the most exciting part of your job?

I love taking on new projects.

 What’s a work-related accomplishment that you’re really proud of? 

I’m proud of introducing and growing a TY Taster programme, giving Transition Year students a taste of University life. I received a President’s award for Excellence for this project. I lost my brother Paul to suicide when he was just 15 and helping teenagers have a reason to be excited about the future is something I try to do on a constant basis. At the moment this is mostly through my involvement with coaching outside of work.

What’s the biggest misconception people have about your position? 

That I spend most of my time posting on social media!

What’s something you find challenging about your work (What are the toughest challenges you’ve had at work)? 

The biggest challenge I have is probably managing the work load. I see lots of opportunities for ways that we can do things better- like internal communications for example- and sometimes finding head space to really plan and strategize can be hard.

Who do you look up to within the company (Who’s someone you admire)? 

I really admire the Health Promotion Research Centre teams- they are really respectful, are doing incredible work, and they always say thank you. They are an all-round wonderful bunch of people- a big shout out to Saoirse, Colette, Elena and Andras. And I’m fairly sure I have yet to meet most of them in person which I hope to remedy sometime soon!

What’s the coolest thing you’re working on right now? 

Right now I’m really energised by managing the launch of the College strategy. This will take place on the 13^th and 14^th October. There’s a really great programme and I genuinely believe that there will be something to interest everyone over the two days.