Many Hats, One Mission: Life as Operations Manager at STRONG PR, Marketing and Events

Let me be honest with you, operations isn't always the role that gets the spotlight. No one's hashtagging the project tracker or throwing confetti over a clean inbox. But right now, at STRONG PR, Marketing and Events, the behind-the-scenes work is some of the most exciting it's ever been. And I want to talk about that.

The work is big, the clients are incredible, and the pace is relentless in the best possible way. From large-scale corporate summits to media launches and awards evenings and PR campaigns, the STRONG team is delivering experiences that genuinely make an impact. Being in the middle of it all, even from the operational side, is genuinely energising.

But here's the thing about a business that's growing: the louder the noise gets, the more critical the systems become. And that's where I live.

Over the past while, I've been focused on building and refining the processes that help our team work smarter. Better workflows, clearer project timelines, tighter client onboarding, more streamlined communication between departments. Not because things were broken, but because good isn't good enough when you're chasing great.

What I love most is being across multiple projects simultaneously. At any point I might be reviewing a supplier quote for a conference, chasing a deadline on a media pack, and troubleshooting a scheduling clash, all before lunch. That kind of multi-threaded thinking is where I genuinely thrive, and it keeps the job interesting.

And speaking of deadlines… they're tight. Always. That's just the nature of this industry, and honestly, I wouldn't have it any other way (okay maybe sometimes I would 😉). There's something about the pressure of a hard deadline that sharpens focus and brings out the best in a team. It's not always comfortable, but it's always worth it when everything comes together the way it should.

One of the parts of this role I didn't fully anticipate when I started is just how many incredible people you get to meet. Every new project brings new faces, clients, suppliers, industry professionals and those connections are genuinely exciting to me. The PR and events world is a surprisingly small one, and building those relationships matters. I love walking into a room and seeing familiar faces, or being introduced to someone new who ends up becoming a key part of how we do business.

That's also why one of my favourite things to do is connect the dots between our clients. When I can see an opportunity for two clients to support each other, or introduce people who should know each other, it feels like a natural extension of the work. We're not just here to deliver a brief, we're here to grow something, and sometimes that means helping our clients grow too.

The goal isn't to add bureaucracy. It's to take the friction out of the creative process so the people doing the brilliant work can actually do it without unnecessary noise. When the ops side is running well, the rest of the team barely notices and that's exactly the point.

We're not slowing down. And neither am I.