Experience

Toastmasters International UK & Ireland

• Higher Education
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Immediate Past District Director

  • Jul 2022 - Present

  Advisory role supporting the District Leadership Team for the Toastmasters program year 2022/23Chair of the District Leadership Committee.

• District Director (District 91)

  • Jul 2021 - Jun 2022

  Elected in May 2021 to serve as District Director for District 91 (UK South), and taking office from 1 July 2021 through to 30 June 2022.

• Program Quality Director (District 91)

  • Jul 2020 - Jun 2021

  Elected into office in May 2020 to serve the members of District 91 (UK South) in supporting the education program and delivering excellence in education.Ended the Toastmasters program year 2020/21 achieving Smedley's Distinguished with 116 Distinguished Clubs across District 91.

• Club Growth Director (District 91)

  • Jul 2019 - Jun 2020

  Elected into office May 2019 to take office offically from July 2019 serving the 5,000 plus members of Toastmasters International that fall under District 91, UK South.

• Division Director (District 91)

  • Jul 2018 - Jun 2019

  Elected into office in May 2018 to serve as Division J Director. At the time of taking office, there were 27 Toastmasters clubs in Division J, divided into six areas. Each area has an Area Director that reports to the Division Director. The Division Director sits on the District Executive Committee and is a member of the District Council.

• Conference Director (District 91)

  • Jul 2017 - Jun 2018

  My appointment as Conference Director, was confirmed in May 2017, to deliver the annual spring conference for Toastmasters International District 91 (UK South), for May 2018. The conference took place on 5/6 May in Berkshire, welcoming over 200 delegates from District 91 and beyond. The success of the conference and the commendations keep coming, for myself and my team. The conference worked on many levels, with the attendence of Toastmasters International CEO, Dan Rex, sharing his experiences presenting two key note speeches. There were 10 personal development and leadership workshops, two speech finals and a District Council Meeting with the elections. The feedback received from delegates on the whole conference programme has been fantastic.

• District 91 PR Manager

  • Jul 2016 - Jun 2017

  In May 2016, I was appointed to serve a one-year term, commencing on 1 July 2016 joining the District Leadership Team, as the District PR Manager. Toastmasters International is a global organisation with the mission to empower individuals to become more effective communicators and leaders. There are over 345,000 members of Toastmasters International worldwide. District 91, represents the UK South and has upwards of 4000 members. During my tenure, a major goal I set, to increase members interaction by sharing their Toastmaster stories. Over the 12 months in office I encouraged members to step outside their comfort zone and write articles for the District newsletter. For the Talk Up Toastmasters campaign, members shared what activities they'd carried out, from holding meetings on the beach, acting as MC at community events, to being invited as guests to local radio stations. By sharing their experiences with other members, showing with a little imagination and confidence, you can achieve. Some members have taken this a step further and are providing articles about the benefits for Toastmasters for external publications. I too took up the challenge and joined Jonny Gould's show on Talk Radio as a guest to talk about leadership and had an article published with Sales Initiative. To assist members further, a Media Room was set up at the conference in May, were members filmed promo for their clubs. Over 20 members took up the challenge, most never having been filmed professionally before. Their positive feedback, testament to the success of the venture. On behalf of the District, I conducted interviews with contest speakers and leadership team, to share with our members. A fantastic way to end my year at District PR Manager. All information about what's happening in District 91, can be found on the District 91 website or the Toastmasters International UK and Ireland Facebook page or follow us on Twitter @ToastmastersUKI



Warner Bros. Discovery

• United States
• Entertainment Providers
• 700 & Above Employee

• Licensing and Compliance Manager

  • Sep 2019 - Present



Redberry Media Ltd

• Broadcast Media Production and Distribution

• Broadcast Consultant, Compliance Trainer and Mentor

  • May 2009 - Present

  Helena is a leading broadcast consultant, specialising in UK channel launches and providing channels with broadcast compliance training. Broadcast Licensing and Compliance For clients seeking to launch their TV channel in the UK, Redberry Media works on their behalf to acquire Ofcom broadcast television licences, deals with licence transfers and channel name change requests. Alongside assisting clients with successful acquistion of SD Sky EPG positions and working with channels that join the Sky HD launch queue. Besides the Sky platform, Redberry gains channel carriage on Freesat, Virgin, Freeview and IPTV platforms. Redberry provides a wide range of broadcast media consultancy services, with supporting regulatory and broadcast compliance training. Redberry offers bespoke broadcast compliance support in the form of guidance, full training for staff and assisting in creating the compliance processes and workflows for clients. As clients require Redberry provides regulatory advice i.e. assistance with submission to Ofcom of the annual MID returns. In the April 2015 edition of TVBEurope, Helena featured as one of ten inspirational women in the broadcast industry. Helena has served on several committees in the broadcast industry and appointed roles in other fields. In addition collaboratively working with media partners from pitching of content, script development/writing, drafting and editing programme synopsis, product placement options, sponsorship opportunities through to production projects. Public Speaking, Training and Mentor Helena provides bespoke presentation skills training for a variety of professionals and business leaders in different industries. From the basic or advanced training and coaching in presentation skills, public speaking, business communication, and media training, Helena can help.



Comux UK

• United Kingdom
• Broadcast Media Production and Distribution
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Broadcast Services Manager

  • Feb 2013 - Sep 2013

  Comux were awarded the Local TV Multiplex licence by Ofcom January 2013. I worked on this exciting new venture. Details on Comux can be found at comux.co.uk Comux were awarded the Local TV Multiplex licence by Ofcom January 2013. I worked on this exciting new venture. Details on Comux can be found at comux.co.uk



Canis Television & Media Ltd

• United Kingdom
• Broadcast Media Production and Distribution
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Broadcast Services Manager

  • Oct 2010 - Sep 2013

  The role as Broadcast Services Manager involved managing the busy in house Broadcast Services team providing channel management and scheduling services to Canis clients. My responsibility extended to supporting the Commercial Services, Local TV (Comux) and Production divisions. A member of the team that created the bid documents for submission to Ofcom to become the local TV mux co operator under the name Comux. I project managed the successful relaunch of the Manchester regional multiplex for Manchester Television Network. The Manchester mux carries broadcast television channels and reaches an audience of 1.2 million homes on the Freeview platform. The Broadcast Services team worked with a range of channels across different genres. Canis worked closely with most channels launching on Sky and Freesat in the UK. Canis provide clients with channel management support services such as creating and editing synopsis, EPG listings delivery, building presentation scheduling through to compliance and regulatory advice. My field of expertise allowed Canis to assist clients in completion of Ofcom broadcast licence applications and pre-submission review, compliance training and other regulatory matters as required. My understanding of how television works from a technical perspective ensured new channels not only get on air, but stay on air. Successful channel launches during my tenure Arise News, Blue Ocean Network (BON TV), Box Nation, BT Sports channels, CNC World, Holiday+Cruise Channel and QVC channels on Sky and other platforms.



ATVOD

• London, United Kingdom

• Deputy Chair of the ATVOD Industry Forum

  • Jan 2011 - May 2012

  The Forum acts as a liaison between ATVOD registered members of on demand programme service providers and the ATVOD Board. The Forum acts as a liaison between ATVOD registered members of on demand programme service providers and the ATVOD Board.



Red Bee Media

• Broadcast Media Production and Distribution
• 700 & Above Employee

• Editorial Compliance Manager

  • Jan 2010 - Oct 2010

  When with Red Bee Media I joined on a contract basis, acting as Editorial Compliance Manager for their busy compliance team. Red Bee Media comply, review and reversion for their clients, a wide variety of programming. All the programming, trailers and promos have to comply with Ofcom's Broadcasting Code for broadcasting in the UK and Europe. I become directly involved in reviewing scripts and providing compliance assistance for a commissioned cookery series for a client. In addition an understanding of BBC's Editorial Guidelines was a necessary requirement. The role involved management of compliance viewers both in house and freelance. I conducted two compliance training sessions for the team compliance viewers and editors. This provided the opportunity for my expertise and knowledge of broadcasting compliance to come to the fore in creating and delivering the training elements. To support the training, I drafted guidance notes and generated other training resources.



Inview TV

• London, United Kingdom

• Director

  • Jun 2006 - May 2009

  Inview had a mix of national and international clients and I advised on broadcast licensing, regulations and compliance with broadcasting codes and rules. In addition I worked with clients that required broadcast licences outside of the UK in other European countries and further afield such as Australia. I provided training on the Ofcom broadcast code, ASA rules and PhonepayPlus. The training offered was designed and tailored to meet the clients’ requirements. In January 2009 I facilitated a successful training day in London specifically on broadcast regulation and compliance. Guest speakers brought a wealth of broadcasting experience they included Jen Willis PRS for Music, broadcast lawyer and trainer Jane Hyndman and broadcasting guru Debbie Mason.



Ofcom

• United Kingdom
• Telecommunications
• 700 & Above Employee

• Broadcast Licensing Executive

  • Feb 2003 - May 2006

  With the ITC’s television broadcast licensing team I transferred directly into Ofcom in 2003. I dealt with the range of television broadcast licences, i.e. TLCS, DTPS etc… from licences applications, transfer requests, licence variations, channel name changes through to checking corporate structures and compliance procedures. I worked closely with the Content and Standards team on licensing matters. As well as attending the Content and Standards meetings regarding complaints for both television and radio content. During 2005 I transferred to the radio licensing team and worked on drafting papers for the Radio Licensing Committee in relation to community radio licence applications. In addition the new Community Radio Fund had to be established and I created the process for the first round of applications. Following the submission of applications I drafted papers and attended the meeting of the first Community Radio Fund Panel. In the course of my role I provided input and research for Ofcom’s consultation papers. Prior to the release of the new broadcasting code in July 2005 I worked directly with the Content and Standards team and Ofcom’s in house web team. This ensured the successful publication of the new broadcasting code on Ofcom’s website. I continued to work the web team to ‘tidy up’ the broadcasting pages for both television and radio.



Video Networks Ltd

• Broadcast Media Production and Distribution
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Business Affairs Executive

  • 1999 - 2002

  The experience gained at Video Networks included content acquisition, commissioning, licensing agreements, broadcast compliance, clearance of advertising for television and radio through to sign off for the monthly customer magazine, working closely with the web team on editorial matters, to developing a data protection policy. A great learning curve. The experience gained at Video Networks included content acquisition, commissioning, licensing agreements, broadcast compliance, clearance of advertising for television and radio through to sign off for the monthly customer magazine, working closely with the web team on editorial matters, to developing a data protection policy. A great learning curve.



Law Society

• London, United Kingdom

• Lexcel

  • 1998 - 1999