From Marketing and Comms to Managing Bids and Contracts

Recognising her need for a new challenge and an opportunity to leverage her business knowledge, KINNECT’s Marketing and Communications Specialist, Keely McMahon traded in her role to become the new Bids and Contracts Manager.

Keely first joined KINNECT part time in 2019 supporting the Bids and Contracts team with tender writing. Having just moved back to Australia after 14 years in Cardiff – and with her young kids starting at a new school – she was looking for a role where she could work from home a few hours per week.

Keely appreciated the genuine flexibility offered by KINNECT and the trust placed in her to work remotely. When COVID-19 struck and tenders became few and far between, Keely took on a new role as KINNECT’s Marketing and Communications Specialist, which she retained for more than two years.

Having started her professional career in PR and events, marketing was Keely’s bread and butter. In the UK she’d established huge campaigns for food and beverage awards, been Head of Communications for an NGO and worked in Business Development for a responsible business charity.

As Marketing and Communications Specialist, Keely maintained KINNECT’s online presence, supported the delivery teams by designing graphics, posters and presentations, provided guidance on simplifying technical information and developed programs to share the experiences of KINNECTers both internally and externally.

After more than a decade spent in marketing, Keely had seen firsthand how businesses grow and evolve, how their products and services change – and the delicate art of communicating this to customers along the way.

When the opportunity arose for her to apply her years of experience to managing KINNECT’s bids and contracts, Keely was excited to take on a new challenge.

“I was looking for a change in my day-to-day role and an opportunity to combine my professional skillset with the business knowledge I’d acquired in my years at KINNECT.”

Only a few months into the role, Keely has already tackled some big opportunities and is developing plans for the future of the team.

“One of the key things I hope to achieve is stronger alignment between the really hard work that our sales team do – and how that translates to securing work and then delivering a great onboarding experience for new clients,” said Keely.

Despite her expanded remit, she is still able to maintain part time hours, with the flexibility to scale up or down as needed.

Keely said, “I really appreciate the high level of trust that’s been placed in me to maintain this opportunity remotely. I get to live on the coast, spend heaps of time with my family but still maintain a big corporate job. It really suits me.”

When asked about her favourite part of working at KINNECT, Keely didn’t hesitate –

“Definitely the people. We are blessed at KINNECT with some excellent leaders and my manager, Jess (our Chief Compliance Officer / Head of Finance) is a delight to work. Anyone that’s done tenders knows it can get hectic. Jess always offers support and she’s prepared to step in at any time,” said Keely.

Keely’s journey at KINNECT is just one example of how unique career pathways can be tailored to individuals’ past skillsets and future aspirations.

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