Meet the Team: Shirah Bamber

Let’s start with the basics…

I’m Shirah Bamber – Canadian born but grew up all over the place, including 7 years in Australia…but I’ve lived in Lancashire since 2004. 

I live with my other half, two teenage boys, a Frenchie called Monty and a house full of plants.

Your career at a glance…

I am a comms geek. I have been working in communications for almost 15 years, and although my career started in the third sector at a local charity called The Foxton Centre, I have spent a considerable amount of time working in local government. Bringing in valuable private sector experience, my last in-house role was at Network Plus, a national infrastructure and utilities company, and its sister companies Go Traffic Management and Network Plus Multi Utilities.

“Head of Communications” is a title that can mean a lot of different things. Over the last 5 or more years, I have had a wide remit of responsibilities from social media management to destination marketing, brand creation to website development, and partnership engagement to standing in for interviews on live television. And that’s before you look at the “and…” part of my previous titles, such as Policy and Best Practice! 

Notable moments from your career?

Well, there was the time I was surrounded by construction workers at 7am, practicing the unveiling of a 7’ bronze Wallace and Gromit Statue with a children’s parachute…I’m 5’4,” it was quite the sight.

On a less ridiculous note, leading communications for Preston through the pandemic will always be noteworthy. I was part of a small task force for the city making key decisions, translating the ever-changing restrictions and guidelines, and doing everything we could to support residents. The hours were very long, the goal posts constantly changing, and many days it felt like an impossible task. But, looking back, I am incredibly proud of what we were able to achieve through that collaboration and how my (small!) team was able to flex and adapt, and still deliver such a high quality service. We were working all hours of the day to manage very active social media accounts, produce leafets/billboards/posters/takeaway lids…you name it, we did it, and then we did more.

What/where did you study?

I love studying, so am always up for new courses and qualifications. 

Most notably, I have a Masters in Strategic Communication from the University of Central Lancashire, and an ILM diploma in Leadership and Management.

More interestingly, I did my BA in a tiny university on the East Coast of Canada that had a brilliant travel programme – I spent 2 ½ months travelling around Europe, having and delivering lectures at the sites we were talking about, and 2 /12 months travelling around South East Asia studying religion and culture. 

My Interdiscplinary Studies (majors in Culture & Literature) didn’t exactly provide me with a directly marketable set of skills, but it was brilliant!

What do you like to do when you’re not working?

I am a proper foodie, so I LOVE discovering new places and returning to trusty oldies that serve gorgeous food – extra points if they have a good gin selection.

As the nights are starting to draw in, my favourite time of day is the hour before my youngest goes to bed – we put a record on and read on the couch. 

What was your first job?

If we count babysitting – that. 

Otherwise, I worked as a checkout girl at a grocery store called the Superstore (think Tesco, but in Canada).

What did you want to be when you were a kid?

Lots of things! When I was 6, I wanted to be a dentist. When I was 12, a criminologist. And somewhere along the way I developed a real interest in architecture, but was scared that I’d spent too many years doing boring things so didn’t go into it.

What advice would you give someone looking to start their career in comms?

Communications roles can be vastly different, depending on where you work. But in my experience, the people who thrive are those who are inherently creative, can think on their feet and care about what they do. 

In comms, there will always be more that you could do. You have to learn to be confident in deciding what is good enough, how to prioritise your time, and how to collaborate with other people to be more effective. And if you want to be the most senior comms person, you need to be prepared to say things that senior people might not want to hear – and know which battles not to fight.