Jonny Winter
Communications and Marketing Manager at Forestry England
Key Details:
| Current industry | Visitor Economy & Tourism |
|---|---|
| School attended | Keswick School |
| College/training attended | Keswick School |
| University attended | University of Manchester |
| Year completed GCSEs | 2007 |
| Favourite lessons at school | English, History, Maths |
Q&A
— Give a short overview of your career journey after school
After completing A-Levels at Keswick School I studied at the University of Manchester for a BA (Hons.) in Ancient History and then an MA in Classics & Ancient History. After graduating I returned home to Cumbria and spent nearly five years working for Cumbria Tourism in a range of marketing and communications roles, particularly focussing on corporate communications, influencer marketing and press trip organisation before joining Forestry England in 2021. In this role I cover marketing and communications for forests across the north of England including Whinlatter and Grizedale in Cumbria.
— What do you love about your job?
The variety! Every day's different, I can be planning or evaluating marketing campaigns one day and then be out and about photographing forestry or biodiversity work the next.
— What piece of advice would you give to young people about finding their best next step?
Give things a go - the more experiences you take up the more chance you have of finding what roles and industries work for you. There's a fantastic range of work experience and volunteer experience opportunities in Cumbria (check the Centre for Leadership Performance website for a great list) as well as great organisations like Cumbria Scouts.
— What three essential skills do you think have helped you to be successful in your job?
Creativity, Aiming High, Leadership.
— What advice would you give to someone considering working in your industry?
Take the time to learn from colleagues - good marketing is all about storytelling and it's your job to find the things in day to day activities that will really resonate with audiences.
— What is the best piece of advice you have been given that has helped you on your career journey?
Pick your battles - save your energy for those causes that really mean something to you - as well as helping save your energy things are always more powerful when coming from a place of authenticity.