Emma Sheppard, head of PR for St John Ambulance, doesn’t just promote her organisation, she promotes life-saving strategies for us all.

Emma Sheppard is head of PR for St John Ambulance where she manages the 12-strong PR team, promoting the charity and how first aid means the difference between life and death, as well as the organisation’s commercial work. St John Ambulance has recently won two CIPR Excellence Awards.
 
My day
 
7.30am: Woken up by the news headlines on the radio. Check emails and Durrants/Google/PA alerts on iPhone to ensure there’s nothing urgent that needs responding to. Also check my calendar for the day ahead so I know what’s coming up.
 
Jump in the shower. As I get ready, I always have BBC Breakfast on. I love Bill and Sian and I’m gutted that the move to Salford will mean an end to their dynamic. It’s always an extra thrill if we get something on Breakfast.
 
8.45am: I check St John Ambulance’s Facebook page on the train to work and see a comment about first aid at an event that needs responding to when I get in. Send a text to friends arranging where to meet this evening for dinner.
 
9.30am: I’m in the office, having a quick scan through the newspapers while my computer boots up. I check my to-do list in my old-school ring-bound notebook. I love my iPhone – especially the St John Ambulance app (shameless plug) – but it’s hard to beat the satisfaction of physically ticking off completed actions.
 
10.00am: We’ve just launched the new St John Ambulance First Aid Awards which I’m project-managing. It’s going to be an event recognising individuals, communities and businesses leading the way in first aid. I take a look at the trophy designs and discuss with creative services – we quite like a brushed aluminium design, but it needs a few modifications. Make some edits to the sponsor-pack copy and feed all this back to Caspian Media which is helping us with the event.
 
11.00am: Team meeting to discuss what we want to achieve in the week ahead, update each other on issues and decide social media posts. One of the team has seen a moving, life-saving story which will be great for our Facebook and Twitter pages.
 
11.30am: Meeting to discuss Teachthedifference.org.uk, the website we run with WICKED, the musical, to encourage the teaching of first aid. We share ideas for a new video resource.
 
12.30pm: Check over some first aid copy one of the team has put together for a magazine feature and approve Facebook/Twitter posts. Respond to emails.
 
1.00pm: Unless we’re up against a tough deadline, I try and encourage everyone to take a lunch break. The sun is shining so we take our lunch to the park. We head back to the office via the newsagents for a team-bonding Magnum-eating session. 
 
1.45pm: We’re fortunate to have The Mail on Sunday and HSW magazine as media partners for the First Aid Awards so I check over a briefing for a celebrity that is being interviewed by the former. Also book in a tasting session to decide the ceremony’s menu and listen to some band options online. We want to ensure this event is high-quality as well as motivational.
 
3.00pm: Fortnightly catch-up call with agency Golin Harris, although we speak and email throughout the day. It looks after our corporate PR programme so we discuss a speaking engagement that’s coming up and editorial for City AM to help us get across the importance of workplaces training staff in first aid. Golin Harris also assists us with consumer and digital work so we talk tactics for an upcoming awareness campaign and the best way to engage with our fans. I love working with everyone at the agency – they’re very much part of the team.
 
3.30pm: Start work on a report on the last two months’ activity for our trustees. It’s important to demonstrate how the PR team contributes to our organisation’s objectives. I’m a little obsessed with metrics.
 
5.00pm: Have a call with a promotions agency we’re working with for a link-up with a national newspaper. Speak to our training department about what’s possible in the timeframe and commence work on it.
 
6.30pm: Head to Soho to catch up with friends over dinner and a glass or two of something with bubbles. After all, I have to practise toasting winners of the First Aid Awards!