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Name - Tom Griffin, B.B.S., C.E.L.T.A.
Date of Birth - 13 June, 1969
Professional Experience
December 2001 - Present : Founded, managed and grew “Englischunterricht-in-Berlin GbR”, a B2B partnership providing German companies and professionals with in-house training from a team of 7 top quality teachers. The work involved making our pitch to potential clients, liasing with HR officers, creating needs analyses, designing customized course content, feedback using questionnaires and focus groups. Successfully ran 23 courses over 22 months, providing training to 108 individuals. Clients included Hertz, TÜV, E & E Information consultants, MQ Software, EFEU landscape architects etc.
September 1998 - Present : Group and one-to-one lessons as freelance English language trainer of general and business English from beginner to advanced level. Personalized training tailored to individuals and in-house company training. Clients and specialized course content included public relations, management consultancy, computer technology, marketing, banking, taxation, insurance, architecture, media, hotel and catering, real estate, fashion, law, accountancy and “English for Politics” for one member of German Bundestag parliament.
Mar 99 - Present : Group and one-to-one lessons at British Council, Berlin. Teaching work later evolved into administrative work, website design, email campaigns, customer relations, interviewing, placement tests and sales. Conducted competitor analysis of 11 rival schools leading to suggested changes in price mix.
Mar 98 - Mar 99 : Group and one-to-one lessons at Akademie fuer Fremdsprachen, Berlin
November 1998 : Oral Examiner for the London Chamber of Commerce & Industry examinations at Akademie fuer Fremdsprachen, Berlin, Germany
Related Experience
June, 2003 : Designed and wrote eLearning English teaching material on CD Rom aimed at 14 - 16 year old target group for Cornelson publishing house, Berlin, meeting 20 day deadline ahead of schedule.
October 2002 - Present : Conducted 9 CELTA presentations to trainee English teachers in Cambridge course, advising 80+ teachers on marketing and client acquisition issues, working in Berlin, tax issues, legal formalities and cultural sensitivity.
February 2002 - Present : Initiated and launched a successful online marketing liaison between a nationwide network of 41 English teachers, schools and institutions in Germany. Grew the list by selling it to potential affiliates as a win-win marketing situation using free website promotion. Achieved top 5 ranking in Yahoo and Google search engines. http://www.englischunterricht-in-deutschland.de
2001, 2002 : Publication of various articles in ELTABB newsletter (English Language Teaching Association Berlin & Brandenburg), Germany
November 2000 : Initiated talks with Oxford University Press to successfully pitch to and sell them on the commissioning of written teaching material to supplement their “Headway” series. Subsequently negotiated price and designed 24 topical discussion Talksheets© using an innovative teaching idea against tight deadlines.
Other Employment
Oct 93 - Sept 98: Carer for the elderly (´Hauspfleger´), Caritas e.V., Berlin
Summer 1992 - Fall 1993: Statistics office, British Telecom, London (Agency employment)
Education & Training
Mar 98 - June 98 : Cambridge University CELTA (Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults) at Akademie fuer Fremdsprachen, Berlin.
1987 - 1992 : Bachelor of Business Studies Degree awarded by Waterford Regional Technical College, Ireland. Relevant coursework: marketing, business strategy, accountancy, product management, cost accounting, auditing, finance, economics, company law, information technology, personnel management, mathematics & statistics.
Language skills
German - fluent conversation and writing skills (“Grosses Deutsches Sprachdiplom“ awarded by Goethe Institute, Berlin)
English - native speaker
French - intermediate
Irish - intermediate
Memberships
Member of ELTABB (English Language Teaching Association Berlin & Brandenburg)
Member of CIM (Chartered Institute of Marketing), UK