Bidya Sapam
Washington DC,District Of Columbia
Summary
Experienced policy communications professional and former journalist, adept at crafting external narratives, developing content strategies, managing media relations and handling stakeholder engagement for global organizations such the Facebook's Oversight Board and the World Bank. With a background in journalism from Reuters and Press Trust of India, I bring a blend of storytelling prowess and strategic communication skills. As a former Fellow in Public Affairs at the Glen Echo Group, I contributed to shaping policy communications for leading tech companies
Overview
16
16
years of professional experience
Work History
COMMUNICATIONS CONSULTANT
World Bank
2023.05 - Current
- Led in developing communication and visibility plan for the Bank’s Digital Development Partnership (DDP) trust fund for its new strategy cycle
- Developed training modules on Operational Safety and Health, Violence and Harassment, A Gender Perspective for the Bank’s Infrastructure VPU
- Assisting in developing plans for revamping DDP's existing website
- Compiled inputs and results to develop narratives of impact stories
- Drafted and edited content for DDP's FY23 annual report
- Assisted in drafting key messaging and narratives for DDP’s result stories and annual report
- Led in compiling content and distributing DDP's bi-monthly newsletter to its internal team & external partners
SENIOR CONTENT AND MEDIA CONSULTANT
Communicate India
2023.05 - Current
- Strategizing content and media plans for both large and emerging companies in India.
- Writing authored articles, press releases and blogs for large mainstream Indian media on behalf business leaders.
- Assisting in strategizing branding, rebranding and image makeovers of Indian start ups, women led organizations across sectors.
FELLOW - POLICY COMMUNICATIONS
Glen Echo Group
2023.01 - 2023.05
- Supported in creating media outreach with over 100 American news outlets for annual State of the Net event, a leading platform for internet companies to raise policy issues.
- Provide media audits and daily coverage analysis of key clients to help improve its communication strategy
- Assisted in creating social media clippings of critical events and speakers for better reach globally
- Prepared daily report on influential lawmakers in the US to provide clients a regular overview of policy debates
- Written in-depth reports and discussions around privacy, anti-competition laws and content moderation issues for Google, Internetworks and Mozilla.
- Written reports on critical policy events led by leading think tanks - Brooking Institutions, Heritage Foundation and Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
PUBLIC POLICY COMMUNICATIONS INTERN
Meta's Oversight Board (OSB)
2022.05 - 2022.12
- Assisted in executing global engagement and outreach plans with UN agencies, UN Missions and international non-profit organizations including Amnesty International and Access Now.
- Written concept notes, discussion agenda for the Board to participate in UNHRC sessions in Geneva
- Drafted briefing documents and talking points for the Board members to represent in UNGA, Copenhagen Democracy Summit and US Government’s Summit for Democracy
- Mobilized public comments from over 100 regional bodies and human rights organizations in Asia, Africa and South America on Covid Misinformation policy, Online Hate Speech and other social media cases
- Successfully led in bringing over 50 civil society groups from South Asia to raise concerns about Meta's community standards and improve stakeholder participation from Global South.
- Created Oversight Board's first India engagement plan to mobilize public comments and improve stakeholder participation from regional bodies and civil society groups from India
GENERAL MANAGER - MEDIA RELATIONS & COMMUNICATIONS
Savills India
2020.03 - 2022.08
- Led in developing and implementing Savills India’s first country level external communications and media plan
- Set up media policy and content plans for 16 business verticals, doubling the overall presence of the company in Indian mainstream media in less than a year
- Collaborated across business divisions and team heads to generate opinion pieces for leading media houses like The Economic Times, The Hindu, Money Control and Financial Express
- Led in communicating critical business decisions to the public and personally handled external communications of key business leaders in the organization
STAFF WRITER
HT Mint
2015.04 - 2020.03
- Written extensively on India’s housing crisis, corporate battles, government reforms and consumer markets
- Led in breaking news of several mergers & acquisitions and financial transactions improving Mint’s overall coverage on important business developments in India
- Contributed special stories, long form articles and business features for the paper’s special editions
- Coordinated across bureau heads and reporters to generate in-depth stories across industries and sectors
ONLINE JOURNALIST
Thomson Reuters
2012.01 - 2014.07
- Written articles on social issues for Reuters India Insight page, improving Reuter’s overall reporting on India
- Edited news copies in coordination with global reporters for online readers in the UK and the US
- Managed Reuters’ news websites, social media handles by working closely with reporters/editors in the world
CORPORATE CORRESPONDENT
Press Trust Of India
2008.05 - 2012.01
- Covered India Economic Summit 2009, Tokyo Motor show 2011 and Delhi Auto shows 2010 & 2011- two of Asia's largest events in the automobile industries
- Reported extensively on India's retail, consumer, hospitality and auto industries
- Worked closely with editors/ reporters at foreign desk to ensure timely news coverage from foreign bureaus
- Edited copies of foreign wires and stories from reporters in overseas bureaus ensuring quality and uniformity
Education
Master of Arts - International Relations
The Fletcher School, Tufts University
Medford, MA05.2022
Visiting Student -
Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard University
Cambridge05.2022
Post Graduate Diploma - Broadcast Journalism
Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
New Delhi05.2006
Bachelor of Science - Botany
University of Delhi
New Delhi05.2005
Skills
- Research and Analysis
- Writing in-depth reports, press releases, blogs etc
- Policy Communications
- External engagement
- Communication Strategy
- Crisis Communication
- Media Relations
- Leadership and teamwork
- Corporate Communications
- Campaigns and Advocacy
Languages
English
Full Professional
Hindi
Professional Working
French
Limited Working
Manipuri
Native or Bilingual
Timeline
COMMUNICATIONS CONSULTANT
World Bank
2023.05 - Current
SENIOR CONTENT AND MEDIA CONSULTANT
Communicate India
2023.05 - Current
FELLOW - POLICY COMMUNICATIONS
Glen Echo Group
2023.01 - 2023.05
PUBLIC POLICY COMMUNICATIONS INTERN
Meta's Oversight Board (OSB)
2022.05 - 2022.12
GENERAL MANAGER - MEDIA RELATIONS & COMMUNICATIONS
Savills India
2020.03 - 2022.08
STAFF WRITER
HT Mint
2015.04 - 2020.03
ONLINE JOURNALIST
Thomson Reuters
2012.01 - 2014.07
CORPORATE CORRESPONDENT
Press Trust Of India
2008.05 - 2012.01
Master of Arts - International Relations
The Fletcher School, Tufts University
Visiting Student -
Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard University
Post Graduate Diploma - Broadcast Journalism
Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
Bachelor of Science - Botany
University of Delhi
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