Open Reference Mun Ho, Head of Marketing To Whom It May Concern: Ho Si Mun joined Nexus International School in July 2012 and has been an outstanding employee in every respect from the first week until the present day. It was very quickly established that Mun’s intellectual capacity, creativity, work ethic and ability to think strategically meant that she was functioning at a different level to the one for which she was appointed. It was therefore decided to take the unusual step to promote her to Head of Marketing after just a few months of service and to appoint an Executive to work under her. This allowed us to make the most of Mun’s skill set. Within a year, it was evident to all that Mun had become of critical importance to Nexus and increasingly invaluable. With her line manager being appointed as the Strategic Marketing Lead for Nexus Schools within Taylor’s Schools, the opportunity arose for Mun to gain further managerial experience. After less than one year of service, Mun was established in a more strategic and managerial role, with responsibilities across the two schools (one in Singapore, one in Malaysia), travelling frequently between the two sites and Taylor’s Head Office in KL. By this time, Mun was successfully managing a department of three in Singapore, alongside her additional group-wide responsibilities. Mun’s organisational skills and strategic analysis of partner reports were crucial in establishing an effective working framework for the marketing of Nexus Schools. On a more practical level, Mun is the key point of contact for maintaining effective relationships with our Creative Agency, Media Agency and PR Agency. She has proven herself flexible and knowledgeable; this adaptability and intellectual capacity have been invaluable in maintaining productive, efficient and cost effective relationships with partners. Mun retains an in-depth knowledge of SEM, SEO, display marketing (online and print) and PR strategies, most of which she refined from the agency advice to provide better results and outcomes more applicable for our market sector. It is here that Mun once again displays significant strengths. She is capable of truly understanding the needs of different stakeholders within a particular market. Although not educated internationally herself, this was no disadvantage. Mun displayed an instant and innate affinity with colleagues, academics, parents and learners, which allowed her to quickly settle and understand the nature of international school education in Singapore. What she didn’t know, she was very quick to learn as she assimilates new information and to new environments quickly. As an educational institution that must always convey the highest standards of written communication, finding staff capable of the highest standards of English language use, spelling, punctuation and grammar, has proven extraordinarily difficult. Once again, Mun excels. From drafting copy for a variety of marketing collaterals, to editing the 160-page

 

 

yearbook, to proof-reading the Principal’s newsletter, we have the highest confidence in her written communication skills. In addition to the more traditional areas of marketing that Mun has managed for us that I have already mentioned, she also brought a digital focus to our efforts to communicate with our target audience. Since Mun joined us, and thanks largely to her, we have a vibrant and popular Facebook site that leads a coordinated social media presence. We have developed a media-rich web provision with 15 videos that convey the ethos of the school. 14 of those videos were professionally produced and the 15th, our Chinese language video, was scripted, shot, produced and edited by Mun herself. Further demonstrating her flexibility as a true all-rounder, Mun also single-handedly led the organization of our major events which were planned with precision, involved numerous vendors and hundreds of participants, and were a great success. Alongside all of her marketing, task and people management skills, it should be remembered that Mun is also beautifully creative. It is due to her creative flair and interpretation of our Corporate Identity guidelines that the school physical space and its collaterals are those of a modern, innovative, vibrant place of learning. Ultimately we are all judged on results. Since Mun joined Nexus, enquiries and applications are running at record levels and we have grown from a school of 320 students to 720 in those two years. Brand awareness has increased dramatically, as has positive word-of-mouth, both within the physical community and online. Whilst the unparalleled success of this school has been a genuine team effort over the last two years, Mun has been a crucial part of that team and its success. She would carry my highest possible recommendation and I would be happy to provide further testimony to her dedication and ability should it be required. Mun will be a huge loss to Nexus, but it is only right that we recognize talented individuals and the time is right for Mun to operate at a higher level in an organization, a level that unfortunately we are not able to provide for her. Should she leave, she will take our best wishes and our confidence that she will be as successful in her future endeavours as she has been here. Yours faithfully ---- David Wade Deputy Principal Head of Strategic Marketing for Nexus Schools wade.d@nexus.edu.sg