Sector Ambassadors are a facility offered by the Chamber and one that can really benefit membership. The Chamber’s Sector Ambassadors are an important channel that members can use to ensure their voice is heard on both local and national issues.

The role of the Sector Ambassadors is:

- To be accessible to Chamber members within their sector;

- To speak up on issues that affect members;

- To attend events to represent members' interests.

Chamber Member, Stefan Drew, explains his role as the SME Sector Ambassador:

"Sector Ambassadors are similar to account managers in that they are there to help you and your business, but there is one big difference. Your Sector Ambassador is a Chamber Member and runs, or works in, a business similar to yours. This means they have a broad understanding of the issues that you face and they talk your language. They are also elected members of the Chamber Council and have the opportunity to report their Sector’s issues back to Council, on a quarterly basis. Decisions can then be made on how the Chamber can help. In some cases it will be a local matter and can be dealt with locally. On other occasions the issue will need to be referred nationally and could form the basis of a major policy or lobbying exercise.

"Sector Ambassadors have been appointed for a number of key sectors including creative industries, construction, professional and financial services, manufacturing and retail. In some cases more than one Ambassador has been appointed and they will work together to aggregate the contacts made to them and will jointly report to Council.

"A Sector Ambassador has a brief to 'understand and articulate the needs of their sector and to represent the wider Chamber membership'. Being volunteers with businesses to run the needs of their sector and business will dictate how they work. In all cases they can however be contacted by email. In addition to this they will often be found at Chamber events, including new member inductions."

Who is your Sector Ambassador? Click here to find out.