Jina Phenix BEM, Head of Partnership Relations at Phoenix Media Partners Co., Ltd. is one of Thailand’s most prominent women working within international business circles. K. Jina is well-renowned from her role of Business Development Manager at the British Chamber of Commerce Thailand, where she spent a decade promoting regional business interests.
In December 2023, she was awarded the British Empire Medal (BEM) by HM King Charles III in the New Year Honours list for services to British nationals in Thailand as the Covid-19 pandemic unfolded. She is currently heading an initiative which hopes to improve English skills among Thais with Phoenix Media and Pearson, the global learning firm, teaming up.
Globe recently had the chance to sit down for an interview with Jina, who shared some of her biggest accomplishments during her time with the BCCT, why she has joined a digital marketing firm focusing on education, and how she sees language learning progressing.
I was able to achieve quite a lot during my tenure with the BCCT. I had success increasing our annual partners, including top-tier sterling partners, whilst growing sponsorship levels to their highest ever. Under my supervision, membership numbers grew to be 600 for the first time in 70 years, and the BCCT’s digital marketing channels were also established. In 2013, we went on to initiate the Chamber’s social media pages. Another of the significant milestones was our digital handbook, introduced during Covid-19. I was also in charge of setting up a digital voting system for the Annual General Meeting that we needed during the pandemic. Moreover, I actively set up and managed a Covid-19 vaccination program, to support our members, and the British expat community, as the health crisis escalated.
When you enjoy facing challenges, everything becomes easy and possible! As a Business Development Manager, one needs to be very creative, think outside the box and stay one step ahead of everyone else. However when working with certain organizations, we must adhere to rules and regulations and likely encounter various delays. Therefore, if the new enterprise ties will be beneficial to those involved then it is important to press on with the business development process, and to work hard to convince stakeholders to agree with your plans. My selling and negotiation skills are quite strong, so I can convince people to agree with most of my development plans, which is a crucial ability, considering my role.
It is a new beginning, a new adventure, a new chapter, for me. A new project! I have years of experience in the digital field, and I am rather dynamic. Education holds a special place in my heart, and my dream is to see improvement in educational standards and language proficiency in Thailand, with the aim that the country reaches Asia’s top three, eventually. When I was offered the opportunity to establish a digital language learning platform here in Thailand I jumped on board straight away. It has been quite the transition coming from such a well-known organisation that has been going for over 78 years – I went from Jina BCCT Angel to The Digital Jina! It is the start of an all-new identity that I’m now building.
I’d say with an abundance of digital content already available, the challenge lies in getting noticed. Given the plethora of digital tools at our disposal, it is really important to focus on the right market to ensure increased visibility. As a channel that is accessible to everyone, we have tremendous opportunities to reach our target audience, particularly now that the Thai government is promoting language learning via different initiatives and programmes.
I am dedicated to going the extra mile, and I always try to stand in other people’s shoes. It would be fantastic for the General English Standard (GES) to be recognised as a universal qualification. In addition, I would love for our testing processes to become well-renowned for delivering fast and accurate results, and for our bite-sized English learning methods to become popular, especially amongst professionals. It would be so rewarding to introduce and market these leading-edge solutions directly to HR departments, giving me a chance to emphasize how they hugely contribute to progressing overall workforce development.
Education and lessons extend beyond the normal classroom setting: a concept that, while not new, often takes time for people to appreciate. In today’s fast-paced world it is pivotal for this younger generation to be in possession of a number of skills to keep up with their peers, and language proficiency is one of these required skills. To effectively reach them, we bring languages directly to the devices they use frequently, ie their mobile phones, in a way that they are certain to love, which is through gaming! This will allow them to learn subconsciously. The goal is to blend learning with play, to make the educational process fun and entertaining. We strive to make learning languages not just enjoyable, but also a touch addictive with a competitive edge, as teams take part in various group challenges.
You can visit www.phonenixmedia.co.th to find out further information about Jina’s role at Phoenix Media, and to explore the agency’s services. Its phone number is 02-038-5400.
