Member Article

This week’s North East appointments

Jayne Tomlinson, Nicki Armstrong, Carl Horsman and Dawn Moore, Darlington Building Society

Darlington Building Society has made a major investment in its staff team with the appointment of new talent across the business.

Four new Branch Managers have been appointed with Jayne Tomlinson, Nicki Armstrong, Carl Horsman and Dawn Moore taking the reins at the Cockerton, Guisborough, Barnard Castle and Stockton branches respectively.

The Branch managers have varied responsibilities including interviewing customers for mortgages, savings and home insurance, training and developing staff and networking in their local communities.

Colin Fyfe, Chief Executive of Darlington Building Society, said: “We are pleased to welcome four new Branch Managers, who will be ‘the face’ of Darlington Building Society in the towns in which they will work.

“Our new Customer Service Consultants also fulfil a valuable role in ensuring our branches offer first class customer service. They will be given every opportunity to become Branch Managers of the future.”

Liam Johnson, RPS

Teesside packaging recovery company RPS has taken on a local graduate apprentice, Liam Johnson.

After successfully completing a one year apprentice with RPS, Liam, from Eaglescliffe, has secured a fulltime position as a fork lift driver.

Jez Norton, RPS’ site manager, said: “I’m thrilled to call Liam an official RPS employee during this crucial time for us. I’ve been working closely with Liam for 12 months now, so this is a very proud moment for me.

“Liam has matured during this process and become a conscientious part of the team. We will continue to provide training for him and help him to achieve his goals of a higher NVQ level.”

Karl Graham, Reed Business Support

Sunderland-based Reed Business Support has appointed Karl Graham to join its team of two, which comprises of Anthony McDermott (Permanent Staffing Needs) and Dominic Gold (Temporary Staffing Needs), as the company’s new candidate resourcer.

Anthony said: “Karl has joined from working with a number of different recruitment firms based largely in the South Wales area. With his wealth of experience and excellent people skills, Karl will be a great addition to the team.”

Natalie Devonshire, Olly Lawson and Laura Foad, Harvey and Hugo

Darlington-based PR and social media agency has made its second appointment in three months.

Harvey & Hugo first appointed Laura Foad as an account manager, then welcomed its newest member, Natalie Devonshire, on board as a PR and social media executive.

Laura arrived from The Gazette with a wealth of writing experience, and as a former teacher and keen sportswoman is well suited to both Harvey & Hugo’s sports, leisure and education clients.

Referring to her recent move she said: “It’s an honour to have joined a company with such a strong reputation. The portfolio is so varied which really suits my skill set, I’m also getting involved in lots of exciting projects.”

Laura, from Newcastle, added: “I chose Harvey & Hugo because I believe in its ethos based around sharing positivity and celebrating success within the North East.”

In addition Olly Lawson, who has over five years’ marketing and advertising experience, has moved into the role of business development manager.

Chris Wood, Crowne Plaza Newcastle

The Crowne Plaza Newcastle – Stephenson Quarter has appointed experienced chef Chris Wood to head up a team of 20 chefs and kitchen porters at its brassiere Hawthorns and The GIN Bar. The team will also provide meals for room service and catering for events.

Chris, 32, said: “I’m passionate about being in the kitchen and using the best fresh and locally sourced ingredients to create fantastic dishes for people to enjoy. The great thing about the Crowne Plaza Newcastle is that we’re encouraged to be imaginative with the menus. As we’re independently run, it’s not a standard branded hotel and we have been able to mix a lot of the local identity into everything we do.”

James Fletcher, Naylors

Naylors has appointed a new graduate surveyor to assist in their busy office agency department.

The Newcastle-based property consultancy has appointed James Fletcher, who has recently graduated from Northumbria University with a degree in Estate Management.

James previously gained work experience in his sandwich year at Sanderson Weatherall and Intu, where he worked in retail agency and shopping centre management in addition to carrying out office agency work.

James said: “After gaining my work experience in a commercial agency environment I was very keen to secure a job in an agency role. I was attracted to Naylors due to its young and expanding team and the recent successes of the office agency department. I am very excited about working with one of the North East’s leading independent property consultancies.”

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