Member Article

This week's North East appointments

A roundup of the latest job moves from across the North East.

Liz Mayes, Common Room of the Great North

Liz Mayes will be leaving her role as Region Director of EEF, The Manufacturers’ Organisation, in July to become the founding Director of the Common Room of the Great North.

The Common Room is being set up to take over and manage the assets of one of the UK’s oldest professional institutions, The North of England Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers in Newcastle.

The Institute was founded in 1852 ‘to advance the science and art of mining’ and to reduce the tremendous toll of death and accidents in the industry.

From the beginning it acted as a hub for local engineers, industrialists and academics focused on the safe and profitable extraction of the coal that fuelled the industrial revolution globally. Notable members included its founding President, Nicholas Wood, Robert Stephenson and Lord Armstrong.

Having thrived for 150 years, the Institute’s fortunes declined alongside the British Coal industry until, in November 2016, it was awarded funding of £4.7m by the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Liz joins the newly formed Common Room of the Great North to oversee the redevelopment project, but also to put in place a business plan to help sustain the Mining Institute itself and its assets of building and collections into the future.

Liz said: “I’m really excited to get involved with this project, anyone who’s visited the Institute knows that it’s a hidden gem both in terms of the building itself, but also in terms of the incredible collection they have.

“I will be focusing on how we make the Institute relevant again for modern North East industry and most importantly get the next generation of apprentices and engineers involved in its future.”

The Chair of The Common Room, Tony Pender, said: “I look forward to working with Liz in ensuring that our building is once again, a hub for North East industry and a centre for debate on the economic and social development of the region”

The President of the Mining Institute, Catherine Miller, said: “Liz’s appointment will enable a step change in our activity and profile. We will work to ensure the project works for the whole of the North East and supports our industrial legacy, and equally important, our future role.”

Lauren Archer, Visualsoft

eCommerce and Digital agency Visualsoft has appointed Lauren Archer as Head of Brand Marketing, as part of the company’s newly-launched business model.

Lauren, who previously led the Marcomms function at Silverbean for three years, was named in the The Drum’s annual list of top-performing women in digital in 2015, the Top 50 under 30, and authors online food blog Scran on the Tyne.

Snapped up by Visualsoft, Lauren will lead the internal Brand Marketing team to create best-in-class content, events and thought leadership, whilst playing a key role in the launch of the firm’s ‘Shared Success’ model.

Dean Benson, CEO at Visualsoft: “The appointment of Lauren into this position marks a significant point in our almost 20 years of trading.

“We’re going bolder than we ever have before and in doing so, Visualsoft needed a Brand Marketing leader who could help us reach that potential and showcase our expertise to the right people, whilst continuing to improve our reputation as an outstanding employer.

“Myself and the Board of Directors are thrilled to have her on board and look forward to seeing what she brings to Visualsoft.”

Lauren added: “I’m delighted to have been offered the fantastic opportunity to lead the Brand Marketing team at Visualsoft.

“I’ve admired the company from afar for some time and feel really proud to be working for a nationally-recognised and award-winning eCommerce and Digital agency, especially one that’s always progressing, innovating and leading the way.

“Shared Success is a really exciting and disruptive proposition, so I can’t wait for us to start making real waves in the industry!”

Nicola Short, Gradvert

Talent development company Gradvert has appointed experienced brand manager Nicola Short to its team.

The Newcastle-based business offers graduate recruitment and leadership and management training to help organisations attract, recruit and retain top talent.

Boasting clients such as Go-Ahead, British Athletics, Sharps Bedrooms, Veolia and Polygon, as well as many of the UK’s leading universities, Gradvert also acts as a consultant to businesses on the Apprenticeship Levy.

A specialist in business planning and marketing strategy, Nicola was previously campaign manager for the high profile Jeremy4Mayor campaign.

Prior to that she was employed as head of communications at UNW chartered accountants and held the role of chief executive of the Entrepreneurs Forum.

Nicola said: “Gradvert is a dynamic company with an ambitious management team who understand the skills arena and the importance of finding talent early and then nurturing and growing individuals once they’re hired.

“My role is engage with Gradvert’s many stakeholders to promote the strength and depth of our services, reinforce the relationships we already have in place and support the sales team as our expansion across the UK continues.”

Michaela Reaney, Gradvert’s managing director, added: “Nicola’s reputation goes before her and her energy and commitment makes her an excellent fit with the team.

“Our services have been developed to help universities produce work-ready graduates, and businesses grow through hiring and developing the very best employees. We now plan to scale our offering and Nicola’s knowledge and expertise is well placed to help us achieve our goals.”

The Parsons Containers Group

Sedgefield-headquartered shipping container and self-storage business the Parsons Containers Group, has made four significant internal promotions to newly created roles.

Dean Tempest has been promoted to operations manager, having initially joined the business as an apprentice in 2007.

Dean, from Wheatley Hill, has gained valuable experience in a variety of accounts and operations roles over the past decade while studying for Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) NEBOSH qualifications, and a foundation degree.

He is now responsible for ensuring the smooth and efficient day-to-day running of the group’s businesses, comprising Parsons Containers Ltd which sells standard and bespoke containers, U Hold The Key self-storage, and national online brands ContainerContainer and Containers Now.

Meanwhile, Steph Dewison, from Stockton-on-Tees, has been appointed as customer services manager for U Hold The Key. Steph joined Parsons Containers in 2004 and has been at the forefront of providing a high quality service to U Hold The Key customers over the past 13 years. Her promotion to customer services manager with a group-wide remit is designed to further strengthen Parsons’ management team.

In addition, Jane Alderson, from Sedgefield, steps up to the role of credit control manager, reflecting her first-class experience of credit control and her significant impact on the financial success of the business over the past nine years. And Ryan Tempest, from Wheatley Hill, has been appointed as marketing technician.

With a degree in graphic design, Ryan has helped to create a strong visual brand for the group since joining in 2015. His input, combined with specialist external marketing communications support, is boosting business growth.

Ean Parsons, managing director of the Parsons Containers Group, said: “The promotions are a reflection of the hard work and positive impact that Dean, Steph, Jane and Ryan have already had on our business and I am sure that they will continue to flourish with their new roles and responsibilities.”

Join us next week for more North East appointment news.