Judges

Click the yellow boxes to reveal or hide more details about this years judges.

Lisa Collen
HR & Development Manager, BBC East
"Working in the media industry is a privilege"

Working at the BBC is an honour. Working with Archant on their Recruitment Awards is an absolute pleasure!

"I have been involved with the Recruitment Awards for a number of years; firstly as someone who entered, then as a Judge and on the Steering Group determining the way ahead for the Awards. Having been part of the journey with Archant in moving these prestigious and highly competitive awards to a new professional level, I am delighted to accept the mantel of Mentor to my fellow Judges as well as acting as a Judge again for another year.

Building on the success of last years Recruitment Awards, as a team of six judges, we will again aim to make the whole process from your application to the results much more credible, by using measurable and transparent competency based questions for each Award. "My career has spanned from junior to senior HR roles in both the public and private sector. My background is in Business and HR Management and my current role is about working in partnership with the BBC Radio, Online and TV senior managers within the BBC Eastern Region. My objective is to have realistic and measurable strategies in place to ensure the BBC has the right people, at the right time, with the right skills, at the right cost to support the delivery of our creative output within a multi-media and ever developing environment.

"As with many people today, I will be juggling many balls over the next few months, with managing my day job, mentoring and coaching my fellow Recruitment Award Judges, Judging the Awards and visiting a number of the Companies who submit entries for some of our selected Awards this year. Oh, and not forgetting to be a wife, sister, friend and mother and having lots of fun along the way!"

Helen Walsham
Corporate Services Director of Academy Flagship Housing Group
Helen has 20 years experience in the fields of HR and Training.

Helen has worked in both the public and private sector. A Fellow of the Institute of Personnel and Development and a former winner of the CIPD John Bradbury Award, she takes HR best practice very seriously, always looking for opportunities to champion those who strive for high standards.

That's what I like most about the Norfolk Recruitment Awards, says Helen. They encourage those in our field to raise the bar. Helen's wealth of experience comes from working in a variety of industries including transport, construction and the financial sector. "I must admit some of my happiest times were working with 250 accountants!" she says.

Helen joined Flagship Housing Group, the largest provider of affordable housing in the Eastern Region, as Director of Academy in August 2005. With a staff of 560, Helen is responsible for all aspects of HR and Training as well as Health and Safety, Continuous Improvement and Regulation. Of her job, Helen says, "It is incredibly varied and challenging and the pace of change in the sector is phenomenal." When not at work, Helen, who lives in South Norfolk with her husband and three children, enjoys gardening and travel.

Paul Awcock
Aviva
17 years experience of working with the recruitment industry.

Over 20 years experience of working within the recruitment industry, initially working for a small independent Recruitment agencies in Sussex and Cheshire.

In 1998 Norwich Union acquired ITT London & Edinburgh, where I was managing a Master Vendor service, and I was offered a role as a Senior HR Consultant within the Worthing office and National Relationship Manager for all Preferred Suppliers (Rec't Agencies). In 2000 I was promoted to HR Business Manager – Recruitment, looking after a national team of Consultants aligned to Norwich Union Operations (high volume).

June 2005 I was seconded in to the role of Head of HR – Recruitment Operations and converted to permanent in December 2005. I currently lead a function of c34fte, with 7 direct reports. Our customer portfolio includes Aviva General Insurance (includes RAC Brand), Aviva Life, Aviva Health, and Aviva Group Centre – the entire UK Region!

I have teams based in London, Norwich, Worthing & York and we deliver a consultancy service to our customer base across 15 key locations managing up to 7500 vacancies per year.

I have judged the CIPD/Guardian recruitment awards and the RADS as well as sat on the committee's and steering groups for both. I am also privileged to be both judge and sponsor for the Norfolk Recruitment Awards. I am an active member of the CIPD Recruitment Forum and chair/present at events throughout the year.

Andrew Sherwood
Bernard Matthews
Andrew started his career in sales at The Carphone Warehouse.

He joined the company in 1994 before the big expansion across the UK and Europe had begun. Andrew had a number of operational roles including Area Sales Manager, Divisional Sales Manager and Commercial Manager (Ireland) before being appointed HR Director (UK) and then Group HR Services Director. Whilst at The Carphone Warehouse, the HR team developed effective recruitment processes to support the rapid expansion of the business, focusing in particular on employer branding and driving direct recruitment through its website. The company also won Retail Week Employer of the Year and were included regularly in The Sunday Times "Top 100 Companies to Work For" listings.

Andrew made the move to Norfolk in 2006 joining Bernard Matthews, where he was given the remit to modernise the Human Resources Department, which is now well under way. "There is a big contrast in cultures between The Carphone Warehouse and Bernard Matthews in many ways, but fundamentally the people issues that are faced are the same â€“ attracting and retaining the right talent. Bernard Matthews is a fascinating place to work and the focus is on streamlining HR processes, improving internal communication and getting all parts of the team working to create a successful future."

Andrew loves Norfolk life and believes the county should do more to promote itself. It is a great place to do business and a wonderful place to live and bring up a family.

Sharon Turner
Sharon is a qualified accountant
with over 30 years experience.

Sharon has worked in both the Banking and Financial Services Industry. Originally from Norfolk she began her career at Barclays transferring to work in London in the 70s and subsequently working in Investment Banking where latterly she specialised in Venture Capital, construction of Hedge Funds and marketing.

In 1998 she left the Investment Banking Industry to join Central Trust - a financial services company founded by her husband Andrew where she assumed joint responsibility for developing and growing the company.

During the course of her career she has gained vast experience in recruitment and people related matters. She is passionate about developing people and allowing them to reach their full potential.

Darren Holmes
Willis Limited
Risk Management Practice Leader and Associate Director.

Darren is a Risk Management Practice Leader and Associate Director for Willis Limited. Willis is a leading global insurance broker, which develops and delivers professional insurance, risk management, financial and Human Resource consulting and actuarial services for corporations and public entities all over the world.

Darren is passionate about helping businesses find the right solution to shine, whether that is the best insurance deal, delivering and developing Risk strategies or helping recruit the right person to move the company forward. He enjoys sharing the benefits with his clients when the culture of the workforce works together to support the company and each other. He has worked on specific client-based product tools for companies to achieve these goals and was recently short-listed for the Strategic Risk Awards in March of this year.

Working for Willis Group Holdings for over 8 years and currently responsible for a team of people who provide direct risk management support for a range of diverse and significant businesses within the UK and Ireland, Darren recognises that the importance of finding and retaining the best talent is key in achieving business excellence.

Darren is looking forward to working with his fellow judges at The Norfolk Recruitment Awards and in celebrating the success of local business excellence in the region.