Our client is genuinely one of the most respected agencies in the UK who are seeking a Snr PM starting ASAP to work with one of their most high profile and long standing clients.  The work will be very varied and the role will involve a lot of autonomy.  You will have the chance to work on a multi strand and complex campaign, our client leading the strategy and digital work.

 Essential skills are:

 A depth and Breadth of digital project management experience 

We are looking for a minimum of five years PM experience

Experience overseeing a number of complex campaigns with various strands, working with multiple agencies

Broader experience in social media also very useful

Agency experience a must

Button down project management approach essential

If you are free within the next fortnight and can demonstrate the above please email Rachel@wearefutureheads.co.uk               

Tuberculosis infects 12 more sixth-formers at a school in Northamptonshire taking the total number of cases to 15…. From BBC News. Full story

This site may contain information about: education for teachers. The blog is also related to: home school.

Who wouldn't love a guy that gets a standing ovation?

Alex Gonzalez is coming back to Toronto. Okay, okay not that Alex Gonzalez. A day after signing Johnny Mac to a two-year, $3 million deal, ESPN.com is reporting the Jays have also agreed to a one-year, $2.75 million contract with the other Alex Gonzalez, who hit .238 with eight homers in 112 games with Cincinnati and Boston last year.

Like his namesake, Gonzalez is also a shortstop, so his signing all but ends the Marco Scutaro era in Toronto, which, as I implied yesterday, is fine by me. Don’t get me wrong — Scutaro is cool and all, but at age 34 and coming off a career-year, he’s due to get waaaay overpaid. I’ll gladly let someone else do that.

Gonzalez will be 33 on Opening Day, having kicked around the majors since breaking in with Florida in 1998. He hit 23 homers in 2003 and added a walk-off in the World Series, which the Marlins won that year, and hit 16 and .272 as recently as 2007 before missing all of the following year with a broken kneecap. Since leaving Florida in 2006, he’s had a pair of stints in Boston and spent two seasons in Cincinnati.

Also of note (and kind of sadly), Gonzalez has a three-year-old son in Miami that’s been in a coma for two years. That really, really sucks. Anyway, all the best to the new man in town, both on and especially off the field.

As Lead Project Manager/Director for a global advertising agency you will be responsible for leading one of their biggest digital accounts for a six month maternity leave fix term contract.

The Lead Project Manager is responsible:

 • For managing large projects or providing senior input across multiple projects within a production team.

• The Lead Project Manager manages and motivates the team and makes timely decisions in order to ensure project success within time, cost and quality parameters.

 • You will have significant client liaison responsibilities to ensure that client expectations are managed and met. • The Project Manager may work in a program management capacity for larger clients, managing APMs, PMs and SPMs to ensure that projects are timely and on budget.

• Candidates will typically have 4+ years professional experience in online web development.

This is a great opportunity to work with a well known agency in high profile digital client. If interested do get in touch.

Rachel  Murray

0207 420 3540

rachel@wearefutureheads.co.uk

As we enter the time of year when many people take on extra help for Christmas, use our top tips to help you get legal side of employing temps right:

1. Temps can be employed by an agency or directly by the organisation that uses them. If you are not sure who the employer is, it is usually the person who pays the temp their wages.

2. The end client can be liable for discrimination claims even if an agency is the employer, since temps can be an employee of the agency AND a worker for the client at the same time. These rights do not require any particular length of service.

3. Temps accrue rights in line with service, just like any other UK employee, which means they are building up rights to National Minimum Wage (NMW) and statutory holiday from day one.

4. Temps are entitled to statutory sick pay (SSP) provided they pay national insurance.

5. Temps with more than four weeks’ service are entitled to statutory notice of one week.

6. It is possible to contract with temps on a weekly basis, so that you give notice each Monday to terminate each Friday (and thus there is no need to give notice at the end of the temporary assignment). If you want to do this, take advice.

7. After one month’s service, temps have the right to a written statement of particulars of employment, and their temporary status should be set out clearly in that document. Theoretically that statement should be issued no later than two months after the start date, but it is always a good idea to get this document out as early as possible.

8. If you make a mini fixed-term contract and then change your mind, you may be liable to pay the balance of the term. Be careful when recruiting temps that you do not contract for more time than you mean to.

9. Continuous service has a complex set of rules. For example: if you recruit a temp for, say, four weeks, then another four weeks with a gap in between you can find that the week in between does not ‘count’ for continuity but does not break it either.

10. Temps with less than one year’s continuous service do not have unfair dismissal rights but they do have a full set of discrimination rights.

Whilst there is currently government consultation on giving temporary workers more rights, no changes have yet been made and temps have no specific right to benefit from the same terms and conditions as their permanent colleagues.

Annabel Kaye is Managing Director of Irenicon Ltd, a specialist employment law consultancy. 
Tel: 08452 303050 
Fax: 08452 303060 
Website : www.irenicon.co.uk. 
You can follow Annabel on twitter – http://twitter.com/AnnabelKaye and check our regular articles and news throughout the autumn on our blog site – http://irenicon.wordpress.com/

Are you  a mobile device interaction designer with experience of Google Android? I’m unable to tell you lots more about this project as I have signed an NDA – but I can tell you that you will be responsible in helping shape a new product. You will be working at concept stage during the project and helping to figure out the design requirements and sketch these out with a team of designers and techies. You will then be asked to design any of the interaction that was noted from the discovery phase.

This is a freelance project to start ASAP. Day rate around £350pd

Arsenal’s Cameroonian midfielder Alexandre Song earns a new "long-term" contract with the Premier League club…. From BBC News. Full story

This site may contain information about: soccer cup. The blog is also related to: germany soccer.

OK, folks…it took almost a week, but we finally have a statement from President Cevallos about the administration’s intentions regarding the Chancellor’s remarks regarding College of Business accreditation.  As you’ll recall, the Chancellor made it clear that any move forward toward accreditation needed to be part of a shared governance process.  Here’s what Cevallos wrote to faculty late yesterday afternoon:

From: “Cevallos, F. Javier” <cevallos@kutztown.edu>
Date: November 24, 2009 3:10:22 PM EST
To: COB-Dept <cob-dept@kutztown.edu>
Subject: COB meeting re: AACSB/December 3 at 11:00 a.m.

To the Faculty in the College of Business;

There has been quite a bit of conversation since the Chancellor’s November 18 visit to our campus regarding the College of Business and the pursuit of AACSB accreditation.  Although in the past there have been several conversations regarding this particular subject, and we have made significant investments in the College for this purpose, these decisions were made under a PASSHE mandate to accredit academic programs.  The Chancellor has suggested that we should have additional conversations on the campus regarding this issue in light of his new policy regarding accreditation, and I concur.  Given the importance of this issue, and the tight time line we face, I would like to invite the faculty in the College  (as well as APSCUF and University Senate representatives) to a meeting to discuss the matter, on Thursday, December 3, 2009  from 11 to 12:00 p.m. at DeFran 100.  I look forward to a productive discussion that will help us move forward in the best way for the College and the University.

Let’s hope that President Cevallos does not intend for a one hour meeting in the second to last week of the semester count for “shared governance.” At the very least, I hope that a timeline for future discussions will be established.  We’ll see.

Step 9:

When the time comes to sign an offer to purchase, make sure you understand everything written in the contract. Do not sign a contract if you are unclear about anything. Rather ask advice from someone you trust.

A contract to provide playground equipment issued by Liverpool City Council is criticised by the Local Government Ombudsman…. From BBC News. Full story

This site may contain information about: capital cities. The blog is also related to: biggest city.

Film and motion graphics producers, 1-2 months starting asap

If you are a seasoned producer with motion graphics and/or film experience alongside your digital capabilities, then do send me your details. We’re working with a prestigious design agency in central London who are looking for producers to work on film, experiential and interactive projects for some stellar brands. You’ll be creatively-led with have extensive digital media project experience plus film or motion graphics expertise, solid PM skills from planning to delivery and good client facing skills. Agency experience and a fast pace of work are a must. 

This position starts asap through to mid January 2010 and will pay c£200-250 per day.

Gill Arnold

0207 420 3538

gill@wearefutureheads.co.uk

We have a really exciting opportunity for a recent graduate to work in a broadcasting and media business. We are looking for a good communicator with ambition to be a successful user experience practitioner. You will have some information architecture and user experience skills, and be keen to learn under the direction of an established team. You will be mentored and guided through some flagship projects and this will be great exposure to information architecture and usability testing using eye tracking and video software.

Starting asap on a monthly rolling contract, this role is paying c£140-200 per day depending on experience and is based in West London.

Gill Arnold

0207 420 3538

gill@wearefutureheads.co.uk

Whether you’re building a home, just bought a home and doing major renovations, purchased a business and doing the necessary remodelling or just decided to upgrade your home (and perhaps use the Home Renovation Tax Credit!), they have a common element: you need to deal with a contractor and trades people.

If you are building a home and using a Real Estate Agent, I would strongly suggest you hire a Real Estate Agent who is experienced in the building process. Filling out paperwork is one thing but understanding what can go wrong is very important. The same would apply to the Lawyer that you use, make sure that they have lots of experience in dealing with new home construction. Believe me, these two together will save you tremendous grief down the road.

One of the biggest problems I have seen over the years is communication. What you want and what the contractor thinks you want can be two different things. Be very explicit and simple, even to the type and color of door knobs. Oh yes, I almost forgot – EVERYTHING is to be written down, signed, initialed, dated and everyone given a copy. For people who are just doing renovations, be sure to have a lawyer look at it. If you have problems down the road, he/she will be representing you so why not let them be part of the process from the beginning.

A good builder/contactor will not require you to sign anything until you are both on the same page. For example: what you want for flooring, what you want in the ensuite, the various paint colors of the rooms or how your kitchen will look like. Most contractors today will give you an allowance for lighting, flooring and the kitchen. Go to the place where they will buy these items from and see what you are getting. It is very important to not sign anything until you do. Make sure the amounts will satisfy what you were expecting – both in quality and quantity. Remember that show homes are nice to visit but most cases, it is full of upgrades and not what you will get in the home that you just purchased.

Whatever your project is, be sure to get quotes from other contactors. But make sure that you are comparing apples to apples. Often I hear that was not included or I thought you meant this. Do your homework. I tell people go to open houses and take pictures of the kitchen you want or that living room – it is also better to show your contractor a visual and include in the contract.

I tell people to talk with people who the builder/contractor has done work for. Calling references is not always the best way to do this. If you left a job because you had a dispute, are you going to ask that person for a reference? Get your lawyer to inquire from other colleagues. Check with your local New Home Warranty or whoever the builder uses and see if they have many complaints. But the best is snooping around and finding people they did work for. Don’t be genetic with your questions either. Don’t just ask if they a good builder. Ask if they finish on time (and if they were compensated if it was not finished on time), when they wanted changes if the contractor was cooperative, did they come back to fix items, were the allowances (monies) enough to get flooring and kitchen cabinets, did they clean up after they were finished and would they use them again?

Be sure that whoever you hire has insurance on their workers as well if insurance for home damage if they cause it, WCB coverage and that all the sub-contractors have insurance and also have WCB coverage. Be sure you ask to see these policies and be sure you check to see whether they are up to date.

I believe in the underground economy but when you try doing this with new home construction or renovations, remember there is no paper trail meaning it is very difficult to take the company or people to court. Also, if you want to claim the home renovation tax credit, you need to keep your receipts incase you get assessed by Canada Revenue Agency.

After you choose your builder/contractor the most next important item is the contract. Be sure it is very detailed. What they are going to do, the time frame, whether they compensate you if the work is not completed on time, what work you are getting done and the exact items to be installed – have a schedule of all the materials being used and allowances granted, a guarantee and what that guarantee entails and length of time you have to collect the guarantee. When you are building, the law provides that there is a builder’s holdback lien (talk with your lawyer about this). As well as if all the work is not completed, be sure you hold enough monies back not only for the item(s) but also to have it installed.

A Real Estate Agent and Lawyer with lots of experience in New Home Construction can go a long way in making your project or new home a pleasant time.

Well it’s been just a little over two weeks now since my return to Tirana, Albania. What can I say about it? Some ups and some downs. Both equally expected. To start off I have to say it feels a lot better to be back than when I was here working. Being somewhere out of choice makes a huge difference. How long am I going to stay here this time? Who knows? 1 month? 5 years? Each day at a time.

Being with Puccino is awesome! Listening to the radio or watching music channels it strikes a chord when hearing that overplayed hit “AAAAAoooo Im tired of using technologyyyooo”. Well we were sick of it. MSN, Skype, Text messages etc etc etc. The move had to be made. We have this great little apartment that she found for us very near the centre of town where all things happen. Bars, restaurants, clubs, coffee shops, etc. It’s a little more expensive than out of town but everything is so close. Walkable even in my standards. It has everything we need to live a normal life.

As much as I am acutely aware of certain issues and thus try to not react, there are just some things that annoy the crap out of me but which are just day to day annoyances like irregular power outages, lack of water between 2pm and 7pm and the deadly slow internet speeds which we are trying to get upgraded now. People are the same. Places are the same. Driving is the same. Noise is the same. Nothing new there. Tirana is not an easy place to live in but can be relatively easy to adapt to the environment. It’s difficult to get comfortable and personal change and a level of acceptance is required. Even Puccino’s dad said over lunch on the weekend that he would prefer to live somewhere else cos he does not like Tirana.

This is not an accident. This is parking Tirana style!

On a slightly separate note, there is now a new little devil eating at my soul. It’s name is Boredom! He has visited a couple of times in my past but his visits have become more frequent of late. There is not a lot to do during the day. There’s only so much of the internet to look at, only so many TV series to watch, only so much waiting for a contract to happen before you start knocking your head against the wall. I don’t get to talk much during the day and for anyone who knows me knows that is not a good thing! Even when I get  out and about on my own in town my communication is limited to ordering food, beer or coffee in English or Albanian. I had put the job hunt on hold again in the hopes of winning something up in Kosovo which should be announced in the next few weeks. Lately however I am getting that nervous edgy twitch to start looking further abroad again and that is what I am just going to have to do. Just in case I guess. Put it out there.

On the up side, I’m getting really good at Tiger Woods ‘10 on the Playstation 3 again. I had to buy a new one so as not to have the extra excess baggage carrying the old one. This meant though that I had to rebuild my profile! ARRGGGHH!!

I better get on with the dishes now while I still have water. Am I a bum or a well travelled house biiiaaattcchhh??

My client is a well known brand in the digital arena, the product suite is centred around a high volume of transaction. I am looking for an interim director of user experience to help lead the team across innovation, usability, information architecture, search and design until the right hire has been made. I am looking for someone with experience of managing large teams and drive and inspire them on a day to day basis. You will also be a hands-on user experience practitioner and be prepared to get your hands dirty and sleeves rolled up for senior level stakeholder engagement. You need to have at least 10 years of working in a business to consumer (B2C) environment and a thorough understanding of user research, user experience, creative design, and client-side development. This product is driven by multiple users and information that allows people to make decisions quickly. Please get in touch for more information – this role doesn’t have a ceiling on the rate, as this role will only suit very senior practitioners and leaders working for a big consumer brand for many years.

This role is to start asap.

Be Kaler Blake

0207 420 3539

be@wearefutureheads.co.uk

or Gill Arnold

0207 4203538

gill@wearefutureheads.co.uk