Yorkshire-based specialist social care recruitment company, AJ Recruitment, has announced four new board appointments.
Darren Bellwood, Paige Hawley, Adele Theobald, and Joelle Gomersall, who is a former AJ Recruitment apprentice, will sit alongside CEO Jo Guy and director Andrew Brindley, providing strategic business support and advice in their specialist areas of finance, resourcing, people and marketing.
Established in 2004, AJ Recruitment is a specialist family-run recruitment business providing a proactive and consultative approach in social care recruitment. It is focused on improving social mobility and engagement of frontline workers in social care through innovation and digital transformation.
Darren Bellwood joins the board as finance director. Darren brings 38 years’ experience of working in financial roles at all levels within SME businesses through to large PLCs across a broad range of industries. A keen mentor, Darren’s wealth of skills, knowledge and experience will be invaluable in adding value and driving strategic goals at AJ Recruitment.
Candidate recruitment specialist, Paige Hawley, started her career in social care recruitment in 2011. Paige joined AJ Recruitment in 2021 and now heads up the candidate recruitment and account development teams. Her role on the board will ensure that her expertise in candidate recruitment is best utilised to inform the strategic direction of the business.
Chartered CIPD practitioner, Adele Theobald, brings 25 years’ experience working in HR, having gained senior-level and consulting experience in social care and educational settings. Adele says, “I admire how far the business has come in the 20 years I have known AJ Recruitment. I am looking forward to supporting future growth and helping the business to solve the social care recruitment crisis through innovation, ensuring that candidates remain engaged, supported, developed and rewarded appropriately.”
Joelle Gomersall began her career fresh from high school in 2016, when she joined AJ Recruitment as an apprentice. Joelle has been working in a marketing capacity for seven years and is now AJ Recruitment’s marketing and innovation lead. Joelle says, “I feel very proud to have been appointed as an advisor to the board. We have lots of exciting progressive work in the pipeline that will help elevate the business and shake up the social care recruitment industry for the better. I am looking forward to playing a strategic role in the business moving forward.”
Says CEO Jo Guy, “We are delighted to welcome Darren, Paige, Adele, and Joelle to the board. They all share our passion for driving up standards in social care recruitment and we know that our business is in safe hands with them on board. It is a significant milestone for us and an important step forward as we continue our journey of change and growth. They bring a powerful combination of industry experience, expertise and insight that will support our ambitions to ultimately help improve social care recruitment.”
