The Panel of Judges for the 2024 National Online Recruitment Awards.
As usual they have extensive experience of the current online recruitment sector. They are selected on the basis of this knowledge, and have no vested interested in the nominated websites. A separate consulting panel of industry experts are involved in producing the shortlist of Finalist sites, from the thousands of nominations we receive via NORAuk.com.
Shortlisting Panel
In advance of the final judging stage, we also have a Shortlisting Panel of industry experts, who will assess all websites nominated by jobseekers, and produce our shortlist of Finalists. To ensure transparency in the awards process, this group are quite separate from our Final Judging Panel, but just as vital to the NORAs.
Our Judging Panel
STEPHEN O’DONNELL
Founder of RECex, and the National Online Recruitment Awards. Stephen has been a professional recruiter for the last 3 decades, and has owned and run successful recruitment companies since 1993. Stephen has worked with a number of recruitment startups over the past 20 years. Stephen is also Chief Growth Officer with TAtech, the trade body for technology companies in the hiring and HR sector.
Stephen O’Donnell is Chairman of the Judging Panel.
ROB SYMONS
Rob Symons is the Chief Sales Officer (CSO) with SmartRecruiters, and has decades of experience in the HCM cloud industry, and a proven track record of opening new markets, consolidating disparate recruitment technologies, and enabling organisations to transition away from legacy ATS solutions. Rob is driven by the mission of SmartRecruiters to provide the best talent acquisition solutions to our customers and to empower them to achieve hiring success.
KATE SHOESMITH
Kate has been with the Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC), the UK professional body for recruitment, since March 2013. At the REC, Kate is responsible for campaigns & their work with government, marketing, digital, communications and research. Kate is a spokesperson for the organisation, regularly appearing in the UK media and speaking at conferences to talk about the jobs market, employment and skills. She firmly believes how equal access to better skills development opportunities can empower every individual.
EMMA MIRRINGTON
Emma is CEO of The Talent Labs (formerly The Firm) – a membership, training and consultancy business for talent professionals.
The Talent Labs provides people leaders and their teams with expertise, cutting-edge insights and tools, to help unlock their ability to recruit, manage, and retain talent.
Prior to this Emma has over 20 years Talent Acquisition and Talent Management experience working for organisations such as Unilever, Sky and Mars.
MATT ALDER
Matt Alder is a strategic consultant focusing on innovation and technology in HR and Talent Acquisition. He is the host of Recruiting Future, one of the world’s most popular talent acquisition podcasts, and, over the last 20 years, has built a reputation as a global thought leader, working with employers to optimize their talent technology strategies. He is the author of two books “Exceptional Talent” (Kogan Page, 2017) and “Digital Talent “(Kogan Page, 2022)
WENDY MCDOUGALL
Wendy McDougall CEO Firefish Software. Wendy McDougall has been making waves and influencing the recruitment technology space for nearly two decades.
Once a top-performing recruiter and recruitment business owner, Wendy moved into the tech space in 2010 on a mission to help transform businesses into growth engines. Her company, Firefish Software, is a recruitment software solution that’s changing the way businesses recruit.
GILES HECKSTALL-SMITH
Giles is one of the original ‘early adopters’ in the world of Recruitment Technology, having been with Jobtrain since 2002. Today, he champions the business to the outside world – sharing his 20 years’ of experience and knowledge and developing relationships and win/win propositions to drive Jobtrain forward.
MARK LENNOX
Co-founder, IHR. The largest and most engaged community for In-house Recruiters.
JACKIE TORR
Managing Director at TEAM – the largest network of independently owned recruitment and employment businesses in the UK. Andy has 20 years of experience in the industry. He is passionate about Networking, Recruitment Technology, Ethical Businesses, and helping others to succeed.
STEVE WHITE
Director and Owner at Calgary Communications. Steve has been at the forefront of recruitment advertising, marketing, branding and the candidate experience since the 1980’s.
CHRISTINA ROBINSON
Christina is the Managing Director of Green Umbrella Marketing, having led an MBO. Christina works with recruitment business owners and marketing directors to educate them on how best to maximise their online marketing activities to enhance their business, increase brand awareness and ultimately increase sales..
REBECCA FODEN
Rebecca is a visionary leader in Global Early Careers and Talent Acquisition, renowned for her pioneering work in advancing STEM-based hiring, social mobility, diversity, and digital innovation. With recognition as one of the “Top 5 Most Innovative Women in Recruitment,” she has led transformative initiatives for global brands, including EY and Transport for London. Currently serving as a strategic advisor for Tazio and a Board member with the Association of Apprenticeships, Rebecca’s strategic approach blends visionary insight with strategic operational excellence to deliver market-leading candidate experiences. She has received over 33 awards for her contributions to the industry, including a RAD award for best digital experience of entry talent and the CIPD award for best diversity strategy.
IAN KNOWLSON
Global Influencer and Business & Personal Growth Coach to the Talent Recruitment Sector. Ian is a Recruitment, NLP & Employment Futurist, Influencer and a Sage Global Business Expert with proven track record of aiding businesses and individuals to achieve and very often exceed their growth ambitions
ERIKA CLIFFORD
Erika is the founder of Just Recruit – a simple, intuitive and affordable CRM / ATS. She started in the recruitment industry in 2009 before co-founding recruitment agency Pod Talent in 2012. The business won multiple prestigious industry awards during her time, before she sold up in 2017. Having been so disillusioned with the CRMs on offer when she started Pod Talent, Erika founded Just Recruit in 2018.
LYNDSEY TAYLOR
Global Head of Talent Attraction at Brooks Automation, Lyndsey has over 20 years of experience in hands-on leadership positions within Talent Acquisition, Talent Management, Training, L&D, Technology, Assessments, and Performance Management for global businesses.
CHARLOTTE JOHNS
Charlotte has worked in recruitment for over 20 years, holding in house ‘Head of Recruitment’ roles at Transport for London, Legal and General as well as a number of senior contract roles in HR Transformation, Talent Acquisition Leadership and everything in between. Charlotte currently works for Elida Beauty where she plays a key role as Global Talent and Communications Director, she is responsible for global hiring, talent development, change management and communications. Elida Beauty has recently been sold by Unilever and is now a part of the Yellow Wood Partners Private Equity Portfolio.
ROB COHEN
Rob is the TA Ecosystem Manager at Philip Morris International, responsible for their tech stack operationally. With more than 12 years of TA Tech experience, his previous roles include Solutions Architect, Implementation and consultant for top TA Tech vendors and customers, steering major TA Tech transformations for multinational corporations. Rob remains at the forefront of revolutionising Talent Acquisition Technology.
CLAIR BUSH
Fractional CMO, Consultant & NED to Ambitious, Scaling Businesses. With over two decades of marketing and brand expertise, Clair has successfully led and shaped award-winning portfolios of global SaaS, commercial tech, employer branding, recruitment, job advertising, and media brands. As Fractional CMO, she crafts bespoke marketing and brand strategies, provides invaluable mentorship to marketing professionals, and offers strategic guidance to fuel sustainable growth and deliver exceptional experiences both internally and externally. Clair is also a keynote speaker in the fields of recruitment marketing, commercial marketing strategy, and employer brand activation.
VIRGINIA TIRADO
Virginia is a people leader with experience in HR, Talent Acquisition, Talent Management, Inclusion, Equity, Diversity, and belonging, Mobility, Rewards and Benefits. Currently serving as a board advisor, providing strategic insights and operational support to clients across various industries, focusing on talent management, organizational growth, and workforce optimization. Previously served as Talent Director for Zalando, the biggest online fashion retailer in Europe. Also, held key roles at AWS and Amazon.
The criteria to be used in judging will include:
1. Ease of use, design, layout & speed.
2. Volume of available vacancies.
3. Volume of claimed visitors, where applicable.
4. Available facilities for jobseekers. This will include the availability of mobile websites and applications, and integration with social media channels.
5. Prominence in targeted market.
Sites will be judged from the point of view of a jobseeker, and what benefits candidates best. Recruitment websites which are not mobile friendly on small screens, will not be considered.