ONLINE consultation and community engagement specialist, Consense, has just finalised its recent expansion programme with the appointment of new senior account manager Mark Fox.

Following a period of rapid growth over the last few months, Mark’s arrival at the business, based at Martlesham Heath, Ipswich, signals the completion of a busy recruitment campaign aimed at strengthening the team in response to increased business.

Mark, who has considerable experience in leading community consultation programmes in the energy, property and residential sectors, will be advising Consense clients on how best to engage with various stakeholders and community groups and help them to fully understand how their proposals are perceived by the public.

He will also be using the skills he has acquired over many years of negotiating the political landscape and engaging with politicians at all levels, to ensure they understand the benefits of developers’ proposals.

Director Jessica Topham said: “Mark’s expertise and experience will be a huge asset to our team at a crucial and exciting stage of development for Consense. His appointment marks a significant milestone in our programme of expansion over the recent months which enables us to increase the provision of services we offer to clients and help them to successfully steer their schemes through the consultation process.”

In addition, Daniel Brown has been appointed as new account executive at Consense and Elma Glascow as business development manager. Having recently graduated from Liverpool University where he studied English Language and Literature, Daniel will be assisting account managers with various aspects of their core business, including advertising, marketing and PR. He will also have particular responsibility for developing Consense’s use of social media in the consultation process.

Based in London, Elma will play a key role in developing the company’s client base across a range of sectors by illustrating the many benefits of using our award winning Open Debate system for community engagement activities during the planning and build phases. Elma has a strong background in account management and business development which she gained while working with strategic corporate partnerships in the charity sector.

“This year has been our busiest yet and Daniel’s appointment is a valuable addition to our growing team of highly skilled professionals. His work on developing our use of social media in the consultation process is yet another example of our commitment to drive the business forward with a focus on innovation and best practice,” said Ms Topham.

“Employing talented people to help us provide the very best for our clients is fundamental to our success as we continue to lead the way in online community consultation. We are really pleased to have Elma on board as her knowledge and experience will be a huge asset in securing new business as well as attracting further high profile clients.”

MARK Tombs has been promoted to tax manager in East Anglian chartered accountants Lovewell Blake’s specialist medical team serving general practitioners and consultants.

Mr Tombs joined Lovewell Blake in 2004 and qualified as a member of the Association of Tax Technicians. He graduated with a BA in accountancy and management from Essex University, Colchester, in 2001 and worked for three years for an accountancy firm in the town.

Lovewell Blake’s 13-strong medical team is one of the strongest in the region, dealing with over 50 GP practices across the eastern counties and south east. Mr Tombs provides advice on all aspects of taxation and tax planning.

AFTER a long and illustrious career marketing one of the region’s best known retail brands, Mandy Errington, former marketing manager at East of England Co-op, has joined Stowmarket-based marketing consultancy, bluesky, as senior campaign manager.

During her 13 years at the Co-op, six of them as head of marketing, Mandy was responsible for the strategic marketing direction, including the recent ‘Love your Co-op’ TV and advertising campaign.

As well as the above-the-line activity, Mandy was also responsible for developing the brand identity and overseeing the implementation of all multi-channel projects for the varied spectrum of Co-op businesses including supermarkets and food stores, opticians, pharmacies, travel branches, funeral services and the Society’s events and conference centre Wherstead Park.

Steve Brown, managing director at bluesky said: “We’ve been in business in Suffolk for 13 years and although our office and the team are local, our clients have tended to be national and international companies. Mandy brings a new dimension to bluesky – a strong affinity with the regional market, as well as a pedigree in the likes of CRM, TV and radio. These are all areas that will benefit our clients.”

Mandy is keen to get her teeth into some exciting new projects.

“It’s great to be back in the agency world and part of a team that’s so in tune with their clients’ commercial needs and day-to-day demands - as well as being wonderfully creative,” she said.

“I’m really impressed too with their fastidious attention to detail, commitment and the fast turnarounds.”