8 | Aycliffe Today Business
LOCAL GRADUATE
EARNS EXCITING
MARKETING ROLE
Au Fait managing director Rachel
Townsend-Green with her latest
recruit, journalist Sarah Burns
Following an internship with a national fashion
magazine, an ambitious young journalist has
landed her first job on Aycliffe Business Park.
Multi-talented Sarah Burns has joined Newton
Aycliffe-based Au Fait Business and Marketing
Services, one of the brightest young marketing
agencies in the region, boosting its growing
team to five at its HUB offices on Welbury Way.
The 21-year-old, from Middlesbrough, already
boasts an impressive CV which includes a first
class honours degree in Multimedia Journalism.
Sarah previously completed a one-year
voluntary role with Middlesbrough Council and
spent a week with Boro-based PR firm Dave
Allan Communications, before she enjoyed a
week-long internship with Fabulous, the Sun
on Sunday’s pull-out fashion mag, in London in
September.
Her eagerness to impress has won her the role
of Inbound Marketing Manager with Au Fait,
joining Business Administration apprentices,
Briany Hodgson and Caitlin Sharkey, who took
up their positions with Rachel Townsend Green’s
fast-growing company last winter.
And it’s Sarah’s wide-ranging skills base, as
well as her enthusiasm, which has won her a
full-time role after graduating from Teesside
University in the summer.
“Sarah has already shown a real appetite and
desire to get her teeth stuck into work, said
”
Rachel, who started the firm just six years ago.
“She has an excellent skills set and made
a positive impact through both her attitude
towards gaining work experience and her
enthusiasm in general, and we’re delighted
to have her on board as we look to build the
business.
”
Sarah studied at Teesside after doing her
A-levels at Prior Pursglove College in
Guisborough and has been published in the
Evening Gazette, as well as previously looking
after social media for the university’s Tside
newspaper, and has even got her own bi-line in
this edition of Aycliffe Today!
“Joining the team at Au Fait is a really exciting
opportunity for me and I have already settled
in well, I love my role, the work I do and the
fantastic culture within the business, said
”
Sarah.
Rachel says Au Fait has already doubled in
size in the last year, and Sarah’s appointment
promises to be the first of many in the coming
months.
“We have some very exciting plans to create
more new roles very soon, she added.
”
Severfield
Rowen director
joins family
firm Finley
Structures
Finley Structures has appointed a
former Severfield Rowen director as
its new operations manager.
The family-run construction firm has been
boosted with the high-profile addition of Jim
Graham in what is a major move forward for the
13-year-old firm.
Jim, originally from Aycliffe, spent 22 years with
leading Thirsk-based steel fabricating group
Severfield, latterly as operations director.
“It’s a fantastic opportunity for me, said the
”
53-year-old. “Finley Structures is a vibrant,
growing firm with a glowing reputation in the
industry and I want to help them achieve their
ambitions.
“What has always struck me about Finley is
that it's a family-run firm, which says a lot these
days. There's a family atmosphere around the
place and it's well run - it's a nice place to come
to work.
“My ambition now is to help Finley to a
level where it's fabricating between 250 and
350 tonnes of steel a week with controlled,
structured expansion and establishing the firm
as a major market force in the UK.
“It's an exciting new chapter for me - it has
given me my passion for the job back - and it'll
hopefully be a very exciting new chapter for
Finley Structures.
”
Finley's joint-managing director Julie Finley said:
“This is a major coup for the firm and we're
delighted to have Jim on board.
“His CV really speaks for itself. He was one of
the main players at one of the country's biggest
steel fabricators with more than 30 years of
experience in the industry, so it represents a
major acquisition for us.
”
Jim started his career as an Apprentice with
Darlington-based Conder Structures, becoming
contracts manager, then cladding manager,
before joining Severfield as contracts manager
in 1992.
He worked his way to contracts director at
Severfield after just three years then he became
deputy managing director in 2010 before he was
appointed operations and contracts director in
2011 to the newly formed Severfield-Watson
business.
Jim will sit directly between the Finley's board
of directors - parents John and Valerie and their
children Julie and Gary - and the company's
management team.
PIC: Finley Structures joint-managing director John
Finley (right) with new oper