When it comes to recruitment,
experience is everything

Our star team

William Townsend

Hi, I’m Will, the founder of ESP, established in March 2010.

Before starting ESP, I gained extensive experience in recruitment, working for two different businesses—one focused on IT and the other on education. This combination gave me significant knowledge of IT within educational settings.

Encouraged by a client from my early career, I decided to set up my own business. After several years in the industry, I took the plunge! I had met Steve through work in the 1990s, and we always kept in touch. When an opportunity arose for him to join ESP in 2016, we were both excited to work together again.

Our sweet spot for companies is micro businesses and SMEs that lack in-house talent acquisition teams. For schools, we offer specialist knowledge in areas where HR teams may not have expertise, specifically in Finance, Data, and IT management.

With our extensive contacts and a database built over many years, we can secure top talent quickly and provide solution-focused services for schools and businesses.

Outside of ESP, I have a busy family life. We enjoy long countryside walks on weekends, and I love off-road cycling. I also help run a family farm with my brother, managing wildlife avenues, hedges, and various sustainability projects, as well as other diversified farm activities. This ensures I get time in the fresh air and continue to hone my project management skills.

Email me at wtownsend@esp-recruit.co.uk

Steve Simms

Hi, I’m Steve, I joined ESP in 2016.
I started my career at Shell, in the upstream department where I worked in the telesales team and loved it, this set me on the path to sales and sales-related jobs and I moved into Field Sales fairly quickly.
From Shell, I moved to Best International Group where I stayed for several years. The company acquired a small IT recruitment firm as a route into the IT sector and I learnt more about IT through that. I then moved to Spring Technology, part of the Adecco Group becoming a Team Leader and training people whilst still managing my own sales.  This latter role was IT-focused and included learning all about C+, JavaScript and mobile apps to name a few.
In 2016, the opportunity arose to rejoin Will and become part of ESP. I jumped at the chance and love sourcing candidates for schools, colleges, and companies. I have an extensive client base and list of contacts and regularly keep up with the education sector and ed-tech. Coupled with my IT knowledge, this makes my role at ESP the perfect fit for me.
People describe me as being likeable and good with people. I guess you could say I’m a door opener! Recruitment allows me to support people with their job searches and to help multiple organisations by placing the best candidates with them. I enjoy placing the right candidate in the right job and knowing that they are happy.
During the Covid 19 pandemic, I volunteered at Macmillan speaking with people suffering from cancer who were at home and not able to get out during the various lockdowns. I thoroughly enjoyed this work and found it very rewarding.
I love football and am a season ticket holder. I played football myself and became a Level 6 London FA referee. Recently, I hung up my boots but I still really enjoy the game and can often be found at matches!

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