David Johnston

I'm looking for an immediately available experienced DSAR / Data Protection specialist for an urgent short-term assignment with a London client - remote working a possibility.You'll need a legal background and solid hands-on DSAR experience. This is a delivery-focused role, so you'll need to be comfortable getting stuck straight into a data dump, reviewing and categorising documents, assessing what should be disclosed/withheld, and manually redacting documents using Adobe Acrobat.Essential experience: * Hands-on DSAR/SAR experience * Strong UK GDPR / Data Protection Act knowledge * Experience reviewing personal and third-party data * Understanding of exemptions and what should be withheld * Manual document redaction, ideally using Adobe * Able to work independently and hit a tight deadlineIf you're available from 24 August and this sounds like you, please DM me with your CV and availability for immediate consideration Handle actively welcomes applicants from under-represented backgrounds - we pride ourselves on attracting the best talent for every opportunity through a commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion.

We are partnering with a highly respected independent brand consultancy seeking an exceptional Strategy Director with deep expertise in core brand strategy, brand building, and growth to help shape the future of its strategic offering.This is a senior strategic leadership opportunity for someone who understands that great brands are built from strong foundations through clear positioning, distinctive purpose, compelling propositions, robust brand architecture, and a strategic philosophy that drives long-term growth.You'll bring a proven track record of developing and leading significant brand programmes for major organisations and ambitious challenger brands, ideally with experience across FMCG and food & drink categories, where understanding consumers, culture, behaviour, and brand growth is critical.Working at the intersection of business, brand, culture, and creativity, you'll create strategies that build commercially successful, culturally relevant, and enduring brands. You'll be equally comfortable defining the strategic foundations of a brand and ensuring those foundations translate into powerful creative expression and experiences.This role requires a true brand strategist by craft , someone with a deep understanding of the fundamentals of brand building, rather than solely marketing strategy, communications planning, or innovation. You'll have developed your expertise within a leading branding, brand design, or creative agency environment and understand the rigour, discipline, and impact of world-class brand consultancy.Experience from respected brand agencies would be highly relevant.You'll lead major brand transformation and growth programmes from discovery through to implementation, partnering closely with Design and Client Services teams to ensure strategic thinking creates distinctive, effective, and memorable brand experiences.You'll become a trusted strategic advisor to senior clients, facilitating conversations at board and C-suite level while helping shape the agency's growth through new business, thought leadership, and the continued evolution of its strategic reputation.Beyond client work, you'll play a pivotal role in strengthening the strategy function mentoring talent, raising the quality of strategic thinking, and helping define the agency's strategic approach and future direction.You will:Lead significant brand strategy engagements from insight and discovery through to delivery and activation.Develop robust brand strategies across positioning, purpose, architecture, portfolio strategy, propositions, messaging, and growth frameworks.Establish strategic foundations that enable brands to grow, evolve, and remain culturally relevant.Design and direct research programmes, translating insight into clear, compelling strategic recommendations.Bring a strong point of view on brand building, brand growth, and the role brands play in driving business value.Collaborate closely with creative teams to ensure strategy inspires exceptional brand experiences.Build trusted relationships with senior stakeholders, acting as a credible strategic partner and advisor.Support business development through pitches, thought leadership, and industry relationships.Mentor and develop strategists, fostering a culture of excellence, curiosity, and collaboration.You are an experienced brand strategist with a strong agency background and a passion for building brands that create lasting value.You'll bring:Significant experience within a leading branding, brand design, or creative agency environment.A proven track record of leading complex brand-building programmes for major clients, ideally across FMCG, food, drink, consumer goods, or lifestyle categories.Deep expertise in the fundamentals of brand strategy, including purpose, positioning, architecture, proposition development, portfolio strategy, and brand evolution.Experience shaping brands with a clear understanding of consumers, culture, category dynamics, and commercial growth opportunities.A robust strategic philosophy and the ability to articulate why brands matter commercially, culturally, and creatively.A growth mindset, with the ability to connect brand strategy to tangible business outcomes.Exceptional storytelling, facilitation, and presentation skills.The confidence and credibility to influence senior stakeholders and lead strategic conversations at executive level.Strong cultural awareness and curiosity about consumer behaviour, digital innovation, technology, and AI's impact on brands.A collaborative leadership style with a passion for developing people and elevating strategic thinking.This opportunity is suited to someone who has built their career around brand strategy as a discipline - someone who understands how brands are built, grown, and sustained over time, and who is excited by the opportunity to shape brands, teams, and an agency's strategic future.The role offers the opportunity to lead strategy for globally recognised brands and ambitious challenger businesses, while playing a meaningful role in the growth and evolution of a respected independent consultancy.You'll join a strategically ambitious, creatively driven studio environment with genuine influence over clients, projects, and the future direction of the agency.London-based, studio-first working model. Handle actively welcomes applicants from under-represented backgrounds - we pride ourselves on attracting the best talent for every opportunity through a commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion.

We're looking for an outstanding Publicist to join a busy Entertainment team, working with some of the UK's biggest names in media and entertainment.This is an exciting opportunity for a Junior Publicist or PR Executive looking to take the next step in their career, with a genuine passion for entertainment, excellent communication skills, creative ideas and a proactive, can-do attitude.You'll be creative, strategic and highly organised, with a confident, calm presence and a real eye for detail. Experience working with talent at press events, junkets, high-profile red carpets and awards is highly desirable.What you'll doDevelop and deliver creative, integrated PR campaigns for high-profile entertainment clients, securing impactful coverage across print, online, TV, radio and social.Build and maintain strong relationships with talent, managers, agents, media and brand partners.Manage the full PR process, including talent diaries, interviews, shoots, press trips, red carpets and events.Create compelling PR materials, including press releases, biographies, pitch documents and client reports.Handle high-profile stories and PR issues with confidence, while identifying new profile-building and partnership opportunities.Stay ahead of entertainment, media and social trends, identifying emerging talent and opportunities that can benefit clients.About youYou'll have experience in entertainment PR and a strong understanding of the UK media landscape. You'll be comfortable working with high-profile talent and corporate partners, managing busy campaigns and thinking strategically under pressure.Most importantly, you'll be proactive, creative and credible, with the confidence to build strong relationships and deliver great results for clients.If you're ready for your next exciting career move, we'd love to hear from you. Handle actively welcomes applicants from under-represented backgrounds - we pride ourselves on attracting the best talent for every opportunity through a commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion.

Handle Recruitment is seeking aspiring B2B sales and business development professionals looking to build their career to join a global and well-recognised media brand, focusing on the events and conferences division of the business.*This is a rolling contract with the view of long-term employment and career development. Hybrid working in Central London, pay rate up to £15ph dependent on experience + opportunity to earn commission*This is a brilliant opportunity for someone in the early stages of their sales career to gain hands-on experience with an established company and work in a fast-paced, commercial environment.What you'll be doing:Reaching out to prospective delegates and communicating the value of attending key industry events.Using outbound calls and LinkedIn to generate leads and secure registrations.Building lasting relationships that keep clients coming back year after year.Meeting and exceeding revenue targets with the support of a collaborative team.Researching your sector to understand key trends and client needs.Ensuring the relevant audiences are represented at each event.To be successful in this role you will have:Exposure to working in a B2B sales role.Ambition to build a career in sales & business development.Confidence in making outbound calls to senior clients and working to targets.Research skills and a knack for uncovering new opportunities.Eagerness to learn new skills from managers and experienced team members.If you're looking for a role where you can build your skills, gain valuable experience, and be part of a supportive and high-performing team, we'd love to hear from you. Please apply now for a further conversation!Handle Recruitment is acting as an Employment Business in relation to this vacancy.

Handle Recruitment is seeking aspiring B2B sales and business development professionals looking to build their career to join a global and well-recognised media brand, focusing on the events and conferences division of the business.*This is a rolling contract with the view of long-term employment and career development. Hybrid working in Central London, pay rate up to £15ph dependent on experience + opportunity to earn commission*This is a brilliant opportunity for someone in the early stages of their sales career to gain hands-on experience with an established company and work in a fast-paced, commercial environment.What you'll be doing:Reaching out to prospective delegates and communicating the value of attending key industry events.Using outbound calls and LinkedIn to generate leads and secure registrations.Building lasting relationships that keep clients coming back year after year.Meeting and exceeding revenue targets with the support of a collaborative team.Researching your sector to understand key trends and client needs.Ensuring the relevant audiences are represented at each event.To be successful in this role you will have:Exposure to working in a B2B sales role.Ambition to build a career in sales & business development.Confidence in making outbound calls to senior clients and working to targets.Research skills and a knack for uncovering new opportunities.Eagerness to learn new skills from managers and experienced team members.If you're looking for a role where you can build your skills, gain valuable experience, and be part of a supportive and high-performing team, we'd love to hear from you. Please apply now for a further conversation!Handle Recruitment is acting as an Employment Business in relation to this vacancy.

Handle Recruitment is seeking a Paid Social Executive to join a global entertainment brand! This role offers a fantastic chance to specialise in paid social advertising within the streaming and entertainment sector. You'll be focusing on delivering measurable results and innovative strategies across digital platforms to support business growth.*This is a 12 month contract to begin ASAP, hybrid working in Central London. Day rate equivalent to £33k-£45k dependant on experience*In this role you will:Develop and manage paid social campaigns to drive subscriber growth and engagementCollaborate with internal teams to align campaign strategies with broader marketing goalsMonitor, analyse, and optimise campaign performance to ensure goals are metIdentify new tools, features, and trends to keep campaigns innovative and effectiveMaintain strong relationships with media vendors and internal stakeholdersTo be successful, you will need:Hands-on experience with paid social or search advertising platformsProven track record of managing direct response paid campaigns, especially for app or mobile targetsStrong analytical skills and experience with attribution and conversion trackingExcellent communication skills and a positive, proactive approachAbility to prioritise, adapt, and deliver results in a fast-changing environment Please apply now for a further conversation!Handle Recruitment is acting as an Employment Business in relation to this vacancy.

Calling all experienced receptionist in London, seeking temporary positions within the creative industry. At handle we specialise in roles within the creative field including TV, Film, Music, Advertising, Fashion and Sports. We are seeking candidates who are looking for flexible reception work. The duration of reception roles can vary from day work up to 12 months.Please note - this is an expression of interest advertisement and not an active job vacancy. We're advertising this "position" so we can connect with new job seekers for future opportunities. If you're interested in these types of opportunities and are available for immediate/ ASAP start, we encourage you to apply as we would love to keep you updated about Temp and Contract EA opportunities coming up. If you're already registered with Handle Recruitment please reach out to your relevant consult to find out about what jobs we're currently hiring for. Receptionist Duties Include: Responsible for managing the front deskFirst point of contact for all visitors - meeting and greetingAnswering the switchboard and transferring calls to the relevant departmentManaging the office calendars and meeting room diariesOrdering office suppliesAd-hoc admin support when requiredReceptionist Requirements: Previous receptionist experienceExcellent telephone mannerStrong communication, written and verbalPunctual and professional attitude You can also find all of our current other vacant job opportunities on our website. As mentioned, this is an expression of interest advertisement and not an active job vacancy. We're advertising this "position" so we can connect with new job seekers for future Temp and Contract opportunities. If you're already registered with Handle Recruitment please reach out to your relevant consult to find out about what jobs we're currently hiring for. Handle actively welcomes applicants from under-represented backgrounds - we pride ourselves on attracting the best talent for every opportunity through a commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion.