Career Overview

March 2001 – present: Rob Groves Associates.

Providing HR and Training consultancy to corporate clients. Examples include:

• Kuju Entertainment – HR Director on retainer
• Eidos – provided redundancy counselling and outplacement training
• Alibris Inc - advised on European employment issues, UK recruitment of dealers
• The London Borough of Barnet - staff training and facilitated management/staff consultation meetings on organisational change
• Microids UK – senior recruitment
• Kaboom Studios – designed, delivered a management development programme
• Pivotal Games – designed, delivered a management development programme
• Black Cactus Games – designed, delivered a management development programme
• ELSPA – acted as independent arbitrator in an internal disciplinary investigation; helped train the new HR professional in the organisation
• Unilever Global Information Organisation (Unilever GIO ES) - Interim Human Resources Consultant - implemented an eight-month IT redundancy programme across Switzerland, Belgium, Greece, Spain, Portugal and the UK
• Licensee of Allen Carr’s Easyway psychotherapy methods, running Easyway (Manchester) Ltd and providing training/therapy programmes for organisations such as Bradford & Bingley, Granada ITV, Scottish Power, Esure, The Environment Agency, MCI Hong Kong, Cilag, Bank of Switzerland, Kraft Foods, Alstom, Novartis, Europol, Abdul Latif Jameel Jeddah, Altnagelvin NHS Trust
• Director of Rob Groves Personal Management, an actors’ agency providing personal and career management for 50 actors.

August 2000 – March 2001: Alibris. Director of HR and Admin, Europe

• Established the European office for this West Coast on-line specialist retailer including all set-up tasks, and liaison with legal and financial advisors
• Recruited sales, marketing and technical specialists
• Formulated all HR and admin procedures for this new entity
• Within months, implemented redundancy procedures as venture capital investments in the US parent Alibris Inc were withdrawn during the “Dotcom bust” and the European operation had to be wound down

December 1997 – August 2000: Atari. European HR Director

1996-1997: Eidos plc. HR Director

1993-1996: Microprose Ltd. Director of HR

1989-1993: Pauls plc. Personnel Manager

1987-1989: Redland Bricks. Recruitment Manager

1985-1987: The Exchange Telegraph News Agency. Personnel Officer

1983-1985: North West Thames Health Authority.
         Re-engaged after completing degree. Personnel Officer

1981-1982: North West Thames Health Authority. Sandwich Year, Personnel Assistant

Education

2002-03 (part-time) Institute of Clinical Hypnotherapy.

•   Clinical Hypnotherapy Diploma (MICH)
•   GHSC Validated Practitioner

1984-86 (part-time) Thames Valley University. 

•   Post-grad diploma in Personnel Management (Full CIPD accreditation)

1979-83  University of Bath.

•   BSc in Sociology with Industrial Relations

Skills

• Qualified to administer and score various psychometric instruments.
• Fully trained in advanced selection techniques. 
• Knowledge of employment law, experience of presenting tribunal cases.
• RSA Intermediate German and French language skills.
• Full clean driving and motorcycle licences.
• Fully computer literate including web design, advanced Excel
• Hypnotherapy, cognitive therapy, Neuro Linguistic Programming
• Stress counselling, outplacement counselling, addiction counselling

Welcome to the website. My name is Rob Groves, and I have been a qualified Human Resources and Training professional since 1983, working as an HR Director since 1994.

In 2001 I decided to give up my day job and go freelance as an out-sourced HR Director, Trainer and Counsellor for small and medium sized companies in the video games industry and other new technology sectors. 

That was the plan, anyway. Since that time, my clients have been small, medium and very large, in a range of industry sectors, and the public sector.

My proposition to you is this...

Why tie yourself to an HR Director on permanent headcount, when your needs for HR support at a senior level constantly change ? I am totally flexible in the way in which I work, and I do not insist on a minimum commitment or a paid retainer when you engage me.

Just think how your business would benefit from having flexible HR Director expertise available to work alongside your senior team, supporting, advising and helping in the following areas:

• Staff performance management, disciplinary, dismissals
• Redundancy programmes
• Staff counselling, formal and informal grievances
• Senior and anonymous recruitment
• Human Resources policy - design and implementation
• Salary structures, job banding
• Management Development and Training
• Succession planning, formal performance appraisal systems

These are some of the clients I have worked for as an HR/Training consultant over the last 10 years: