Senior Web Developer, £Competitive + Benefits

This is an independent game development company producing highly playable, imaginative games across virtually all platforms. They have developed over 50 successful titles and are recognised as one of the major players in the industry.

The company are now looking for a Senior Web Developer to join their team.

Summary

Design, construction and maintenance of a large range of company web sites and Intranet web applications, focussing on back-end extensibility, robustness and security.

Directly reporting to:

Head of IT / Business Development Director

Duties:

• You will be responsible for managing the delivery of back end development components for the Company's websites and web applications

• Ensuring that the back-end implementations are robust, extensible and scalable.

• Monitoring, administering and reporting on online activity and statistics

• The right applicant will play a key role in the evolution of the Company's sites and web applications

Essentials:

• Advanced knowledge of OOPHP, MySQL and database design

• Strong experience with X/HTML, CSS and JavaScript/AJAX

• A thorough understanding and proven implementations of the LAMP stack, security issues, threats and preventative measures and web standards

• Deep and up to date knowledge of current CRM/CMS packages and other off-the-shelf components that could be integrated where appropriate

• Proven experience working with cloud services

• Strong understanding of web standards, accessibility and usability

• Experienced in working with a variety of web APIs and able to bring components together rapidly

• Knowledge of SEO/SEM practices in order to improve site optimisation and performance

• Ensure coding standards and development processes are adhered to

• Ensure unit testing is executed successfully and to an adequate level before releasing code to QA

• Excellent knowledge of relational databases

• A knowledge of Linux scripting would be useful

• 5+ years experience preferred

• Enthusiasm for video games in general.

• Extensive knowledge of the web environment.

• An awareness of the importance of a strong corporate image.

• A high standard of spelling and grammar plus attention to detail.

• Good personal organisational skills.

Beneficial Qualities:

• Experience of creating community-driven web applications would be beneficial

• The successful candidate should have excellent proven experience of building websites on both the

front and back end

• Professional attitude and work ethic

• Thorough approach to problem solving and able to function independently when required

• Needs to be comfortable working to deadlines

• Attention to detail is essential and all tasks must be carried out to the highest standard

• A willingness and ability to learn is essential

If interested in this vacancy, please send an up to date CV to Danny Johnson on danny@aswift.com or call 01709 876877 to discuss further.

Digital Marketing Mgr, Competitive Package

Our client is the UK office of a company founded in 2008. Led by an experienced management team they are currently looking to appoint a new Digital Marketing Manager to help drive the commercial success of their new release that is set to revolutionise the music/gaming genre.

The position of Digital Marketing Manager represents a fantastic opportunity for an ambitious marketing professional keen to develop their career with an exciting dynamic and innovative business.

Please note: All applicants must have 3 -5 years experience within the digital marketing space (online and mobile) in the entertainment business covering all aspects of the digital marketing mix.

Key responsibilities of the role include:

• Work with the European Marketing Director to develop all aspects of the European Digital (online & mobile) Marketing Strategy and community engagement

• Manage and develop these strategies ensuring consideration of the latest technologies and trends

• Manage the daily execution of all plans across Europe

o Oversee the co-ordination and execution of CRM campaigns

o Brief and manage pan-European video and viral asset seeding campaigns. Ensure paid activity is integrated with natural seeding plans

o Manage the production and delivery of online display adverts including asset collation, scheduling, trafficking, optimisation and post campaign analytics

o Work on paid search campaigns: consider ad copy, carry out keyword research and optimise campaigns

o Drive integrated database recruitment

o Work with Community Managers, create plans that promote 4mm products online and create dialogue with consumers

o Devise and implement cross-brand sampling opportunities via print, online and outdoor promotion

o Create and manage asset calendar to meet all Digital Marketing milestones.

o Drive the organization and distribution of assets to Digital marketing team

The successful candidate will have a very strong understanding of online communities, web 2.0, social media and experience in engaging those communities.

They will understand the online creative production and delivery process.

They will be ambitious and proactive and because of the current product will also have a passion for and understanding of hip hop culture.

They will also live within easily commutable distance to Central London or be prepared to relocate.

For a full job spec please send your up to date CV to ken@aswift.com or contact Ken Edwards on 01709 876877.

Community Manager, £Competitive + Benefits

This is an independent game development company producing highly playable, imaginative games across virtually all platforms. They have developed over 50 successful titles and are recognised as one of the major players in the industry.

They are currently looking for a Community Manager to join the team.

Summary

The Community Manager is to be the main representative for the company’s products and services with the outside world, while at the same time channelling the voice of the community back to the company.

Specific requirements for this role:

This pivotal role sees the Community Manager engaging with our consumer base, building product and service customer loyalty, and feeding back to the many appropriate departments. The ideal candidate will have proven experience in the growing and maintaining of an Online community, coupled with a passion for the Indie Games scene.

Directly reporting to:

• Business Development Director

Expectations:

• Below is a non-exhaustive list of the Company's

expectations of the Community Manager:

• Be the main point of contact for the company community

• Help and assist consumers in relation to our products and services

• Identify and report on patterns or trends that appear in the community

• Report information to the appropriate departments for further action, and to keep customers

informed of progress

• To keep the consumer base informed and engaged with the plans and progress of the products and services

• Identify and engage advocates within the consumer base

• Maintain a flawless and effective customer support tracking system

• Proactively escalate issues, observations, opportunities, and insights to the relevant stakeholders

• Participate in professional networking by engaging with the social influencers in all things

related to Indie Games and their development.

• Crate blog posts, podcasts, videos and other community content

• Work alongside the PR department to ensure a continually high standard of communication is delivered, and that best PR practices and social strategies are shared

• Work alongside the Business Development

Director to:

• Create the appropriate tools of measurement that can then be tracked on a frequent basis

• Create goals and plans for the community and track progress

• Continually review and evolve the branding

• Regularly review social media strategies and best practices

Essential Qualities:

• Strong knowledge of all current major social media tools

• Previous experience of maintaining a community Online is essential

• A passion for gaming in general, but in particular Indie Games

• A keen interest in staying abreast of shifts and possible futures for online community management

and social media tools

• First-rate communication skills, both written and verbal. Must also have an excellent standard of spelling and grammar as well as a high attention to detail.

• Excellent organisation skills and the ability to prioritise a large number of tasks

• Must be a team player with a sense of humour but must also be able to function independently.

• The ability to be highly pro-active is vital.

• Professional attitude and work ethic

• Attention to detail is essential and all tasks must be carried out to the highest standard

• A willingness and ability to learn is essential

If interested in this vacancy, please send an up to date CV to Danny Johnson on danny@aswift.com or call 01709 876877 to discuss further.

Territory Sales Manager, Attractive Salary

My client specialises in online advertising campaigns for heavyweight games publishers such as Activision/Blizzard, Capcom and Namco Bandai, as well as film, entertainment and youth focused brands including McDonalds, Coca Cola and 7-11. The company was built serving performance based campaigns including CPA and CPC models, but with the release of new inventory types such as dynamic site skinning and pre-roll Flash a huge opportunity exists to build and grow the premium advertiser business.

They are just launching a UK office and this is a great opportunity to join this company at this exciting time.

Their ideal candidate will have many years experience selling digital inventory via agencies and directly to clients (They consider online or retail games media experience an advantage).

You will have worked in senior ad sales roles and will be looking for that big break into a world when you control your own destiny and directly reap the rewards of your hard work.

The role will be supported by management on the ground in London, the US sales team (Los Angeles and New York City) and by an US operations team in Boston.

The position will require a great deal of self-support as you will be responsible for sales, management, and trafficking of your own campaigns.

The role will be based in Covent Garden London.
In return they offer a highly attractive salary commensurate with experience.

My client is hoping to interview w/c Monday 9th August 2010 so if you are interested and your experience matches the above then please contact Ken on 01709 876877 & send your CV with details of your salary expectations to Ken@aswift.com

Jnr Campaign Producer, Competitive

SCEE is the central support organisation for over 100 countries in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Australasia, marketing the world’s most popular computer games platforms – PS one®, PlayStation®2, PlayStation®Portable and PLAYSTATION®3.

They are currently looking for a Junior Campaign Producer to work within their Online Marketing Brand Team. This role will include some responsibility for the management and delivery of pan-European marketing campaigns to support the Playstation Portable.

Working closely with the Brand Campaign Manager, your role will be to develop, execute and maintain innovative (pan-European) online campaigns, within the guidelines of brand and the online marketing strategy, which are clearly integrated with, and pivotal to, the wider marketing communications mix.

You will also be responsible for the planning, prioritisation, management and innovation of content and propositions on your channel within the PlayStation Portal (eu.playstation.com) via both PC and PS3 and across multiple channels including social media channels.

Working to the needs of multiple stakeholders, you’ll be responsible for defining and shaping online marketing activities, giving direction to internal and external delivery teams (and 3rd Parties when required) to ensure objectives are met.

The successful applicants will already have junior experience but will be ready to move into a role with more responsibility. They must have a passion for online marketing in general including Social media

In return the company offers a competitive salary plus benefits.

For more information and a full job spec please contact Ken Edwards or send a copy of your CV (as a word document) to ken@aswift.com

Campaign Producer, Competitive Salary

SCEE is the central support organisation for over 100 countries in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Australasia, marketing the world’s most popular computer games platforms – PS one®, PlayStation®2, PlayStation®Portable and PLAYSTATION®3.

They are currently looking for two Campaign Producers to enhance their online marketing team.

The successful applicants will come from a digital background.

The Online Marketing team defines and shapes the way in which SCEE interacts with the consumer online (web, console, mobile), including the marketing of PlayStation products and services and delivering interactive entertainment activities to inspire, entertain and inform consumers.

NB:There are two positions available - one permanent and one for a 12 months period.

The Campaign Producer is a key and exciting role within the Online Marketing team, responsible for the management and delivery of pan-European marketing campaigns to support PlayStation software titles.

The main objective of the position is to develop, execute and maintain innovative online campaigns, within the guidelines of brand and online marketing strategy, which are clearly integrated with, and pivotal to, the wider marketing communications mix.

Working with internal stakeholders, primarily Product Managers, the successful candidates will be responsible for defining and shaping central online marketing activities and give direction to internal and external delivery teams to ensure objectives are met.

To be considered for the role the following skills and experience is essential:

A minimum of 3 years experience working within a new media environment

Ability to deliver truly pan-European campaigns with all market-specific issues addressed

Fully immersed in the digital world, having in-depth knowledge of the various touch points where consumers under 35 live their lives online

Experience of working in the entertainment industry (ideally in a marketing role)

Knowledge of the games industry (not necessarily gained in the workplace)

Excellent project management skills - able to prioritise, organise a varied and full workload and work under pressure

Strong interpersonal skills - ability to get along with a variety of people

Proactive attitude: able to spot project-based issues ahead of time and propose and appropriate solutions
Proven success managing external agencies and their performance

Dedicated and flexible ‘can do’ approach to working; a team player

Strong verbal and written communication skills

User focused, with a good understanding of consumer behaviour and how it can be influenced

Good commercial awareness

Thorough work ethic, with a strong eye for detail
Strong MS Office skills

In return the company offers a competitive salary etc.

For more information or to apply for the role contact Ken Edwards or send your CV to Ken@aswift.com

Games Operations Manager, £Excellent + Benefits

My client is an independent and privately-owned game development studio located in the beautiful town Villingen, Germany – surrounded by the famous Black Forest and the Bodensee.

Founded in 2004, the company is committed to making only AAA titles. Comprised of industry veterans with a shared passion for creating fun, innovative gameplay, my client is now developing original properties for the next generation of cross-platform multiplayer games.

The company’s international 40+ employees work in a creative environment more common to small and autonomous studios, while enjoying the financial stability and corporate support.

Role:

As Games Operations Manager, your role is to be the voice of the market and the community in the internal development team. Working closely with all the other departments, your main goal is to ensure a sustainable monetization framework for a free-to-play project in every stage of development.

Additionally, you are leading a small team responsible for community management, localization, and developer/customer support.


Responsibilities:

• Work with the Games Director and the leads to ensure revenue growth.

• Maintain consistency of the game’s monetization & community features in order to ensure a commercial success.

• Seek continuous workflow improvements in cooperation with the other team leads

Requirements:

• Master’s degree (or equivalent) in information systems, business administration, media informatics, or similar.

• 2+ years of game operations experience in a comparable industry.

• Proven knowledge of online business models.

• Flexibility in terms of working hours.

Skills Required:

• Very good knowledge of MS Office Products.

• Excellent interpersonal, communication, and

presentation skills.

• Ability to work independently within very tight deadlines.

• Ability to drive excellent results from an interdisciplinary, multinational team.

Skills desired:

• Fluency in German.

• Proficiency in managing database and wiki-type

applications.

• Avid gamer (ideally FPSs/MMOs).

If you match the above criteria and would like to receive the full job specification, please contact Ken Edwards on 01709 876877 or Email Ken@aswift.com

HR Executive, Competitive Salary

My client is a leading developer and operator of online games in China.

They began operations in 2003 before becoming their own independent company in 2007. They now operate one of the most popular MMORPGs in China and have enjoyed strong growth in user data and revenues for their games. In 2009 they opened an office in the UK.

They are looking to appoint a HR Generalist/Executive to join the team in the UK office.

The successful candidate must have experience/knowledge of UK employment law and also speak fluent Chinese/Mandarin.

The key responsibilities of the role include:

Recruitment

Coordinate the recruitment process for managers, scheduling interviews, etc.

Conducts reference checks for indentified candidates.

Prepare the employment contracts.

Employee Induction

Maintains employee files and records, processes change-of-status forms, compiles statistics and provides information to employees on matters pertaining to forms and records.

Manages new hire orientation program.

Creates new starter kits for all employees.

Processes all new hire paperwork.

Payroll

Works with China HR team and outsourced payroll vendors to manage the payroll process for China.

Acts as primary point of contact to payroll related queries.

The successful candidate will have 2-3 years experience as a HR generalist or have specific experience in an compensation and benefits function.

They will have strong communication skills along with the ability to work within a team. They will be skilled in the use of Microsoft office. They will be educated to Bachelor degree level or above.

For a full job description or to apply please contact Ken Edwards or email your CV to ken@aswift.com

Marketing Mgr Online, Competitive Salary

My Client Codemasters are a market leading force within the gaming industry. They are Europe's largest privately owned Games Company with over 60 international No.1s. Attracting more than 1000 weeks at the top of the charts.

They are currently looking to appoint a new Marketing Manager to their Online Team.

The successful candidate will be based in their office in Southam and will lead the entire Codemasters online Marketing team driving live service marketing with acquisition and retention as key goals. Ensure all marketing objectives are met inline with the overall CO Global Marketing objectives / strategy.

Key responsibilities of the role include:

Provide global marketing framework, timelines, strategies, planning and procedures.

The development of long-term brand strategies for persistent games portfolio.

Drive marketing support for both product launches and ongoing live services.

Maintain overall ownership of all Global Marketing plans and ensure communication and execution through the CO team and territory offices.

Work with each individual Brand Manager to ensure that they are developing appropriate Global Marketing support plans for each of their individual services.

Management and reporting responsibilities include:

Manage the Codemasters Online marketing team.

Provide the primary Marketing support contact for all persistent titles.

Track campaigns against preset KPI's

The successful candidate will also have Relationship Management and Budget responsibilities.

In return the company offers a competitive salary.

For more information or for a copy of the full job spec please contact Ken Edwards or send your CV to Ken@aswift.com