BIMA Hangout | Jobs for Ukraine

What’s it about?

We know many of the people in BIMA are thinking about how they can do something meaningful in response to what is happening in Ukraine, and the last week or so we’ve been asking for feedback on an idea to create jobs for the people in Ukraine’s digital industry.

Essentially, the idea is built around the fact that there is a big workforce in Ukraine with digital skills, not just a variety of dev roles that we often associate with Ukraine but all manner of digital skills. The UK has a skills shortage in many of these areas so it feels like a natural solution to address them together.

On Thursday 31 March, we’re inviting the BIMA community to hear more about the initiative and to find people that want to help us make this happen.

Why should you attend?

In a live discussion and Q&A chaired by BIMA MD Matt Sullivan, we’ll be joined by a panel of industry experts who will shed some light on how the initiative will work and answer your questions.

You’re welcome to just join and listen in of course, but if you have experience in working with recruitment, immigration, refugees or have connections with Ukraine please email events@bima.co.uk with more information.

We hope to see you there; let’s pull together and do something that makes a difference.

Speaker details:

Rebecca Lewis Smith, Co-founder & Director of Fountain

Rebecca is co-founder of Fountain and passionate about building an exceptional culture for the agency’s team of digital marketing experts – where they can thrive and do their best work. Having been Managing Director for 11 years, in 2020 she proudly handed the reins to the next generation of agency leadership, while remaining involved in the business with a focus on people and culture. In her life beyond business, she is committed to making a difference to refugees arriving in the UK.

Fed Novikov, COO & Co-Founder of Apt and Coordinator at Hire for Ukraine

Fed Novikov is the COO & Co-Founder of Apt, and a coordinator of Hire for Ukraine, an initiative helping Ukrainian professionals affected by war connect with new quality jobs.

The Russian invasion in Ukraine has left millions of people without jobs and income overnight. Before that, many have been running successful businesses of their own and creating award winning projects. We believe that BIMA is uniquely positioned to match these talented Ukrainians with new creative opportunities and help them rebuild their lives.

Anushka Sinha, Associate Director at Deloitte Legal

Anushka Sinha is an Associate Director who specialises in all areas of business and personal immigration to the UK. She provides strategic personal and business immigration advice to individuals and companies on the points-based system and other immigration categories. She is actively involved in challenging Home Office policies through her work with the Immigration Law Practitioners Association. She has previously met with the Immigration Minister and senior policymakers on several occasions to discuss changes to the UK immigration system and policies.

Vicky Ilika, Finance Manager at Passion Digital

Vicky arrived in the UK in 2001 on a student visa. After studying English language for couple of months, she decided to enrol in a Business Management Course, which gave her a chance to study a broad range of subjects such as economics, marketing, strategy and human resources. Two student visas , one visa refusal, one successful visa refusal appeal, and two work permits later, she was able to settle in the UK and apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain.

Vicky’s freelance career began in 2011, when she started working on little projects outside of her regular job. Currently she works with clients from across a number of sectors including digital marketing, tech, construction, logistics and retail. She is responsible for overlooking all of the financial aspects and payroll administration, as well as some admin management support for cases related to hiring non-UK workers.

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