Meet the team
Barry Smyth
Managing Director
Barry set up MCS Group in 2008, with a view to raising standards, improving delivery and bringing a different ethical approach to the specialist recruitment market in Northern Ireland. A 25-year veteran of the recruitment industry, prior to founding MCS Barry had a successful, 15-year career in specialist recruitment across the island of Ireland, where he held senior positions with an international recruitment business and was a Partner in an Executive Search firm.
Louise Smyth
Managing Director
Louise is an experienced commercial recruitment professional and trainer with 24 years’ experience in the people and talent industry. A fellow of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation and member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, she has worked with a diverse range of clients from SME’s, Multi Nationals, and new Start-ups supporting them through growth and achieving success through the recruitment and retention of their people.
Sean Devlin
Associate Director - IT & Technical
Sean has been in the Technical recruitment industry for over 10 years. After joining MCS Group as a Trainee Recruitment Consultant, Sean is now Associate Director managing the largest Technical recruitment team in NI. Sean plays a key role in helping companies of all sizes reach their business goals and over the last five years has worked closely with Invest NI, assisting companies set-up and develop world-class technology centres.
Philip Clarke
Head of Accounting & Financial Services
Phil started his recruitment journey in England, specialising in finance & accountancy and progressing quickly to Regional Manager. Having returned home to NI, Phil now leads the Accountancy & Financial Services team at MCS and is focused on ensuring outstanding service delivery for all of our customers
Chris Busby
Head of Permanent IT Recruitment
Known for his personable nature and positive outlook, Chris is a professional that delivers results, time and again to our customers. He heads up the Permanent IT recruitment team; recruiting software professionals across all sectors and industries across NI.
Kerry Tosh
Talent and Development Manager
With over 20 years of experience in recruitment and a recently qualified Naturopathic Nutritional Therapist, Kerry is taking the lead as the talent and development manager at MCS Group. She focuses her time on designing and implementing programs for performance management, leadership development, employee assessment, health and well-being and succession planning.
Helen Murray
Finance Manager
As Finance Manager, a new role within MCS Group, Helen is keen to use her knowledge and expertise to provide financial support and direction to the business across its existing platforms, and on its future journey. With a wealth of experience gained working in banking, and with SME’s and charities, Helen understands the importance of, and has the skills to develop, high-quality financial practices and to take ownership of our finance function.
Hannah Fleming
Finance Administrator
As Finance Assistant, a new role within MCS Group, Hannah is keen to further develop her knowledge of accounting principles and finances. Having joined MCS Group four years ago within the administration team, Hannah will utilise her experience to help ensure an efficient, organised finance function within the company.
David McCrisken
Digital Transformation Manager
David leads and undertakes all digital transformation activities for MCS Group. He is constantly learning about and implementing new ways to improve business performance and procedures that help us provide a world-class service to our clients and candidates.
Eve McLelland
Specialist Recruitment Consultant - Technical & Engineering
Eve is a recent Queen’s graduate of International Business with Spanish and comes from an entrepreneurial and design background. She is recruiting within the Technical and Engineering division at MCS group, using her expertise and passion for people to develop relationships in the market.
Daryl Crothers
Specialist Recruitment Consultant - Java
Daryl studied business information technology at queens university and went on to open a few companies around Northern Ireland. He was the Mid-East Antrims Young Businessman of the year 2017 and won the celebrate success and invest NI growth awards. He is now looking forward to bring his skills and expertise to the recruitment industry and MCS.
Sarah Martin
Specialist Recruitment Consultant - IT & Digital
Sarah has a first-class bachelor’s degree in Primary Education. After working for a year as a primary school teacher Sarah decided she wanted to travel and see more of the world. She spent a year in Australia before moving to New Zealand where she began her career in recruitment. Sarah has recently moved back home and is now utilising her experience working within the specialist IT recruitment team.
Paula McCalmont
Candidate Resourcer – Software Engineering
Paula is working within the IT and Digital division at MCS Group, specialising in the Software Engineering space. She has graduated university with a degree in Communication with PR and comes from a background in sales, marketing, employee training.
Jennifer Curran
Specialist Recruitment Consultant - IT Contracts (Infrastructure)
Jennifer has over 8 years’ experience in B2B sales, 3 of which she managed an outbound telesales team for ones of NI’s leading digital solutions providers. Jennifer specialises in Contract and Temporary assignments within the IT Infrastructure space.
Bronwyn Lam
Specialist Recruitment Consultant - IT Contracts
Before embarking on a career in recruitment, Bronwyn graduated with a first-class degree in English Literature and Language from the University of Glasgow. She has joined the IT Contracts division and specialises in recruitment for the Public Sector and Not for Profit space.
Ryan Calvert
Manager | Human Resources, Legal and Compliance
Ryan completed a Psychology degree before carving a successful career in Recruitment particularly within the HR Market. As part of the growing Professional Services Team, Ryan will be managing HR, Legal and Compliance roles. His approach is highly personable and customer service focused, building sustainable working relationships with both candidates and clients at all times
Adam Macklin
Specialist Recruitment Consultant - Accountancy & Finance
Adam has recently returned to Northern Ireland after a year of living in Houston, Texas. Adam has joined the recruitment industry after a career in professional rugby, including playing for Ulster. He specialises in recruiting within Industry across NI and Ireland.
Phoebe Preston
Specialist Recruitment Consultant - Accountancy & Finance
Phoebe, a First-Class Honours Graduate in Environmental Science with Education, chose a career in recruitment within MCS Group. Phoebe’s personable traits and the customer service skills she has acquired through working in sales are an asset to assisting those who are wishing to start or further develop their careers in Accountancy and Finance.
Eve Turkington
Specialist Recruitment Consultant - Accountancy & Finance
After completing a degree in International Business with Spanish, Eve joined the Accountancy team to specialise in permanent Part-Qualified and Transactional finance. Her approach is highly customer service driven and puts her focus on maintaining meaningful relationships with both candidates and clients.