Mike Harley

Head Of Tech (Permanent)

CTO/Leads, Developers, GreenTech

0117 926 9530

What did you want to become when you were a kid?

A journalist (sports or music).  I wrote over 50 gig reviews for Bristol 24-7 magazine as a hobby and am currently (slowly) writing my first book.  I love most sports but am a long-suffering Man Utd and Crewe Alexandra fan.

What is a personal accomplishment that you are proud of outside of work?

I was the first Briton to run a marathon race in all 27 EU countries raising £47K for M.E Research.  I’m now making my way through the rest of Europe.

Is there a cause or issue that you are passionate about, and if so, why?

I’m passionate about working with Green Tech companies or businesses looking to become more sustainable.  My role as Co-Founder of Green Tech South West (www.greentechsouthwest.org) has helped me to discover lots of amazing inventors, pioneers and exciting Net-Zero initiatives.

I began my recruitment career in 2006, joining ADLIB in 2013 so it’s fair to say that I’ve seen a lot of changes within the IT industry in that time!  I cover all tech disciplines from helpdesk to CTO roles with the most common requirement being asked to tap into my JavaScript, PHP, .Net and Python networks.

I work with small start-ups, sometimes placing the first technical person right up to large multi-site organisations on roles that their internal recruiters can’t fill.  My main strength is my longevity in the tech industry locally where I’ve amassed a pretty huge network of candidates both from working vacancies and the events that I intend each month.  I enjoy working with founders on putting together hiring plans and offering market insight surrounding renumeration, industry trends, setting up the most efficient interview processes, onboarding best practice and retention of employees.  Equally, I’ll happily take on the existing PSL and play unicorn-hunter to find someone for the seemingly ‘impossible’ to fill role.

My approach is based on honesty and ethics.  I’m not interested in recruiter trickery and am a big believer in recruitment karma!  If I feel that a vacancy is unrealistic or a candidate’s intentions or experience are not well aligned then I will be upfront with feedback adopting a solutions-orientated approach style.  I remember what it was like to be a candidate and always get back to people with constructive feedback often well outside of working hours if needed.  I understand complex business challenges and the urgency behind critical hires and can work in a thorough and efficient way particularly when it comes to searching and engaging passive candidates via avenues that other recruiters will not have thought to try.

I always try to give back to the industry that has given me so much.  I am always open to helping juniors and career-changers into the IT world, giving advice, helping with the writing of CV’s etc.  I’ve presented to university students about how to get ready for work and how to pursue and secure a position, especially within the Green Tech sector.  I’m a keen connector of people and often find myself at meet up events introducing contacts and encouraging collaboration.

My passion for Green Tech

I have a real passion for Green Tech and any initiative that helps promote sustainability and fight the climate crisis.  I run the region’s biggest Green Tech community (www.greentechsouthwest.org) and we hold events in Bristol and online to highlight the positive and negative implementations of tech on our environment.  We have around 2500 members and our talks are free to attend with diversity and inclusion a key part of our ethos.

Since starting in 2020, we have held events on topics covering:

  • Digital carbon footprints (websites, cloud, software applications)
  • AI & Machine Learning for forecasting solar power and water usage
  • Sustainable design and website building
  • Micromobility and sustainable transport
  • Farming robots, Aeroponics, IoT and biodiversity
  • E-Waste and neuroscience
  • Sustainable fashion

If you’re interested in joining us, do sign up for updates here: Green Tech South West | Meetup

I was also honoured to be part of the steering group as an Advisor to the MShed climate exhibition ‘Think Global: Act Bristol’ which ran from July 20th-Oct 30th 2022.

JOBS I MANAGE

Building Civil Engineer (Python, MATLAB)

Purpose Driven

  • Bristol
  • Permanent
  • £40K-£55K

Full details

Exciting ClimateTech, Sustainable Homes

Exciting ClimateTech Start-Up.

Civil engineering with good ATLAB, Python experience.

Full details

09th Dec

Full-Stack Developer

  • Remote (UK based)
  • Permanent
  • £60K-£75K

Full details

Part-Time (3 days), Python, Django, Typescript

Rare part-time opportunity (3 days per week ideally).

Python, Django, Typescript, AWS.

Full details

18th Nov

Ruby Developer

  • Bath
  • Permanent
  • £45K-£60K

Full details

Exciting projects, awesome team

Multi award-winning B Corp product development business.

Help startups build MVPs, greenfield projects

Full details

13th Nov

LOAD MORE JOBS

Featured

What my candidates say

  • Having worked with Mike through Adlib for sever.al years, I am happy to recommend him as a recruitment agent worth speaking to whether recruiting or being recruited. His market knowledge, advice and on-the-nose candidate recommendations have proved excellent regardless of the technical role being discussed.

    Kieran Adler

    Head Of Development

  • Mike is one of the few recruiters I've spoken to in the South West tech sector who truly understands recruitment within this discipline.  Mike helped place me in a role which fit me both culturally and technically. He was friendly, helpful and always there to help at ever step of the way. I found him to also be very tech savvy; understanding terminology which others often misunderstand.

    Jonathan Day

    Solutions Designer

  • I've had experiences with good and bad recruiters. Mike is definitely one of the good ones. I didn't get the salesman pitch you often get with recruiters. Mike is a recruiter that listens to what you want and genuinely takes on board what you have to say.  He was very supportive and helpful throughout the entire process, giving me frequent updates, encouragement and advice.

    Stefan Bockmann

    Senior Software Engineer

Guides

  • -
    Digital Technology Perm Salary Guide Outside London

    Average digital tech job salary Outside of London.

  • -
    Employee Benefits Guides 2023

    We've put together a guide of some of the best employee benefits we’ve seen over the years, with an indication of the time and cost to implement.

Green Tech South West

Green Tech South West is a welcoming community of over 2,000 members
Our vision was, and remains, to create a consistently, friendly community with curated events to deliver expertise on the most relevant topics to help drive climate action using different types of tech.

FIND OUT MORE

Recruitment for Net Zero

As a B Corp we are fully committed to helping
the world reach Net Zero and work extensively in
the ClimateTech, Sustainability, GreenTech and
Renewables spaces.

FIND OUT MORE

COMMUNITIES

MotherBoard is a Business Charter, Community and Event Series driving tangible change for mums working in the tech industry. GreenTechSW is a community that provides expert insight and thought provoking discussion on how technology can improve our physical environment and battle the massive, urgent issue of climate change. Tech Ethics Bristol is passionate about building a fair and equal society, where technology is a catalyst for positive change.

PURPOSE

Tech For Good – A series of interviews

Featuring those businesses that choose technology as a driver for positive change. We create a platform that showcases and champions companies, products and technologists who are using technology as a force for positive change in the world.

READ MORE

The MotherBoard Movement

< Delivering significant impact long-term for mums working in tech >
MotherBoard is a Business Charter, Community, Event Series, and Podcast driving tangible change for mums working in the tech industry. We are on a mission to transform the industry to be more inclusive of mothers by tackling stigmas and supporting employers who want to create real change.

FIND OUT MORE

Contact me

If you would like to chat about scaling up your tech team, seeking out a new challenge or even just about the latest developments in GreenTech then do get in touch.

EMAIL