Meet Our Advisory Team
Tim Jackson
Originally a Royal Navy officer and then a financial advisor, my career in assessment and development started in 1990, working for a renowned global consultancy delivering assessment and development solutions.
During this time, I have worked within teams who developed exceptional solutions for a wide range of organisations, such as the UK Fire Service, Police and Ambulance Services, Skills for Care, and the Civil Service, along with a spread of companies in the private sector.
I’ve specialised in developing online assessment solutions to support sifting, recruitment, and selection; the most well-known being an online suite of sifting tools including The Assessment for Firefighter and the FRS Ability Test Suite which are used extensively by the emergency services.
I worked as a Director of the Fire Service College for three years where I set up a department to provide recruitment advice and services to the UK Fire & Rescue Service. I also set up the new Apprentice Programme for Firefighters managed by the College.
Dave Paton
Senior Advisor/Customer Support Manager
Dave fulfills the roles as Senior Advisor and Customer Support Manager for HR Solutions Hub. He has over 30 years’ experience in working in the Fire & Rescue Service and therefore understands the environment that our many UKFRS clients operate in. This helps him support the many projects and recruitment campaigns we deliver every year for them. He is also a highly qualified corporate and executive coach, which adds value to the HR Solutions Hub role as Senior Advisor.
He is a keen yachtsman and also delivers coaching support to several youth charities and works with the Ocean Youth Trust in Scotland.
Mary Mescal, C. Psychol
Ben Schwencke
Ben is a business psychologist and the Chief Psychometrician for Test Partnership. He is passionate about applying science to the world of online assessment. Ben's goal is to develop world-class assessments based on the latest psychometric principles, particularly using Item Response Theory (IRT) and Computer Adaptive Testing (CAT). He has a deep understanding of psychometric theory and practice, and employs cutting-edge research methods to develop assessments that are robust, valid, and fair.
Ben played a major part in the creation, validation, and ongoing management of the FRS Ability Test Suite and the Assessment for firefigter and continues to work closely with the UK Fire and Rescue Service. Additionally, Ben has created bespoke and customised assessments for a wide range of organisations, including bespoke ability tests, personality questionnaires, and situational judgement tests. Ben also has a particular interest in dealing with AI and cheating in assessment, and has helped develop a number of psychometrically robust methods and tools to support assessments on this for the recruitment space.
Ali Shalfrooshan, C.Psychol
