First Task Professional was founded in 2022 by John Gillen, David Brunton and Ronnie Napier with a clear vision to offer candidates and clients an unmatched level of support, trust and engagement…and to become Scotland’s first carbon neutral recruitment business.
At First Task Professional, we pride ourselves on our commitment to helping our candidates find the right job, and our clients find the right talent.
We believe that every business and individual is unique, therefore taking the time to properly engage, understand needs and build strong, long-lasting relationships is vital to ours and your success.
As a sustainable business, our aim is to become fully carbon neutral, so we can create a positive impact in the world.
Director of First Task Professional
David started his passion for the construction industry over 20 years ago doing summer placements on construction projects working with concrete flooring, groundworks, and SME builders. He continued working within the industry as part of his family’s construction management firm before going to University in Edinburgh. It seemed only natural he would interlink his career with the industry he grew up in and he started in construction recruitment after University in 2011, when he joined the then leading construction recruitment business in Scotland and worked his way up to lead the construction & building division.
David joined First Task Professional in August 2022 with the ambition of establishing the business as the leading construction agency age of choice. His experience covers high level Executive Search work for key clients through to retained search and contingency recruitment across all disciplines within the industry.
He’s only recently joined the dad club and loves spending his time with his young family and going hiking across the wilderness in Scotland with them. He’s a keen fitness enthusiast and is undertaking several endurance events in 2023 to raise funds for the MS Society (shameless plug, but please donate!) and is currently in the process of trying to lower his golf handicap…slowly!
Director of First Task Professional
John moved from Northern Ireland to Scotland to study at Heriot Watt in 2006, and we have unfortunately been stuck with him ever since! He has been involved in the Scottish Construction Recruitment sector since 2010, having worked for both FTSE listed and locally owned SME agencies before making the move to start First Task Professional with Ronnie Napier, who is the old friend from his university days. He has worked with Building & Civil Engineering Contractors, House Builders and specialist Subcontractors throughout Scotland and placed in excess of 350 staff during his time in recruitment from Site Engineers to Managing Directors, and everything in between. For the past 7 years, he has focussed primarily on placing top Commercial, Estimating and Planning talent across the Central Belt
John’s success has always been around keeping things simple and honest; a trait which has seeing clients and candidates alike use him on a repeat basis.
Outside work and along with his partner Kirsty, John spends his free time ferrying his three children, Sadie, Romey and Perry, to their various sporting clubs and parties. He’s partial to a pint or 2 of cider and also enjoys cooking (has he mentioned his pizza oven yet?) and watching his beloved Manchester United.
Senior Consultant
After his career moonlighting as John Rahm came to an end, Gregor arrived in Edinburgh to study at Napier University in 2015. After spending 4 years studying for a Mechanical Engineering degree, he decided to pursue a career which was totally out with his area of study – the decision was made by a love of meeting new people. He joined a recruitment business as lockdown started to ease and started to service both the MEP and Civils / Infrastructure sectors in Scotland. He joined First Task Professional in September 2023, tasked with developing the Civils and Infrastructure division.
He has placed candidates in both junior level roles up to Director level appointments in companies varying from SME to PLC. He has a pragmatic approach to recruitment and likes to arrive with all the information up front, he leads with the needs of client and candidates alike.
He has had a particular focus on Operational and Commercial Management positions for the past 3 years- this includes Engineers, Agents, Site & Project Managers, Quantity Surveyors and Estimators.
Outwith work, he makes use of his enormous frame carving it up on the rugby field (he’s very bang average…). Gregor also has a part time gig impersonating Sam Smith at weekends and he is partial to a little rock climbing, running, the gym and is an absolute sucker for Japanese food. All in all a top bloke and a great addition to the First Task team.
Senior Consultant
Andrea graduated with her Psychology degree from Glasgow University in 2015 (reminding her sharply of the fact that, despite being a Taylor Swift fan, she is in fact not feeling 22 anymore…) and found herself falling in love with a new career in recruitment. After spending two years working ‘in house’ doing volume recruitment for an outsourcing business she sought the opportunity to recruit people – not numbers.
This led her to working for a construction recruitment agency specialising in freelance/temporary recruitment within the building sector which remains her focus to this day. Joining First Task Professional in 2024 to manage the temporary recruitment desk, Andrea thrives in a fast-paced working environment and relishes a challenge so there is no role too last minute or in too awkward a location for her to work on. From short notice nightshift cover to remote refurbishments in the Outer Hebrides, you can be guaranteed she’ll always give it 100%! Andrea is now widely recognised as one of the leading freelance recruitment specialists in the Scottish construction market and the team at First Task are delighted to have her as part of the team.
Andrea prides herself on really getting to know her candidates and clients and loves getting out on sites to meet and understand better the work they do on a day to day basis. She can often be spotted bothering her temporary workers on building sites for selfies to share on Linkedin…don’t say you haven’t been warned!
In her own time, Andrea loves spending time with her pointer dog out in the hills and is a self-proclaimed ‘sport hopper’ having played rugby, athletics and weightlifting with her current obsession being Strongwoman as she aims to start competing. If she asks you for an arm wrestle – just say no!
Civil Engineering Recruiter
Since launching his recruitment career in 2018, Kevin has consistently demonstrated his expertise, starting from the ground up by building a successful construction desk. With over seven years of experience in construction recruitment, Kevin has built a strong reputation for his ability to deliver top-tier talent across every facet of the industry. His in-depth understanding of the market, combined with his dedication to meeting both client and candidate needs, has allowed him to forge a successful career.
Having joined First Task Professional to lead on the freelance civil engineering desk, Kevin brings experience to the table, connecting skilled professionals with exciting and challenging civil engineering projects. Kevin’s passion for recruitment and his drive to build lasting relationships ensure that he continues to play a pivotal role in shaping the future of construction recruitment.
Outside of work, Kevin loves spending time with his wife Megan and two daughters, Emily and Hanna. Most weekends they are out enjoying one of the many beaches local to them in East Lothian come rain or shine. Kevin also enjoys football and music with a keen interest in playing drums.
Resourcer
Callum joined the business in October as a Resourcer to support and manage the candidate journey at First Task Professional and ensure congtinual exceptional high standards of candidate care across the teams.
His primary focus is candidate management from initial telephone calls to candidates, updating and managing the CRM system and candidate updates and ensuring general compliance.
Callum has slotted into the team really well and has been a two for one acquisition for Task Towers as the team also heavily lean into his previous life as a successful fitness Personal Trainer to keep updated with the best nutrition and fitness tips. He also part-time models as a lookalike as Prince Charming from Shrek.
Recruiter
Jay joined Team Task in May 2025 to dedicate his time and attention to our SME Building clients and Fit-Out and Refurbishment specialist sectors, where he has managed to create successful positive outcomes for employers and job seekers over the last 2 years. Jay specialises in permanent white-collar recruitment.
Jay is a real fitness enthusiast and outside of work he can be found at your nearest Hyrox sporting event. He recently ran in the Edinburgh Half Marathon (in a very speedy time!) and intends on doing more endurance events going forward. He supports his local mighty Dunfermline Athletic and insists that it won’t be long before the might Pars are back in the Premier League!.. don’t hold your breathe, Jay.
