I think he might refuse to take it till the summer if he was told he had no job after that. So if Garde or whoever brings their own staff he might not like that arrangement. If he has a cushy assistant job guaranteed though there's no way he'll say no.
He is on an 8 year contract. He is not going to quit if he doesn't get the job as he won't want to lose his compo.
Just give him a sack of fag ends, he'll pure love just ploughing through it.