Recommended Residential Districts for English speaking expats please

JingAn district has one of the priciest apartments in Shanghai, most of the units nearby Nanjing west road are either serviced apartments or old residential units with local management and standard. It's a matter of budget.
Try to get a separate housing allowance of at least 15k RMB, assuming you are single or MUCH MORE if you have family, if you are negotiating the contact with a potential employee.
Cheaper and decent options are within walk distance from line 7 changping road, xikang road, kangding road, changshou road...
One last word about metro network in Shanghai, it gets very crowded during rush-hours and many expats couldn't stand it after a few weeks which contributes to their higher number of 'bad China days' ; )

Many thanks for your reply..

Are there recommended agencies/apps or other methods to find apartments or serviced apartments?

There are agencies, APPs, websites. Unfortunately, most of them are not very transparent or dont bother to verify their listings!
I'd strongly recommend to make your decision after you touch down, perhaps staying in a hotel first while taking time to view several units.
In main-time, you may use your favourite search engine for some housing pics with price tag!

I agree with Shanghaidriver that the areas near jing'an, west Nanjing road are more expensive due the areas schooling and monuments. This alone raises the price of the property pretty high. So would say a good house with good landlord its going to take at least 15 K. Then again the area is very popular with foreigners and very close to former french concession that has good nightlife and shopping possibilities. 

West Nanjing Rd is connected with line 2, 12 & 13 so commuting is also possible but as ShanghaiDriver sayid on rush our its not fun to stand in very full metro. For that occation there are loads of bikes near the streets or you could buy a scooter to commute like I do.

What comes for finding a house or how to deal with the shanghai culture shock just ask me.

There are must apps that you want to have to make your life easier in Shanghai.