Lesley Giles is a Director at Work Advance, where she undertakes applied research and analysis, and consultancy work, around skills, labour markets and the world of work. She is a senior executive with extensive experience in leadership and change management, involving complex stakeholder relationships. This has been acquired operating at the heart of Government for over 20 years and through public sector and commercial agencies, and most recently as a Director of two commercial management consultancies: including the Work Foundation, at Lancaster University as well as Work Advance.
For instance, Lesley was Deputy Director and Company Secretary at the UK Commission for Employment and Skills, where she worked with Industry and Government to enhance the operation of the skills and employment system. In that capacity she served 7 Government Departments across the UK, including HM Treasury (HMT). In addition, she has also worked at: the Sector Skills Development Agency; the Department for Education and Employment, the Employment Service, the Cabinet Office, the Institute for Employment studies, the University of Portsmouth’s Business School and the University of Central England.
She has built up a substantial international profile as a thought leader and practitioner, using evidence to improve policy and practice in the UK and abroad, working through networks such as those run by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Lesley is a graduate of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and was a Governor of the University of Derby for 6 years up to 2021.