The Work Foundation is strengthening its leadership team with the appointment of a new Director. Lesley Giles will take up the new role on 3 October 2016.The Work Foundation aims to be the leading independent, international authority on work and its future.
Lesley said: “I’m excited to be joining the Work Foundation and the University at a time where there is such potential for us to influence how “good work” is at the heart of rebuilding a more productive and dynamic economy in the UK post Brexit.”
Dean of LUMS, Professor Angus Laing, welcomed Lesley and announced plans to launch a ‘Commission on Good Work’ in the autumn. This will help shape the new strategy for the Foundation over the next two years as it prepares to celebrate its centenary in 2018.
Cathy Garner takes on a new role as Partnership Director to concentrate on deepening the Foundation’s partnerships, including those in health and wellbeing and in new areas of work.
Lesley Giles is a senior executive with extensive experience in shaping policy and practice involving complex stakeholder relationships, acquired operating at the heart of Government and through public sector agencies.
Currently Deputy Director of the UK Commission for Employment and Skills, Lesley’s work has provided strategic guidance on skills and employment issues, with a particular focus on supporting business-led action. Prior to this she was Acting Director for Strategy and Research at the Sector Skills Development Agency.
Lesley has also worked for the Department for Education and Employment; the Employment Service and the Cabinet Office; the Institute for Employment studies; the University of Portsmouth’s Business School and the University of Central England. Lesley is a graduate of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, an Independent Governor at Derby University and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.
The Work Foundation transforms people’s experience of work and the labour market through high quality applied research that influences public policies, organisational practices while empowering individuals.
Through its rigorous research programmes targeting organisations, cities, regions and economies, now and for future trends; the Foundation is a leading provider of analysis, evaluation, policy advice and know-how in the UK and beyond.