Jill Downing

Jill has has more than 15 years’ experience as an L&D consultant, helping businesses and individuals to develop leadership, management and communication skills. With a background in advertising and theatre, communication – the ability to tell your story – is integral to Jill’s work with participants. She is passionate about helping people to develop their personal influence by recognising both the impact of the way they communicate with others, and the choices they can make to help them to do it more effectively. Her skills in fusing learning techniques with the actor’s ability to create presence and articulate a message help learners to identify and practise new strategies for maximising their personal effectiveness at work.

Jill has worked extensively across both public and private sectors. She is currently working with McKinsey to deliver a 1 week leadership programme to early tenure leaders, covering a range of topics: leadership narrative; formative stories; values; trust and dialogue; inclusion and psychological safety; courageous conversations; inclusive problem solving; presence; facilitation; building resilience to stress; roles and priorities.

Through Civil Service Learning she has delivered training to British Civil Servants throughout the UK and overseas.  Projects include:

  • Management and communication modules for the ‘fast stream’ programme, designed to equip high calibre graduates with the skills they need to move quickly through their career development into leadership positions
  • Management Essentials – a leadership programme for DFID, in India, Bangladesh, Uganda, Ethiopia, Nigeria and the UK
  • Management training to the FCO in Abu Dhabi; Croatia; Dubai; Germany and Nepal

Jill is a specialist in Presentation Skills, using her theatre experience to helplearners to develop their stage presence, use their space effectively to enhance their message and, most of all, to be their authentic selves. In 2017 she was invited as Subject Matter Expert by HMRC to design and deliver a UK-wide 2-day presentation skills workshop to enable senior leaders to communicate a major internal change programme. As part of the overall project, she conducted individual follow-up coaching sessions with more than 50 participants to give feedback on performance and provide addtional skills guidance.  Recently she designed and delivered a programme for the International Institute of Science and Development on how to deliver effective virtual presentations using a blend of 1-1 coaching and workshops.

Other clients include:UKRI; National Grid; John Lewis Partnership; SITA; The Wine Society; Roffey Park Institute; Psychonnaissance; Cleansorb; European Secuities & Markets Authority; Compact Media Group; Image Source; System Concepts; De Montfort, Kingston, Sussex and London South Bank Universities; Unilever.

Jill holds a CIPD Certificate in Training Practice, gained with Distinction. She is also a member of the British Actors’ Equity Association.

Jill is an energetic and engaging trainer. She brings enthusiasm and humour, is articulate, confident, and loves to engage participants in activities and discussions. She designs and delivers with creativity and clarity. Her facilitative style helps to ensure that individual needs, as well as the course objectives, are explored and addressed.

 

Jill is based in London and works in London and across the south, south-east and Midlands – and, indeed, internationally.

Give us a call on 01582 463460 to talk through which UK facilitator(s) would be best for you.