29/04/2026
The IEP is delighted to welcome Natalie Gill FIEP to the Fellowship, recognising her outstanding contribution to the employability and skills sectors across more than a decade of frontline, operational, and strategic leadership.
Natalie, Operations Manager at the Growth Company with responsibility spanning Doncaster and Rotherham, has built a career defined by a commitment to quality, continuous improvement, and genuinely positive outcomes for the people she serves. From her early days as a Careers Advisor to leading complex DWP and ESF contracts across multiple regions, her Fellowship marks a significant milestone in a journey of sustained professional growth.
Natalie began her career providing careers guidance to young people in schools, colleges, Pupil Referral Units, and home-education settings across North Yorkshire – grounding her practice in a deep understanding of the barriers individuals face when navigating their futures. In 2013, she joined the Growth Company as an Employment Advisor on the Work Programme in Hull, progressing through the ranks to Team Leader and then Service Manager on the Community Work Placement contract.
Her breadth of experience grew further through managing the ESF Skills Support for the Workforce contract across South Yorkshire and Derbyshire, where she worked closely with employers to upskill staff and strengthen local economies. When the Growth Company secured the Restart contract in 2021, Natalie stepped up as Operations Manager for Doncaster before expanding her remit to include Rotherham – stabilising underperforming teams, embedding scalable processes, and consistently exceeding performance targets along the way.
“Fellowship represents recognition of my professional journey I’ve built over more than a decade in employability, skills, and operational leadership,” Natalie said. “It acknowledges the depth of experience I’ve gained managing multi-site teams, delivering complex ESF and DWP contracts, and driving performance, quality, and positive outcomes for participants and colleagues. But more importantly, it reflects the values that have shaped my career – raising standards, developing people, and improving services that genuinely change lives.”
Throughout her career, Natalie has built a strong reputation for engaging awarding bodies, supply chains, employers, and strategic partners, always with a focus on quality and compliance. Her leadership has consistently translated operational rigour into meaningful community impact.
She is equally committed to her own development as she is to the growth of those around her.
“It also represents my own dedication to continuous development,” Natalie said. “I’ve never seen leadership as a finished product; it’s something that evolves through reflection, challenge, and learning. Becoming a Fellow reinforces my commitment to developing my strategic thinking and broadening my impact. It’s a reminder to keep stretching myself in the same way I encourage others to.”
The IEP Fellowship is awarded to leaders who demonstrate extraordinary dedication to improving the Employability sector, driving innovation, and creating lasting social impact. Natalie’s track record across frontline delivery, contract management, and multi-site operational leadership exemplifies those values.
As a Fellow, Natalie will continue championing high standards in employability practice — inspiring colleagues, strengthening employer and community relationships, and helping to ensure that the services shaping people’s lives are the best they can possibly be.
About the IEP Fellowship
Fellows of the IEP are a community of passionate and influential professionals from within the Employability sector. They work to share best practice through the sector, and also to support the vision and mission of the IEP.
Fellows of the IEP are usually expected to have been in the Employability or a related sector for at least 7 years, to have participated in or supported external activities across the sector, to be prepared to play a role in advancing the sector, and to be committed to Continued Professional Development.
Candidates undergo a professional development interview. This is vital to the professional standing of the IEP and means that its Fellows readily command respect both within and beyond the sector. Candidates are welcomed from across the full spectrum of Employability, so whether you’re a frontline adviser or a senior director, if you can meet the criteria your application will be welcome.
Fellows benefit from special services including invitations to participate in the IEP Summit and regular Fellows Networking Dinners, which take place throughout the year.
Interested in applying for IEP Fellowship? Find out more and apply here.