1:1 coaching

Rachel Vowles BA (Hons), Cert Ed (FE)

Rachel has a career spanning four decades across formal education (post-16) and professional theatre, working as a lecturer, director, actor and facilitator. Since 2009, she has worked as a freelance practitioner, joining the DBAA team as a lecturer in 2025.

She works extensively across education, industry, public and third sector organisations, specialising in personal impact, communication and presentation skills. A passionate advocate for authentic self-expression, Rachel is committed to empowering people to become the best version of themselves, both personally and professionally.

A qualified coach, trainer and facilitator, Rachel is equally comfortable working with senior and high-status individuals as she is supporting those at the beginning of their professional journey. Her approach is encouraging, practical and focused on developing confident, authentic and impactful communicators.

Over the course of her career, Rachel has worked with a diverse range of organisations, including:

University of Manchester · University of Leeds · University of Exeter Business School · MARJONS · QAA (Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education) · Duchy College Business School · Peninsula Medical School · NHS Education · Health Education England · South West GP Education · Royal College of Surgeons · Royal College of General Practitioners (Severn and South West Faculties) · Royal College of Nursing · Exeter and North Devon Addiction Service · RNIB · RNID · The Met Office · National Trust · Science Museum, London · Vaillant Group · Cancer Research UK (CRUK) · BMW · NFU · HSBC · Deutsche Bank · BPEX · EDF Energy · Regional Development Agency · PDC Inspiration

Dr Jenny Lloyd BA(Hons), PGCE, MA, PhD, SFHEA, EMCC

Following a successful career in marketing, working both client-side and agency-side, Jenny transitioned into academia, where she spent 28 years developing and delivering undergraduate and postgraduate courses in consumer behaviour, marketing communications and branding at both post-92 and leading Russell Group universities.

Jenny has particular expertise in authentic education, building effective partnerships between universities and organisations, and supporting academics to design authentic teaching and assessment while maximising the impact of their research. She has written and presented extensively on the practice and value of authenticity in education at international conferences, and has delivered workshops for a number of leading UK universities, the British Academy of Management, and the Chartered Association of Business Schools (CABS) Leaders in Learning and Teaching programme on leading and delivering educational change.

More recently, Jenny has expanded her coaching, mentoring and facilitation practice, completing an EMCC-accredited Level 5 qualification in coaching. She now works with universities, researchers, doctoral students and businesses to develop productive collaborations that maximise both organisational benefit and the impact of academic research, while also coaching individuals to achieve their professional goals.

Testimonials

.

“Rachel’s 1-to-1 coaching session gave me the confidence to explore the commercial potential of my research. It encouraged me to attend the Commercially Confident workshop offered by my university’s Enterprise Team, where I developed my idea further. I also reached out to potential collaborators and have already had my first meeting. I would highly recommend Rachel’s coaching to any academic looking to rediscover or develop their ideas and build confidence. You don’t need to see yourself as a commercial person or have a fully developed project, whatever stage you’re at, the coaching will help you take the next step.” – Researcher

“Rachel’s 1-to-1 coaching session gave me the confidence to explore the commercial potential of my research. It encouraged me to attend the Commercially Confident workshop offered by my university’s Enterprise Team, where I developed my idea further. I also reached out to potential collaborators and have already had my first meeting. I would highly recommend Rachel’s coaching to any academic looking to rediscover or develop their ideas and build confidence. You don’t need to see yourself as a commercial person or have a fully developed project, whatever stage you’re at, the coaching will help you take the next step.” – Researcher

“Huge thank you to Rachel Vowles and Developing Business-Aware Academics for an incredible free 1-2-1 coaching session a few days ago! As a researcher, translating fundamental, curiosity-driven science into a compelling pitch for industry partners can feel like learning a whole new language. My session helped me to structure a high-impact narrative to confidently pitch to industry collaborators. If you are a researcher looking to bridge the gap between academia and industry, I cannot recommend these free 1-2-1 sessions enough. It is the perfect space to unlock the commercial value of your science! Thank you again for the invaluable guidance and support!” – Researcher

“I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity and practical guidance I received from Rachel. I received coaching for my real-life tasks: an upcoming presentation and networking event. Working through the immediate tasks gave me skills to apply what I learned straight away. I also discussed the feedback from the presentation with my coach and developed a strategy for future presentations. I learnt some new skills and tips which I didn’t know before. My confidence has increased in talking to people. I highly recommend this coaching opportunity.” – Researcher