Advocating for Change: Leadership, Opportunity and the Future of Retrofit

For many professionals working in the UK’s retrofit and decarbonisation sector, career paths rarely follow a straight line. For Jade Lewis, founder of her own advocacy consultancy, Jade Advocacy, and a well-known voice in the retrofit industry, the journey has been defined by determination, adaptability and a willingness to seize opportunities when they arise.

Reflecting on her career, Jade is candid about the commitment required to reach her current position. Her progress, she says, came through sustained effort and a readiness to prioritise professional development, even when doing so required personal sacrifice.

“I got where I am today with a lot of hard work, sacrifice and determination,” Jade explains. “I was always prepared to focus on my career, most often putting it first, relocating numerous times for the next step up, placing my son in childcare at a young age so I could keep working, and always juggling lots of things.”

An unexpected route into retrofit

Despite her prominent role in the sector today, advocacy was never part of Jade’s original career plan. In fact, she recalls that her younger self would have been surprised to learn where her professional journey would lead.

“I never planned to work in advocacy,” she says. “In fact, I would have laughed if you’d told my younger self that this is what I would be doing in my later life.”

At a pivotal moment in her career, however, she found herself ready for change. With a young son and a sense that her professional progress had stalled, she decided to take action. Rather than remain in a role that no longer challenged her, she took the initiative and sent her CV to a senior HR contact.

As it turned out, the timing could not have been better. Her CV landed on the right desk just as the UK government was seeking secondees to help develop what would become the Green Deal, an ambitious programme aimed at improving energy efficiency in homes across the country.

“I had never heard of retrofit before,” Jade admits. “But working with Government seemed like an exciting change. I grabbed the opportunity and have never looked back.”

That decision ultimately led her to establish her own advocacy consultancy, where she now works at the intersection of industry, policy and delivery, helping shape conversations about the future of retrofit and sustainable buildings.

The value of relationships and technical understanding

Throughout her career, Jade believes a combination of interpersonal and technical skills have played a vital role in her success. Advocacy, she explains, relies heavily on relationships, trust and the ability to communicate effectively across different parts of the sector.

“I am a natural networker,” she says. “I love meeting new people and new experiences, which means I really enjoy my job.”

Building strong relationships, however, goes far beyond simple networking.

“Trust is really important to me and critical to building relationships with people,” she adds. “That’s a core part of advocacy.”

Alongside these interpersonal strengths, she also credits her technical background and experience leading projects with helping her navigate the complexities of policy and industry change.

“A strong technical background and project leadership skills really help in understanding policy and industry issues and delivering results,” she explains.

Leadership through empathy and example

Over the years, Jade has also developed a clear philosophy around leadership. For her, effective leadership is less about hierarchy and more about example, integrity and empowering others to succeed.

“For me, a good leader is someone who leads by example, is hardworking, trustworthy and has empathy,” she says. “Someone who develops their team to be the best they can be and isn’t afraid for them to shine.”

It is an approach she consciously tries to embody in her own professional life, creating space for colleagues and collaborators to grow, while maintaining a strong sense of accountability and shared purpose.

Learning from challenges

Like many professionals working in construction and the built environment, Jade has faced her share of challenges throughout her career. The sector’s cyclical nature has meant periods of uncertainty, including the risk of redundancy during economic downturns.

“Like everyone, I have faced many challenges in my career,” she says. “From potential redundancy to discrimination, to personality clashes.”

Yet rather than seeing these moments as setbacks, Jade believes they have often served as catalysts for growth.

“The hardest times have often led to a positive outcome in the end,” she explains. “The challenges shape you, make you stronger and give you the push you sometimes need to take a leap into something different.”

She also speaks openly about an experience many leaders rarely acknowledge publicly: self-doubt.

“Self-doubt and anxiety are something I’ve always had to deal with,” she says. “People think I’m very confident, but I’m actually quite the opposite. It’s the same with many leaders. Knowing this will help you realise ‘I can do this too.”

A once-in-a-generation opportunity

Looking ahead, Jade believes the UK retrofit sector is entering a period of unprecedented opportunity, particularly through the government’s Warm Homes Plan.

“The scale of the opportunity to retrofit homes across the UK is what excites me most,” she explains. “It’s a huge untapped market for businesses working in this space, offering tremendous growth potential and job opportunities.”

However, she believes the industry must think beyond energy efficiency alone. As an advocate for healthier homes and buildings, she argues that retrofit programmes should also prioritise wider aspects of wellbeing.

“We have the once in a lifetime opportunity to improve homes to be healthy and fit for the future,” she says, highlighting the importance of thermal comfort, air quality, lighting and acoustics, alongside carbon reduction.

Skills for the next decade

As the Warm Homes Plan begins to scale up across the UK, Jade expects demand for new skills and expertise to grow rapidly.

In particular, she anticipates significant growth in the installation of low-carbon technologies such as heat pumps, solar photovoltaic systems and battery storage, as electrification becomes central to the decarbonisation of homes.

She also believes local government will play an increasingly important role, creating new demand for retrofit specialists within combined authorities and local councils.

“If we get it right, the Warm Homes Plan offers the potential to create a new workforce capable of delivering solutions for healthy homes and places,” she explains.

New opportunities for women

For Jade, the growth of the retrofit sector also represents an opportunity to rethink who participates in shaping the industry’s future.

“To deliver the Warm Homes Plan we need to make retrofit appealing to homeowners,” she says. “That means we need to change and find new ways of marketing, selling and delivering.”

This shift, she argues, could open the door to new voices and perspectives.

“A huge opportunity exists for women and people who think differently to make an impact in this industry,” she explains.

Changing perceptions of leadership

Despite progress in recent years, Jade believes the construction sector still has work to do in broadening perceptions of leadership.

“The sector needs to radically change if we are to diversify,” she says. “We need to change our perception of what a leader looks like.”

Historically, she notes, leadership in construction has often followed a familiar pattern.

“In construction it’s very ‘old white male’ at the top,” she says candidly.

Yet her own experience shows that change is possible. After seeing other women step into senior leadership roles, she decided to pursue a similar opportunity herself.

“That inspired me to go for a Chief Executive role,” she recalls. “I got the first one I applied for.”

A sector with purpose

Ultimately, what motivates Jade most about her work is the sense of purpose that comes from improving people’s lives through better homes.

“When we start talking about the skills we need to build and retrofit homes of the future it becomes far more appealing than just standard construction,” she says.

The sector, she believes, offers the chance to deliver meaningful change.

“Being able to improve people’s lives by creating warmer, healthier home environments, prevent climate change by reducing energy demand, and contribute to something bigger than ourselves gives the work real purpose.”

Advice for the next generation

For the next generation of women entering the sector, Jade encourages both ambition and resilience.

“Have a vision of where you want to be,” she advises. “Create a career plan to help you get there, expect knock-backs along the way, develop a strong support network, find a mentor, and be prepared to adapt your vision as things naturally change.”

Opportunities, she believes, often come when preparation meets timing.

“It’s a lot about luck,” Jade says. “But luck is more likely to result in better personal outcomes if you are ready to act when opportunities arise.”