Working with Us

We're passionate about making a difference. We're also passionate about our people. Our continued success is built on attracting talented people, helping them perform and develop, and making sure they thrive at work.

By joining The Retrofit Academy, you will be part of a values driven organisation leading the way in the development of retrofit skills.

You will belong to an organisation that believes in quality retrofit and its ability to change lives.

You will make a valuable contribution to achieving the UK's Net Zero targets and will be helping to manage climate change.

A great job should offer more than just a salary. In addition to competitive pay, we also offer a growing range of other financial and non-financial benefits:

• 25 days annual leave + statutory bank holidays
• A day off for your birthday (or another important day)
• Annual Leave Purchase Scheme
• Company Pension
• Private Medical Insurance
• Enhanced maternity and paternity pay
• Enhanced sick pay
• Eye care vouchers

We also offer a discretionary bonus based on the achievement of our company values (our "Culture Dividend") along with a range of smaller, manager-led rewards.

In addition to regular corporate training, we offer tailored professional development through regular 1-2-1s, performance conversations and bespoke development plans for all our employees.

We firmly believe in supporting our people to thrive and aim to provide the tools needed to achieve this. We provide resilience and mindfulness training, along with health and wellbeing support.

We believe in the power of working regularly in the same space, but we also know that sometimes we all need a little peace and quiet, and that flexibility is important. We offer hybrid working arrangements and flexible working to cater for people's individual needs.

We have regular team away days and social and charitable events and have introduced a corporate volunteering scheme.

We have a comfortable and relaxed working environment with a chill out room complete with table tennis and pool, and have the occasional “Pizza Friday”!

The Retrofit Academy is proud to be an Accredited Living Wage Employer and have been certified by the Living Wage Foundation.

We hope you'll see that a career with The Retrofit Academy gives you much more than a paycheck!

Meet the Team

Executive

David Pierpoint

David is the founder and Chief Executive of The Retrofit Academy CIC.

He has spent over a decade addressing the skills gap in the retrofit sector, working closely with government, industry and education to scale up retrofit training. He is driven by The Retrofit Academy’s mission to develop over 200,000 competent retrofitters by 2030.

David is a regular speaker and facilitator at conferences and events, including for the Local Government Association, the UK Green Building Council and the World Green Building Council. He serves on several key industry committees, working groups and think tanks, and has appeared on BBC Radio 5 Live, ITV News and Channel 5 News. He is also co-owner of Osmosis ACD, a company specialising in delivering outstanding retrofit assessment, coordination and design.

Outside of work you'll find him cooking a curry, walking his miniature Schnauzer (Monty), watching his beloved Stoke City, or going for a run!

Jenny Pierpoint

Jenny joined The Retrofit Academy in 2020 as Chief Operating Officer and leads on all things people, operations and programmes.

She started her career working for PricewaterhouseCoopers and Tribal Local Government Consulting and prior to joining The Retrofit Academy spent over 9 years in local government. She is a chartered manager, an associate chartered management accountant, a PRINCE2 practitioner, a change management practitioner, certified programme manager and has recently completed an MBA and Level 7 Senior Leaders Apprenticeship.

Jenny led the Community Renewal Fund Project that won the 2023 Unlock Net Zero Collaboration of the Year: Knowledge Building and Research award.

Outside of work you'll find her in the gym or pool, singing choral music, walking her miniature Schnauzer (Monty) or enjoying a crisp Sauvignon Blanc.

Training Development and Delivery

Callum Harrison

Callum joined The Retrofit Academy in 2021 as the Training Operations Manager and is now the Head of Training Development and Delivery.

He has 10 years experience in the construction industry starting out as a plasterer and tiler and then working for a new build company as Assistant Site Manager. He also has over 10 years experience in the construction training sector working in various roles in prisons, further education, adult training and charities.

Callum leads all aspects of our training including new product development, training delivery, funded training programmes and our growing training network. Under his leadership The Retrofit Academy won the 2023 Unlock Net Zero Skills and Training Award.

Outside work he enjoys spending time with family and friends, visiting new places, going on holiday, watching sport (mainly rugby – go Wasps!) and going to the gym.

Partnerships

Mani Dhillon

Mani joined The Retrofit Academy in 2023 as Head of Skills Partnerships. She has enjoiyed an impressive 25-year career spanning diverse sectors and brings a wealth of experience in business development and employer partnerships. She has successfully cultivated a diverse client portfolio across private, public, and commercial organisations, most recently heading up the business development provision for a London university.

Mani has a track record in managing European Social Fund contracts and overseeing adult education budgets for a college and a university. As an expert in apprenticeships, adult education and workforce planning, she has consistently delivered impactful initiatives, providing training and education opportunities that empower individuals and organisations.

Mani excels in executive stakeholder engagement, client influence, business development, strategic workforce planning, and project management. Her dedication to addressing climate change and environmental concerns perfectly aligns with her commitment to assisting employers in the retrofit industry.

Beyond her professional career, she enjoys participating in various sports, including completion of mud runs, wolf runs, and 10K marathons. A passionate boxer, she has fought in white-collar boxing matches to raise money for charities. To unwind she indulges in her sweet tooth with a good action movie or book.

Sebastian Junemann

Seb joined The Retrofit Academy in 2023 bringing with him 20 years experience working in the retrofit space from social housing, social research, consultancy and academia.

His retrofit experience started while working for social landlords, delivering energy efficiency and sustainability programmes. Since then he spent over 12 years carrying out academic and commercial research in the energy and environment sectors, most recently leading the independent evaluation into the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (Demonstrator).

He is passionate about retrofit and the benefits it can bring to residents and the wider world. With a research-led, evidence-based focus he works with our partners to understand their needs build clear pathways into retrofit careers.

Out of working hours, Seb spends most of his time in his other job as the parent of two small children, using any spare moments to try and perfect the art of home-made pizza in his wood-fired oven.

Marketing & Events

Ann Davis

Ann joined The Retrofit Academy in November 2023 as Group Sales & Marketing Director.

She has over 25 years senior leadership experience working in the UK, Europe and EMEA within sectors including construction, manufacturing, utilities, professional services and charities. With a proven track record in B2B and B2C, she creates and implements Sales & Marketing strategies to achieve optimal results, along with multi-channel initiatives, from events through to lifecycle management and CRM. Ann is passionate about her team’s development, customer experience, relationship management and brand advocacy.

She is Prince2 Foundation qualified and a Fellow of the IDM and CIM.

When not working she loves cooking and travelling, from short UK city breaks to cruises around the med with a glass of Prosecco in hand!

Melissa Armstrong

Melissa joined The Retrofit Academy in 2022 and brings over 20 years of marketing experience from within B2B and B2C industries.

After a long stint in agency life working on marketing campaigns for retail, finance and leisure clients, she moved onto in-house senior marketing roles within construction, horseracing, and more lately a well known theme park!

Melissa is passionate about delivering great communications and has a wealth of experience in planning and delivering multichannel marketing campaigns, incorporating TV, radio, digital marketing, PR, exhibitions, sponsorship and CRM.

In her spare time, Melissa juggles a busy family life and enjoys walking in the mountains, running and drinking Prosecco (but not all at the same time)!