Jenny Hall Spotlight Story | Top Flight

Meet Jenny Hall our Top Flight 2022 alumna

Jenny has spent over a decade at Royal Mail, following an early career in public affairs and PR consultancy focusing on politics and business. Now serving as Chief Corporate Affairs Officer at Royal Mail & IDS, Jenny is playing a key role in shaping the future of one of the UK's most iconic organisations. 

In this spotlight, she shares how she navigated her career journey and large organisational changes, as well as the impact of the Top Flight programme and gives key leadership insights that continue to guide her at executive level. 

Your career journey & the Royal Mail

After graduating with a degree in politics, I wasn’t entirely sure what direction to take, so I began doing internships in and around Westminster. I eventually found myself at a small lobbying and public affairs consultancy, and that’s where everything clicked. I really grew into the role, and it showed me just how interesting the intersection of politics, policymaking, and business could be. I fell into a job that, as it turns out, I was made for, and I feel lucky in that sense.

Over time, I expanded into PR within the consultancy world, but after eight years, I was ready to step into a more front-facing role rather than working behind the scenes. So, when the opportunity at Royal Mail came up, I took it.

A Career & Organisation with Purpose

Royal Mail is one of those organisations you really get involved with. What may be just letters and parcels to some people feels like much more to me. There’s a strong sense of community service at its core, and in a communications role, there’s always a major change or exciting project underway. There’s always something big happening - like our recent campaign supporting small businesses - and that’s what I love.

Everybody knows the red post box at the end of their street, and there aren’t many companies so embedded in the national identity. It’s a real privilege to be part of something that resonates so deeply with how people in the UK think and feel about themselves.

What your role as Chief Corporate Affairs Officer involves

Taking on a Global Leadership Role

The change in my role part of a renewed strategic focus on becoming a leading global player in logistics through our parent company, the IDS Group. I’m now more involved in the broader group strategy, particularly with GLS, our international logistics business that operates in over 40 countries.

A Future-Focused Perspective

It’s been genuinely exciting to take on a more global, future-focused perspective. The past few years have been challenging for Royal Mail. But we’ve now turned a corner and are focused on what’s next. My new role reflects that shift, and I’m proud to be contributing to this new, positive chapter in the Royal Mail’s journey.

Your Top Flight experience and the Programmes impact

The brilliant thing about Top Flight is that it’s such a well-rounded programme, covering everything from individual development and knowing how to confidently ask for promotions to understanding finance. There wasn’t just one great segment, but so many brilliant aspects and learning moments.

Clarity and Connection

The session that had the biggest impact on me came right at the beginning, when we explored what truly motivates us, what we want from our careers, and how to define our personal brands. I genuinely draw on that insight all the time.

Having the space to reflect on your career alongside such an inspiring group of women- with diverse roles and motivations- was incredibly helpful. It really helped me gain clarity on what I want and where I’m heading. The ongoing connections between cohorts have also been hugely valuable. The regular touchpoints and conversations still offer a strong sense of support.

What makes The Pipeline so impressive is its clear focus on female leadership development. To see such great examples of brilliant female leaders and male allies was so empowering.

Applying Top Flight tools to real-world challenges

From Crisis to Strategy

What’s been most significant in my new role is the ability to step back from the day-to-day and focus on the bigger picture. After going through a period of crisis management - like dealing with our cyber-attack - you realise how essential leadership development is. That’s where The Pipeline has been so valuable. It really reinforced the importance of taking a strategic view and not getting lost in the daily operational noise.

Growing and Developing my Team

In my role, I have to make sure the whole organisation – across the Royal Mail, GLS and IDS – is looking to the future. If I can’t do that, then I am not doing my job properly. That is specifically where Top Flight’s leadership development really helps, by teaching you how to build strong teams and develop them too.

Top Flight helped me learn to delegate more confidently, to prioritise what will truly make an impact, and to focus on growing the team rather than just managing it.

Advice for the next generation & women aspiring to senior leadership

Take Opportunities

Take the opportunities. As I mentioned earlier, I had no clear idea where my career was going at the start and I certainly didn’t follow a straight path to where I am now. For example, I spent 18 months in the Regulation Department, even though I’m not an economist. But I did it, supported customer experience initiatives at other times in my career, and used those moments to gain broader business exposure.

Embrace the Unexpected

While there’s a lot of advice out there about carefully planning every development step, sometimes the best growth comes from taking those slightly unexpected opportunities, especially if they help broaden your perspective as a leader. If you're aiming for executive roles, it’s not just about being the best in your discipline - say, the best communicator - but about being able to take a wider business view.

So my advice is: keep an eye out for opportunities, even if they don’t seem like an obvious fit. Take them. You never know where they’ll lead.