Dr Helen Eccleston is a Senior Lecturer in Business and Management and is the Programme Leader for BSc Business and Management. Previously, she held academic posts at the University of Central Lancashire as an Associate Lecturer in Strategic Management and as a PhD Candidate in Management (Entrepreneurship and Strategy). 

Since 2022, Helen has served as the School’s Strategic Employability Lead, where she authored and now oversees the implementation of the School’s employability strategy across all programmes. She leads the Employer Advisory Panel and works closely with local SMEs, government bodies, and major employers to ensure the curriculum remains responsive and industry-relevant. Helen also designs and delivers a range of co-curricular initiatives, including careers fairs, mock assessment centres, innovation labs (student consultancy), and commercial awareness sessions. She was a co-author of the School’s successful Small Business Charter application, securing a five-year award in recognition of the School's engagement with SMEs. She also coordinates student placements, embedding equality, diversity, and inclusion into placement planning to ensure equitable access to work-based learning. Helen recently presented this inclusive approach at the PraxisAuril Conference 2023, showcasing collaborative projects with the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority.

Helen is also the Programme Leader for our largest programme, BSc Business Management. In this role, she provides academic leadership and strategic oversight, ensuring the programme remains current, cohesive, and aligned with industry needs. She works closely with module leaders to maintain high academic standards, supports student engagement and success, and leads on quality assurance and enhancement processes. Helen also plays a key role in student advising and pastoral care, liaises with external stakeholders to strengthen graduate employability, and collaborates with internal teams on programme promotion and recruitment. Her leadership contributes significantly to the continued development and reputation of the programme.

Helen's research adopts both a processual and social practice lens to explore the day-to-day entrepreneurial activities in small family business. She has presented her work at numerous international conferences, addressing topics such as strategising, practical coping, and the emotional dimensions and lived experiences of entrepreneurship. Her most recent work published in Human Relations examines the political potential of affect and how it matters for entrepreneuring as organisation creation. 

Helen is an accomplished educator who brings a wealth of expertise and passion to her teaching practice. She assumes a leadership role across multiple modules: BUS2019 Employability and BUS3037 Organisational Misbehavior. Helen has experience teaching across undergraduate, postgraduate, and executive education programmes.