The Executive Route to chartered membership is designed for senior housing practitioners, including chief executives, directors, and professional partners working at strategic levels within housing or the built environment at strategic levels in their organisations, leaders and influencers of policy and practice agendas locally, regionally and nationally..
This route supports your progression to CIH chartered member status (CIHCM) through a reflective and experiential programme, allowing you to demonstrate your impact on housing policy and practice.
Eligibility criteria
To apply for this route you must be a current resident of the UK or Ireland and have UK or Ireland housing sector experience.
To be eligible for this route, you must:
- Be a current chief executive, director, or professional partner working in a housing organisation or the residential built environment in the UK or Ireland.
- Provide a detailed statement demonstrating your experience and practice at a strategic level, and your influence on policy and practice agendas locally, regionally and nationally against the criteria for chartered membership.
Please note: International candidates cannot apply via the UK and Ireland route.
Please ensure you meet the eligibility criteria before applying. Applications without statements will not be processed.
Benefits of the Executive Route
- No course attendance required - the reflective assessment process is relevant to your role and organisation.
- Peer reviewed - present your achievements to a panel of housing professionals. Dates available throughout the year.
- Chartered membership (CIHCM) – upon successful completion
Registration fee
A registration fee of £1500 for UK and Ireland based candidates applies (this fee applies from April 2025).
What to expect from the Executive Route
The Executive Route is designed to showcase your strategic expertise and leadership in housing. The programme involves a reflective assessment and peer review process, giving you the opportunity to highlight your achievements and professional impact.
Presentation and peer review
- You’ll prepare and deliver a 30-minute presentation on how your professional experience and practice shows that they meet the requirements of chartered membership.
- Following the presentation, there will be 30 minutes of discussion and questions with the peer review group. The review panel consists of experienced housing professionals and fellow candidates.
- All interviews are conducted via Microsoft Teams on the first Friday of every month, provided there are a minimum of two candidates (maximum four). Please ensure you can accommodate this before applying.
Note: You must participate in the presentations of all other candidates during the session.
You are required to demonstrate and present a case on how your professional experience and practice shows that they meet the requirements of chartered membership, which are to:
- Maximise the positive impact of your work with individuals and communities
- Deliver services that are designed to maximise the positive impact on customers
- Work with partners to improve effectiveness
- Contribute to the profession, sharing experience and supporting innovation
- Communicate effectively – taking care to select the right style and method for the audience
- Apply the professional standards framework to the daily role, embracing a reflective practice to contribute to the professionalism of the organisation and the wider sector
- Have an ethical approach to your work - using the CIH ethical framework when faced with dilemmas
- Ensure that you have the right skills and knowledge for the job – scanning the horizon to predict future challenges and preparing effectively
- Embrace non-discriminatory practice and challenge behaviour which works against equality and diversity principles of good practice, reflecting on steps taken and improvements needed for equality, diversity and inclusion
- Support initiatives for delivering services which are socially responsible
- Promote and engage with policies and processes which conserve resources and support sustainable development.
It should also show how your professional experience and practice shows:
- your contribution to the housing profession
- the strategic direction of your organisation and how it meets government housing policy
- your experience in managing resources (people and/or teams)
- a reflection on your professional experience and the importance of professionalism and professional standards
- your practice of professional development and working to code of conduct, code of ethics and the CIH professional standards
- how you continue to influence policy and practice agendas locally, regionally and nationally.
Ready to take the Executive route?
Get in touch with our team today via phone, email, or our enquiry form — we can discuss your eligibility, the process, and how this route can support your professional progression.
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