• Individual nominated: Rhys Atkinson
• Organisation: Tollcross Housing Association

Statement of support

Rhys secured a permanent role as corporate services assistant following a temporary period of cover for maternity leave. He was promoted from receptionist to this role and he has gone above and beyond in all aspects of the job. In particular he has taken responsibility for identifying and arranging events to celebrate the association's 50 anniversary. There are annual events that take place and Rhys has prepared an extended schedule of events for 2024. The summer event in Tollcross Park and Winter Gardens was a huge success and this was only possible as Rhys prepared a full risk assessment, sought licences and permits and found creative ways to minimise delays in obtaining these. He sought assistance from outside agencies to push things forward and took full responsibility for these. This meant he had regular contact with the entertainment providers, including carnival rides, DJ, arts and crafts, face/hair painters, food trucks and ice cream van.

He has worked with the Events Focus Group (local volunteers) to create the events calendar and meets with them regularly to keep them updated. He quickly appreciated that these members responded well to being more involved in carrying out tasks rather than just the discussion and decision making, and now ensures they get hands on with each event. He does not hog the limelight but does deserve to. 

Rhys arranges a debrief after each event and generally identifies ways in which to do things even better next time. An example of this is how we manage our annual bus trip – this is where we arrange a bus trip and pay for lunch for over 100 local residents. He has streamlined how we manage the guestlist and how we get the guests onto the coaches with minimal delay on the day, as last year the weather was dreadful and he wanted to avoid people having to wait around. He also used his initiative to price check lunch to ensure we inflated the amount we give each guest this year. This year, Rhys took full control of the staff supporting the bus trip and provided a script for the ‘rules of the day’ to ensure everyone was receiving the same message.

The focus group members are impressed by his enthusiasm and organisation skills and since he has taken over the group, six new volunteer members have joined. Traditionally association events have been seen as a corporate team activity and it has been difficult to get buy-in and assistance from other departments over the years.  However, Rhys has encouraged staff representation onto the group from all departments and not only are they all regular attenders at the meetings, they are now bringing a new enthusiasm to the group. They have stated on more than one occasion that this is mainly due to Rhys’ approach. As, similar to the non-staff volunteers, Rhys was sensitive to what would ‘float their boat’ to keep them engaged and has directed duties well. Rhys has demonstrated a true commitment to his own personal development, the association and our customers through his thorough approach to this and other duties within his role and should be proud of his achievements.

Outcomes and achievements

Even before Rhys secured the role as corporate services assistant, he was demonstrating a real commitment to the corporate team and the association. He started working with us as receptionist four years ago, when he was just 21. He has put himself forward to all types of tasks that would not normally be associated with his role. He was an obvious choice to cover maternity leave and we were delighted that he secured this post on a permanent basis when the other staff member left. 

Rhys has grown immensely in his attitude and ability to grasp the whole picture within the housing sector. He has put himself forward for and successfully completed corporate and governance training programmes. He has naturally taken the lead with other groups of peers within the departments, such as fire wardens and has become their spokesperson to the health and safety board. 

Overall, Rhys has achieved positive outcomes relating to his role, his attitude, his relationships with staff and our voluntary management committee.

• Individual nominated: Lauren Herd
• Organisation: Elderpark Housing

Statement of support

Lauren Herd personifies all that is admirable about a dedicated young housing professional.

Enthusiastic, committed and hardworking she has embraced her six years at Elderpark Housing with zeal.

She is precisely the kind of professional needed if community-based housing providers are to continue to thrive with highly-motivated staff coming through the ranks.

It is an ever-present challenge for housing associations to recruit the right kind of young workers for whom housing is not just a career of choice but a vocation.

Lauren (24) joined Elderpark in 2018 admitting she “didn’t know anything about housing” until her school careers advisor invited her to consider a modern apprenticeship opportunity at Elderpark.

And that’s where her successful career journey began when she was taken on to work in maintenance administration.

It turned out to be the ideal choice for Lauren and was such a success that she was kept on before being offered a customer service role in 2020.

Lauren then returned to maintenance as a maintenance administrator in April 2022 - her current role. The majority of her role consists of programme delivery and administration of tenant health and safety, which includes gas, fire and electrical safety.

Such is her enthusiasm for all things housing, in early 2024 Lauren joined the board of Wellhouse Housing Association in Glasgow becoming its youngest board member and has been described in glowing terms by its director Martin Wilkie-McFarlane.

Martin said:

• “Lauren has consistently demonstrated enthusiasm and commitment to the role.  She is intelligent and forward thinking. Lauren always asks the right questions and fully understands the dynamic of executive and non-executive management of community-controlled housing associations and immediately impressed her board colleagues and senior staff members of Wellhouse Housing Association. She is a great asset to the sector.”

Vicki Cutler, social housing professional and director of Housing H&S Compliance UK Ltd has worked alongside Lauren over the last few years to review key elements of tenant and resident safety and the delivery of services within Elderpark Housing. Vicki said:

• "Lauren has shown continuous improvement both personally in learning new aspects of her work and in the wider role within Elderpark Housing where she has been instrumental in the delivery of tenant and resident safety-related services in the pursuit of excellence, ensuring that the association secured substantial assurance for their tenant and resident safety arrangements."

At such a young age Lauren is seen as a ‘leading light’ and was invited to share her journey, on stage, at The Social Housing Safety Network Scotland in November 2023,  where she spoke about the challenges she faced and how she had overcome them - she was quite inspirational and engaged with other peers in the sector.

Lauren said of her role at Elderpark:

• “Repairs and maintenance are among the most high-profile roles any housing provider undertakes. And it is something that matters greatly to the tenants. Keeping them safe is not just a legal requirement but a moral obligation in keeping with the admirable values of community-based housing. I love my job at Elderpark and having experienced various roles within the organisation I feel I am the right fit for maintenance. We need more young people to consider careers in housing to ensure the future success of community-based housing.” 

Elderpark’s chief executive, Gary Dalziel said:

• “Lauren joined Elderpark as a young person at the beginning of her career journey, in the last six years she has blossomed into a mature, confident and professional colleague who I have no doubt will go onto achieve success throughout her career. She has regularly sought out new challenges and opportunities, questioned and identified ways to improve processes and actively embarked upon learning opportunities.”

Outcomes and achievements

Lauren has demonstrated a confidence that belies her young age and this was demonstrated this year when she presented at two national conferences this year in front of experienced delegates to which she received extensive positive comment.

At the SFHA annual conference she led a breakout session entitled 'The Key to Recruiting Young Talent to the Housing Sector' to an audience including housing association HR professionals and CEOs.

Then at a second gathering, the Scotland Safety Network conference, she again showcased her work at Elderpark in relation to health and safety - which by its very nature is complex - but she displayed confidence and authority communicating with other professionals in this field.

Lauren has actively also embraced continuous professional development obtaining her CIH Housing Practice Level 4 qualification and an IOSH Managing Safely accreditation.

In addition, within a challenging year within her department, she has risen to the occasion continually seeking out more responsibility and tasks and most recently she wrote and presented a board report for the first time displaying her confidence in this formal environment.

Lauren was recently also an active participant in the Your Career in Housing Project including providing case studies on her career path.

• Individual nominated: Christie Mulvaney
• Organisation: Link Housing Association

Statement of support

Christie is a housing officer based in Bathgate team. She has worked in housing for three years.

Christie consistently demonstrates her wide-ranging knowledge and skills. She is customer-focused and shows empathy and understanding in what can be challenging and sensitive circumstances, as experienced in her day-to-day work.

Christie is always willing to step in to help her customers, some of who experience complex and challenging issues in their day to day lives.

Christie supported one of her tenants who had been released from prison and was struggling with addiction and unable to pay her rent. 

In line with Link’s tenancy sustainment approach, Christie was able to secure additional income for the tenant and made a successful application for discretionary housing payment, which reduced the tenant’s arrears by £1,100. 

Christie used her trauma-informed approach to build trust with the tenant and after a few weeks, the tenant shared that she had further support needs around her mental health. 

Christie accessed over £800 of fuel support funding, completed a food bank referral and supported her tenant to engage with mental health services. 

In this particular case she worked closely with social work and mental health services to ensure that the tenant received the much-needed support with her mental health and wellbeing.

Christie is creative, adaptable, and flexible in her approach. Thinking innovatively, reaching out to different services and support providers, and working to break down barriers for her customers.

Christie participates in the River-Kids Easter Egg Appeal and promotes positive service outcomes.

During a visit with colleagues to the new West Lothian food bank, Christie struck up a relationship with the manager who advised they would be setting up a one-stop-shop in her patch.

Christie used this as an opportunity to work in partnership with the food bank and arranged to hold a local housing surgery.

The venue provides her with the opportunity to engage with tenants using the service and meet in a local safe space.

Christie shares her experience and knowledge with her colleagues regularly.

As well as putting her tenants first, she is career-focused, and despite the demands of her job as a housing officer, has recently completed her Masters degree in Housing.

Along with colleagues from across the organisation, Christie contributed to the development of our Housing Strategy. Her contributions and insights were refreshing.

More recently, she partnered up with fellow housing officer Nikki Quinn from the Paisley housing team to launch the Link 2 Exercise programme. They secured funding through Link’s community benefits funding to offer free gym memberships to tenants to improve their health and wellbeing as part of The Lens©.

Christie has a positive impact on her colleagues and customers alike, and her a pro-active, can-do attitude is a great example of commitment to housing, Link and making a difference in the sector.

David McKenzie, managing director said:

• “Christie is an enthusiastic and valuable team member. She is keen to learn, shares good practice and knowledge and always looks at innovative ways to engage with customers and improve services. We are extremely proud of her work – she is a rising star of the sector."

Outcomes and achievements

Christie has continually delivered excellent performance and outcomes for her customers and within her key performance indicators. 

Christie generated substantial additional income and financial support for her tenants, which has included: 

• DHP hardship – £19,800 – 22 tenants helped
• Tenancy sustainment – Eight tenants assisted
• Fuel support fund – 21 tenants - £9750
• Current sustainment cases six – closed this year seven
• Winter goods successful applications – 23.

Christie continues to positively impact tenants who are experiencing financial hardship and difficulties in managing their tenancies. 

Christie secured chrome books for some of her tenants who were digitally and socially excluded. 

Christie regularly advocates on behalf of her tenants; she is community focused and delivers good outcomes. She is knowledgeable, skilled, and fully focused on performance. 

Her commitment to her continued professional development is evidenced in her formal further education and participation in strategic service development.

She is a great example of a housing officer who is “Proud to be professional”.

• Individual nominated: Jamie Morrow
• Organisation: South Lanarkshire Council

Statement of support

After leaving a college course with uncertainty over a future career, Jamie decided to apply for a modern apprenticeship with South Lanarkshire Council, taking up a role as a temporary housing assistant within the Homeless Access and Assessment Service (HAAS) in December 2022.

The service is very busy, and Jamie initially felt quite overwhelmed and unsure of the skills he could bring to the role, but after completing a 10-week training course, he was aware of how much his knowledge and confidence had improved.

Jamie said:

• “The role is customer focused and the thought of answering questions and trying to help people was daunting.  As the weeks went on my confidence grew and I began to feel comfortable in helping people.  I found myself wanting to answer calls instead of feeling like I didn’t have the knowledge or skills to help.”

The housing assistant role is a busy and varied one and Jamie’s responsibilities include, arranging temporary accommodation for those who need it.  Jamie has shown he can find creative and innovative approaches to finding solutions for prospective tenants. Jamie has actively worked with and further developed relationships with First Stop projects. He has been instrumental in developing ideas and solutions on how to best to manage temporary accommodation for homelessness service users. This has helped to resolve any logistical challenges in placing people with high risk needs into projects as Jamie has formed an open and honest relationship with external partners and is excellent at keeping in regular contact with all parties. Jamie also plays a key role in ensuring that up-to-date information is shared between the day-to-day business and the out-of-hours service and works hard to make sure that everyone accessing HAAS receives the best service possible and are always treated with respect and dignity.

Jamie has developed excellent communication skills and engages in a professional and friendly way by email, telephone, and in person, and he has built up positive working relationships with not only external partners but with colleagues across Housing Services as well. His colleagues recognise the energy and passion he brings to his role, always taking a problem-solving approach and delivering tasks within agreed timescales. 

Another of Jamie’s key strengths is his ability to remain calm under pressure and he is always the first person to offer support to colleagues when the service is particularly busy.  He regularly puts his own knowledge and experience to good use by delivering training to new members of staff.

During his time in HAAS, Jamie has been proactive in identifying service improvements, highlighting to his manager a range of gaps and inconsistencies in the information that was being shared across the team and with the out of hours service.  In response, Jamie has helped develop a new and improved recording system which facilitates better communication across the team and in general ensures that the service runs more efficiently. 

A final word from Jamie:

• “Over time I have noticed a change in myself, from being anxious and doubting my abilities, to being confident and open to further learning and development.  When I look back to the Jamie I was when I joined the team, I feel proud of the progress I have made both professionally and personally.  Although each day can be a challenge, I now have confidence in my own abilities to adapt and develop my knowledge and learning which fills me with an optimism and a passion to develop my career within Housing.”

Outcomes and achievements

In addition to his on the job training, Jamie has successfully completed the Chartered Institute of Housing Level 2 SCQF Level 5 and SVQ2 in Housing at SCQF Level 6.

Using the skills he has acquired, in particular his excellent IT skills, Jamie worked alongside his team leader to develop a new and improved recording system for the out of hours service, ensuring all relevant information can be effectively captured. The new system will help ensure information is monitored and recorded more efficiently, enabling improved reporting which will help ensure continuous improvement of the delivery of homelessness services.

The improvements Jamie helped identify are now being rolled out to staff and Jamie will have a key role in mentoring and supporting staff during the implementation of the changes.

Over the last 18 months, Jamie has developed his skill set and self-belief to become a fantastic mentor to new members of staff and takes a lead role in training and helping to develop their skills and confidence.

In October 2023 Jamie secured a permanent housing assistant post with the council and is now looking forward to furthering his career and hopefully becoming a housing officer in the future.