In some careers you can start in an entry level job and still be in the same role, with only a slight increase in your salary and responsibilities, four years later. In housing organisations, employees tend to progress through the ranks in half that time.  

“Entry level housing employees, like housing officers, should be able to move up to management positions in a couple of years,” says Jill Goult, membership development manager at the Charted Institute of Housing (CIH). “Management level jobs normally pay around £35,000 a year and chief executives can earn in excess of £80,000.  

“There are also lots of people who have entered the sector after initially choosing a different career path. Often, the whole work package will be better than in other sectors; most housing organisations have good pension schemes, flexi-time and negotiable annual leave.  

“Nearly half of all housing staff will be at retirement age in the next decade so housing organisations need to invest in the personal development of their staff.” 

Gaining more qualifications

John Gibbons, corporate services director at Family Mosaic housing association, swapped a career in surveying for housing management. Gibbons, 49, realised that if he wanted to join the corporate management team of a housing association he needed further qualifications.  

He studied for an MBA from Kent University whilst working as a technical director at a housing association. Three years after graduating in 1999, he joined what is now called Family Mosaic housing association, which has a staff of 1,100, manages 20,000 homes and specialises in supported housing. 

“I wanted to work in housing because it’s related to property management and surveying and the MBA opened the route for me to get more involved in corporate management rather than the technical side,” says Gibbons.  

Moving from organisation to organisation

Now responsible for managing “other people who do the doing”, Gibbons says moving from organisation to organisation can help housing professionals progress their careers because it will show they have experience of different ways of doing things. “The best piece of advice I can offer is to always be enthusiastic even if you have to grit your teeth,” he says. “With a positive attitude, any employer is going to want you on their team.” 

Other members of housing association senior management teams credit their career progression with having gained relevant experience in front-line roles.  

Before he joined the Hyde Group, Matt Holmes, 34, had worked in a hostel for people awaiting bail and as a project worker supporting clients with learning difficulties. He joined Hyde, which manages 75,000 properties, in 2001 as a housing officer and worked his way up to housing area manager of in touch, Hyde’s supported housing division, which employs 200 people, when it was launched in April 2006.

Experience on the ground

Now managing a team of 12 housing officers working with tenants who may have mental health problems or learning difficulties, Holmes says his experience on the ground helped him gain colleagues respect. 

“Often I travel with housing officers to meet tenants and colleagues will ask me for my advice on fairly difficult issues,” says Holmes, who has a postgraduate diploma in housing. “Having worked in similar roles myself, I feel I can offer my advice and empower my team.”  

Of course even if managers have experience working in the roles they oversee, their jobs can be more difficult than they look.  

Learning to juggle

After gaining 11 years’ experience working in housing officer and senior housing officer roles for Middlesbrough and Sunderland City Council, Gavin Brown, 35, thought he had a realistic idea of management roles. But, in 2004, when he moved to Endeavour, which employs 80 people and manages 1,600 homes in the Teesside area, to take up the role of housing manager, he found the position more difficult than he imagined. 

“I always had aspirations to go into management,” says Brown. “But I didn’t realise there’d be so many demands on your time or so much juggling of tasks. When I was a housing officer, I had certain times in the week when I could do my work without being interrupted but now I’m a manger, I have to deal with day to day crisis, like staff going off sick, on top of my responsibilities.  

“As a manager you have to be proactive not reactive. You have to put systems in place to guard against things like staff shortages.” 

Difficult managerial tasks handled well can bring a lot of job satisfaction. 

Managing difficult situations 

Andy Painton, works at Stonham which employs 2,700 people, provides beds in 1,113 properties and specialises in working with single homeless people. Painton started out at the organisation as a relief project worker in the 1980s. He then progressed to services manager for Cornwall, south east regional director and operations director, a role which he did for eight years. In 2004, Painton, 41, became executive director and says his most memorable experience in his current role was a very difficult one. 

“I had to stand up in front of a large group of staff to explain why we had to change the structure of the organisation and why this would result in redundancies,” says Painton. “The overwhelming responsibility to deliver the message in an honest but forthright manner was huge.” 

Painton says the most challenging thing about heading up a housing organisation is getting the balance right between empowering people to “get on with the job” and supporting their work. “You should celebrate and never feel threatened by the talents and abilities of others,” he says. 

Studying part-time 

One way to prepare for the challenges in management level jobs in housing organisations is to do a relevant vocational qualification on a part-time basis. 

After studying one day a week for a Higher National Certificate (HNC) and then, a housing studies degree at London South Bank University, Ryszarda Gago-Patel was promoted twice. She joined Brent Council as a leasehold management assistant in 2001when they offered to fund her vocational studies. A year later, she was promoted to a leasehold management officer and in 2003, Gago-Patel became a projects and services officer at the newly formed Arms Length Management Organisation (ALMO) Brent Housing Partnership. 

“On the degree course I covered housing development, construction, policies and procedures and that’s exactly what I’m doing now,” says Gago-Patel, 28. “If I have to draw up specifications for disabled access to a community hall, I can liaise with contractors easily because, after doing the courses, I speak their language. I was also able to understand about the finance side of things and why Brent Council became an ALMO.” 

Seize opportunities

Housing professionals that progress rapidly in their careers take advantage of such opportunities for personal development. Andy Painton says being willing to learn is key to a successful high-achieving career in housing. 

“My advice to progress rapidly in the early part of your career is to seize opportunities when they come along,” he says. “Seek out opportunities both within and outside the sector and listen to other people who have been successful.” 

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