Sarah was inspired to swap her role in family services for a position in housing when she noticed the support that housing officers were able to give to disadvantaged families. Almost exactly 10 years ago, Sarah joined Mount Green as a Neighbourhood Officer and has progressed to her role as Assistant Director of Housing Services. In the next instalment of our careers in housing series, Sarah talks us through her career journey and discusses the change she wants to see in the housing sector.
Tell me about your career – how did you get into housing?
I’ve had a varied career, but the role I had before I worked in housing was working for the Family Information Service for Surrey County Council. I used to talk to and support disadvantaged families or families who were facing challenges.
On many of my visits, there were often housing officers from some of the larger associations present and I used to think, ‘I quite like the idea of that job’. I found out about Mount Green and saw there was a job advertised as a Neighbourhood Officer, applied for it and I’m still here 10 years later. I’ve had the opportunity to progress to run the Independent Living service, and then another opportunity arose to move to Assistant Director of the Housing team.
What are some key milestones/achievements/personal highlights you’ve experienced during your time at Mount Green?
In 2018, the government withdrew the Supported People Fund and localised the scheme, which meant that the pensioners in our communities stopped receiving the funding. That’s when we launched our Independent Living Service. I was the manager of that service at the time and being able to provide a service that kept vulnerable residents safe and gave them a bit of extra care, was something I am very proud of. It does come with its challenges and it’s getting increasingly harder to continue with, however, the satisfaction amongst those residents is higher than all our other groups. I think the development and continuation of that service would be one of my best achievements.
What are some key things you’ve learnt/challenges you’ve faced in your role?
The key thing I’ve learned over the years is that I can never predict how a resident is going to react to me in a professional capacity – it always surprises me. You have assumptions about how a meeting is going to go, and it goes a completely different way, sometimes better, sometimes worse. And I think this job is all about listening more than you speak, and I remind myself of that all the time.
Do you have any advice for anyone wanting to start a career in housing?
That your team is critical, because you need a lot of support from people when you work in housing. I truly think it’s worth fostering those professional relationships with your team and making sure that you can rely on each other. And when, if you see a team member who needs help, give it willingly, because there’s going to be a time when you’ll need it back.