Dawson Housing - 6 Non-Executive Directors

6 Non-Executive Directors - Dawson Housing

Location: London
Date Posted: 03/03/2020
Closing Date:
£4,000.00 PA

Commitment: Minimum of 10 days per year

Tenure: Board appointments are for an initial term of 5 years. The term may be renewed if both the board member and the board agree.

About Dawson Housing

Dawson Housing is recruiting 6 new board members over the coming 3 months. We are an independent, financially secure Registered Provider of housing. We provide housing across all social sectors from people suffering from homelessness and low-level mental health to general needs homes. The company is looking forward to recruiting a new group of colleagues to be part of the leadership team at a new and exciting start of our journey.

Our board members will be selected based on the skills and experience they bring to our decision making. We are committed to building a diverse board and are looking for individuals who will support our strengths while helping us develop ambitious plans to grow and take the company forward to becoming a leading provider of social housing.

The correct candidate will have the opportunity to help develop the future of a new organisation in a sector that we feel is under supplied with quality homes. As a value led organisation, all board members are expected to be an ambassador for Dawson Housing to assist us in growing sustainably and act in accordance with our values and governance at all times.

We aim to become a leading provider of high-quality accommodation for those with support needs, operating in areas of high need throughout the UK. Dawson’s primary purpose is to provide good quality housing for its tenants while delivering value for money. To deliver our vision, we will secure partnerships with new support providers and nurture relationships with our development partners. We strive to achieve excellent governance and co-regulation and wish to attract high calibre board members who can support, challenge and contribute to our plans over the coming years.

We are registered with The Social Housing Regulator (number 5058).

www.dawson-housing.co.uk

Candidate Information

We are seeking to add board members to the team who can bring a dynamic, thoughtful and experienced approach to governance and compliance. We are looking for someone who is committed to the provision of good quality housing for those with support needs.

All candidates must bring managerial experience; board or executive experience is helpful but not essential.

Our ideal candidate will bring professional competencies related to housing and/or social care, or organisational development.

These are areas identified within our skills matrix, but wider skill sets will be considered.

Role: Purpose of a Non- Executive Director

• To operate as part of a leadership team, ensuring the highest standards of governance are evident across the board, and the group.
• To bring high quality skills and competencies associated with being effective as a nonexecutive director, and to work effectively with others, including executive directors, in delivery of Dawson’s vision, mission and values.
• To ensure that high standards of customer care /customer experience are delivered in the context of providing high quality homes and excellent value for money to all.

Person Specification

The Board is looking for strategic thinkers, ideally with skills in one of these areas:

• An in-depth knowledge and understanding of the social care and housing needs of vulnerable adults
• Senior level commercial experience in residential property management, including leasing agreements and negotiations.
• Housing association operations/ asset management.

We will also consider exceptional applicants from other backgrounds.

Core Competencies Required

• Leadership & Communication – has a successful track record of leadership having operated and contributed effectively at a senior level in either the private/public, voluntary or community sectors.
• Strategic thinking – understands the RP’s overall strategy, able to assess implications before making decisions
• Judgement – proven track record of providing clear, balanced advice and guidance with the ability to challenge constructively
• Influence – demonstrates effective skills in persuasion and negotiation to influence others
• Team working – experience of working in collaboration with others, working towards common goals and shared objectives

Abilities, skills and Knowledge

• Always ensure accountability –operating in the spirit of co-regulation and with public scrutiny in mind
• Govern risk – understanding it; identifying it, articulating it and ensuring it’s managed without being risk averse.
• Contribute to scenario planning – Comfortable with handling, analysing and prioritising data and information to explore assumptions and alternatives to enable flexible decisions to be taken while exercising good judgement.
• Demonstrate financial literacy – Ensuring all decisions are informed by a working understanding of business finance to support decision making around development of new housing, investment in existing and disposals as required
• To inspire others, build trust and respect from staff and board colleagues

Duties and Responsibilities

As part of the board, and under the leadership of the chair;

• Set the vision, mission and standards and uphold the organisations values and objectives
• Set strategic aims and ensure that the financial, human and other resources are aligned to achieve these objectives
• Identify key business risks and agree to monitor a framework of mitigation and management controls
• Use skills and judgement to contribute to debate and reach conclusions that are in the companies and tenants’ best interest and further its objectives.
• Agree, review and uphold the key policies and procedures
• Set and review the performance management framework, scrutinising the financial and management performance against the strategic aims and business plan
• Prepare for and attend meetings, ensuring the effective conduct of the business of the RP
• At all times, promote the RP and act as an ambassador to advance the vision and to foster good relationships with funders, partners and other stakeholders
• Declare any personal, pecuniary or non-pecuniary interests and act in due regard to legal and regulatory requirements including those (but not exclusively) stated by Companies House and the Homes and Communities Agency
• Participate in reviews linked to personal performance or that of the whole board
• Always abide by the Code of Governance and act within the law

Each board member is expected to commit and attend a minimum of 10 board meetings per year.

Travel and out of pocket expenses will be reimbursed for each day of attendance.

How to Apply

In order to apply you should submit:

• An up-to-date CV which shows your full career history
• A covering letter explaining why you are interested in this role

Job Type: Part-time

Salary: £4,000.00 /year

Experience:

• housing association operations/ asset management: 5 years (Preferred)
• social care and housing needs of vulnerable adults: 5 years (Preferred)
• commercial experience in residential property management: 5 years (Preferred)