Next Generation Leaders – Asif, Genette, Irina & Shaynesia

I started my career in housing over 14 years ago as a trainee housing officer, after graduating from university. I have worked in various roles, including housing management, tenancy sustainment and then progressing to line management where I led a team of tenancy sustainability officers deliver a tenancy sustainability service to new tenants, supporting and guiding them manage their tenancies and live independently. I helped shape the new service, developed and reviewed new processes, policies and procedures to bring them in line with what we were offering and ensuring there was consistency across the teams. I was also a member of the equality and diversity group where I was involved in reviewing various policies, recruitment and training.

I currently work as housing and communities manager, having the responsibility of housing and income management. I started this role during Covid, which was interesting! But having a great team, definitely helped.
Our residents are always at the heart of what we do and my team has implemented a customer first approach to deliver our services. I feel this way, we can achieve better outcomes and customer satisfaction. Our aim is to work in partnership with other services to meet the needs of our residents and achieve some challenging targets.
We are a small housing association, but always up for new challenges and finding new ways of working to deliver best services to our residents.

I enjoy my walks, fortunate to have some enjoyable walking trails around Derbyshire! I enjoy spending time with my family and catching up with my friends, eating some great food, exploring different cultures and travelling when I can.

Growing up, a career in housing and construction was not something Shaynesia had 'bat and eyelid' for, nor was it seen as an option. Heavily into science, she graduated university with a Biology degree in 2014. However, acknowledging that she no longer wanted to pursue a career in the field, she was presented with an opportunity that gave have a footing in construction. Shaynesia worked for a family-run maintenance contractor as a scheduler planner. Using her time wisely, on top of her daily duties, she shadowed building surveyors to gain technical experience in diagnosing repairs and assessing defects of residential properties.

Joining Tfl as a Graduate Quantity Surveyor in 2016, she eventually gained an MSc in Construction management & economics as well as the APM Project Management Qualification (PMQ) whilst working full time. Shaynesia worked on projects in various departments ranging from earthworks, cycle superhighways, to fit outs of railway arches as part of the Tfl estate. She pivoted her into project management by managing small-scaled projects herself, which led her to join the British Museum as a Project Manager, responsible for gallery refurbishments and pre-construction works of the museum roof replacement project, The South Colonnade.

Shaynesia has remained active in the industry by being involved in campaigns such as GoConstruct, has been shortlisted as a UK Construction Week Role Model for 2 years running and was a finalist of Design & Build UK Women in Construction Awards 2020 hosted by BBC The Apprentice Finalist, Michaela Wain and was shortlisted for the 'Most Inspiring Role Model' for the Inspire Awards earlier this year.

Noticing the impact that COVID-19 had on recent graduates and those who had been furloughed or made redundant, Shaynesia positioned herself as a panellist on webinars to share her own journey, as well as give tips to those interested in breaking into the industry. This led her to become a mentor on two different programmes - Built By Us & Women Into Construction.

Shaynesia is currently managing a major project (c. £20m) that incorporates MMC. Her main objective is to oversee the planning and delivery of projects from start to finish, whilst ensuring that work is completed on time and within budget. Other duties require her to ensure that the client's needs are met, plan effectively, work with internal and external stakeholder, ensure effective communication across teams, periodic reporting of project process and assessing risk.

Shaynesia enjoys going to the gym to keep fit and healthy. She also likes to bike ride and is a podcast host. She is a cat mum to 3 cats. She is an avid gardener and where possible, she feeds tired bees sugar water.

More than 10 years of experience with 4 years of experience in social housing in Hackney. Architect by training, with a MSc in Sustainable Urban Development, started working in housing as a Design Manager and then moved to a strategic role. I am currently a Strategic Asset Manager within the Property and Asset Management team.

My current role as Strategic Asset Manager is a key role in the delivery of the new Housing Asset Management Strategy. This includes formulating plans and performance targets, and aligning these with wider objectives, as part of the continuous improvement of the Council Housing Stock.

I am a highly adaptable individual, I’ve lived and worked in three different countries, and always welcome a good challenge, work wise or otherwise! Family is very important to me and I spend a lot of my time playing with my nieces. I love cycling and I’ve been into origami for years, and lockdown has been great to discover good music!

I have 17 years' experience leading multi-disciplinary housing and community development teams. I am Head of Tenancy Management at Golding Homes, having joined in 2020. I worked with West Kent Housing Association before then for almost 14 years as their Head of Housing Services. Before entering the social housing sector, I enjoyed roles within local authority environments working in research and regeneration teams. I also volunteered in programmes working with young people. I currently volunteer as a member of the CIH South East forum and chair the Kent Housing Group subgroup for tenancy management.

I manage a diverse portfolio of services including commercial and home ownership, tenancy management, housing for older persons, allocations, community safety, income, welfare and employment services.

I love my hometown living by the sea, spending time with family and friends, enjoying coastal life in all weathers. Cycling is a new hobby and I hope to get a campervan one day soon for spontaneous trips and mini breaks!