Can you tell us briefly about Town & Country Housing Group?
At Town & Country we have a strong commitment to providing good quality housing, excellent customer service, supporting and developing vibrant communities, and combating social exclusion.
We are committed to developing a positive approach to customer service, where the views and needs of customers are at the heart of everything we do. This was demonstrated when we were the first housing association in the country to achieve the Institute of Customer Service's top accolade – its prestigious ServiceMark.
We provide more than 9,000 affordable homes in Kent, Sussex and Surrey.
What are your priorities over the next few years?
Our focus is to continue to improve the quality of life for our customers and provide them with an excellent service. We are committed to delivering a high level of customer service.
We will continue to develop a range of housing solutions to meet the growing demand for social housing while focusing on our key areas so we can be the primary registered provider for Kent and East Sussex. We will continue providing a range of housing solutions. A key priority for the future is to continue regenerating our estates to meet future needs and expectations.
Why should people want to work for Town & Country?
We believe that everyone has an really important role to play in the success and growth of the organisation. We aim to recruit well-motivated and committed staff and offer training and support to help them develop their careers.
Our commitment to recruiting and developing staff who can really make a difference and offer excellent customer service is reflected in our Investors in People status and in the 'One to Watch' grade we achieved in the 2013 Best Companies survey.
We offer a competitive benefit package for all staff, to ensure we retain them. This includes generous holiday allowance, private medical membership, a corporate eye care scheme, a pension scheme, life insurance and discounts at local businesses.
Development director Colin Lissenden has worked his way up
"I started 14 years ago as a project manager and have worked hard to progress to where I am. Throughout the years, Town & Country has grown but one thing that hasn't changed is our desire to innovate and push through new ideas. Staff are encouraged to share ideas and make decisions, which can quickly be realised without going through huge amounts of red tape.
"Because we are a medium sized organisation, we are able to compete with other bigger housing associations but we are still able to be flexible and to adapt to different situations and business opportunities.
"Our regeneration work has been hugely important over the past couple of years. Residents have been heavily involved in decision making so we've been able to transform areas with less popular homes and develop thriving communities. We are proud that this regeneration will deliver more than just housing."
Capital accountant Daniel Povey took advantage of our training opportunities:
"I joined Town & Country 10 years ago, aged 19, as an accounts assistant. I was responsible mainly for data entry tasks and purchase ledger work.
"A year later I decided to start studying with the Association of Accounting Technicians entering into a company training programme. Town & Country supported me financially with course and examination fees and purchasing study books, which was a great help.
"Since then I have gained the full qualification and held several different roles after promotion. I am now studying for the ACCA accountancy qualification, again financially supported by Town & Country, while working as capital accountant, looking after our housing stock and working with our development team.
"I have always enjoyed working within the finance team and going forward I am confident that my colleagues will support me where necessary."
Neighbourhood housing manager Laura Kanareck joined us recently:
"A few months ago I was looking for a new job, I wanted to work for a medium sized housing association in Kent with a good reputation and Town & Country fitted the bill.
"The team I work with are really great and helped me settle in very quickly; there is a fantastic team spirit which is really supportive.
"Being a neighbourhood housing manager with a patch of more than 600 properties covering a large area of West Kent is really challenging. You never know what will come up so prioritising work is key.
"It's fantastic to be able to make a difference to people's lives That's why I love working in social housing – it's housing with a heart.
"I'm too busy to think about what I'll do next, but I do know that I want to stay here at Town & Country and develop my career. There are real opportunities here to progress and I like the idea of maybe getting into resident involvement for my next challenge."
Find out more information about career opportunities at Town and Country
