Community Involvement Officer My background I didn’t go to university or college, I left school with 5 GCSEs and went straight into employment. My career background was mostly in administration, but I have always had an interest in housing. In addition, I have a general interest in sociology and psychology; and so social housing was appropriate. I knew someone in the organisation who encouraged me to apply.
Why Mercian? I applied to Mercian because I really liked their values and it is an ethical company to work for, you can clearly see that Mercian sticks to them. Mercian embeds the values throughout your job role and you are asked to analyse your performance against those values on a day-to-day basis.
My job
My job is completely different! It is an amalgamation of all the best bits of my previous jobs! I am creative and I think the role requires that – because you are dealing with people. You have to take into consideration the diverse people you will liaise with on a day-to-day basis. The best thing is that there are no two days the same. Each day is varied, I love being busy and I am kept busy every day!
On a typical day
I would be involved with pulling together articles for our quarterly magazine – HomeLife. Interacting with residents and organising events, for example the Kings Norton Three Estates Festival, we were the only housing association there. Organising ways to communicate with residents. Now I am looking at developing a mystery shopper’s project and consulting resident’s views on it.
My advice to you… You need to be open and honest about your capabilities because it’s a demanding role, be happy and enjoy the challenges! You need to be committed, able to prioritise and time manage. You definitely have to be someone who is good with people! Understand government regulations. Prepare to be challenged, amazed and have a really good time at work!