Members only

• Abi Deeprose

  Abi Deeprose is a HR Advisor at Stonewater, working to make Stonewater an exceptional place to work.

  She got her start as HR administrator for Stonewater seven years ago; her first ”grown-up job”, and where she discovered her love of the human resources profession as a way to improve the lives of colleagues, and its potential to impact the sector and society. She hasn’t looked back and has gained experience in various people roles, always striving to be ambitious for employees, and through them, our customers.

  Abi works to continually improve the experience of employees, actively setting individuals up for success, as well as working on wider cultural change. She particularly enjoys her work in Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, co-chairing Stonewater’s Gender Equality Committee, and as an ally and champion for LGBTQ+ rights, as well as her work writing corporate policies, strengthening Stonewater’s offer to colleagues in areas like the menopause, flexible working and domestic abuse.

  Putting people first, and leading with empathy and creativity, Abi aims to continue to use her voice and skills to improve the employee experience of her colleagues, so that they can do what they do best for our customers.

• Anne Bentley

  Hi, I’m Anne. I’ve recently started my new role as a neighbourhood manager for Worthing Homes. After leaving school I completed an apprenticeship within the NHS and spent several years working various roles within the organisation. In 2020, I began my career in social housing and I haven’t looked back since! Some things that make me tick are making a positive impact on people’s lives, spreading kindness, Taylor Swift and cats!

• Antonia Thompson

  Antonia, 25, dedicated stock condition surveyor at Livin Housing. With eight years of experience in the private housing sector and a recent transition to social housing, I bring a wealth of knowledge and expertise to the sector. I’m passionate about making a difference and eager to make a further impact in the social housing sector.

• Carla Pamment

  My name is Carla Pamment, I’m 29 and I’m a neighbourhood services manager (Retirement and Supported Living) with Moat Homes. I’ve worked in the housing sector for over ten years, starting as a business administration apprentice in 2013. I’ve worked in a variety of roles, including lettings, tenancy management, estate management, antisocial behaviour, rent arrears and safeguarding. I look forward to developing my career within social housing and using my experience to improve residents’ experiences in their homes and communities.

   

• Daisy Newman

  My name is Daisy Newman and I’m an HRS business performance coordinator for Alliance Homes. I’m a hardworking and extremely motivated woman with a successful sales, administration and customer experience background. I have key skills such as working under pressure, forming strong relationships whilst reacting to needs, the ability to work in various team sizes, as well as individually, and to more than exceed the tasks I’m set. Since graduating Bath Spa University in 2019 (and my year ten work experience), I’ve developed a strong passion for the housing sector, which drove me to join Alliance Homes, along with my key attributes of being ambitious, genuine, innovative, effective and proactive aligning within the industry.

• Evie Hilton

  My name is Evie. I’m an independent living officer for Rochdale Boroughwide Housing. I’ve recently joined the sector and love working with the public. My background is in retail, but I’ve always had an interest in housing, so my role allows me to transfer my customer service skills and develop my knowledge in my exciting new career.

   

• Jack Hanson

  My name is Jack. I graduated from university in the summer of 2022 and have worked in the housing sector ever since. I’ve always envisaged myself pursuing a career in housing and I’m so thankful that I’m being given the opportunity to make a difference to so many people’s lives. Here’s to a future of positive change – I can’t wait to get stuck in!

• Joe Ross

  I’m Joe. I’m a housing services development lead for Stonewater. I have a PhD in history and I’m passionate about delivering a better future for social housing.

• Kai Faulkner

  Kai Faulkner, Assessment Officer/Designated Safeguarding Lead at Orbit Group. Since beginning my housing career as a lettings apprentice in 2019, I’ve been fortunate to advance in the organisation to assessment officer and designated safeguarding lead for my department. My main objective is to support customers to secure sustainable tenancies and to promote a safeguarding-first culture. Supporting customers is firmly at the forefront of what I do and I champion my colleagues to drive the same ethos.

• Lili Vetter

• Matt Brown

  Hi, I’m Matt and I currently work for Stonewater as the service desk manager. I’ve been working within social housing at Stonewater for three and a half years, starting out as a second line support engineer and working my way up to my current role. I’m also a member of our internal Colleague Forum, working on various aspects of policies and procedures with the senior leadership team to inform and influence the decision-making process. I’m always eager to go above and beyond in my job role to help improve both internal and external services, processes and policies whilst constantly evaluating all of these from a technological point of view.

• Olivia Frith-Thompson

  Starting out in housing in 2018 as an administrator in the property services team I was keen to progress within the sector finding an area of interest with the surveying team. After eight months I applied for funding to complete a two year HNC in building surveying at the university of Greenwich where I was lucky enough to have the time to study, alongside being able to gain hands on experience.

  Following the completion of this I secured a full time surveying role and also secured a position on Hyde’s junior board member team where I worked closely with the residents within my area to make a difference. I was also able to supply first hand feedback during our board meetings on ways we could better our communities. I’ve enjoyed be able to work closely with Hydes’ residents whether that be within their homes or on projects for the local community.

  I’ve just secured a role within Hyde’s Building Safety team as a building safety specialist. I’m also looking to further my knowledge in this specialised area by completing the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) qualification alongside my new role.

• Sarah Cross

  Sarah is a Landscape and Sustainability Project Manager at the Lancaster West Neighbourhood Team. Working as part of the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea, her role focuses on mitigating flood risk and improving biodiversity within Lancaster West Estate in North Kensington. Starting her career two and a half years ago as a graduate with Charityworks, she quickly found a passion for working in the public sector and has focused in particular on co-designing and delivering green infrastructure and sustainable urban drainage systems (SuDS) to meet the needs of residents, address the challenges of urban climate impacts and consider the requirements of space-constrained central London social housing estates.

• Alex Nightingale

  Hi, I’m Alex! I’m currently working as a trainee tenancy sustainment coordinator with Eastlight Community Homes in Essex. My ambitions are to do my part to help make social housing safe, sustainable and desirable to tenants and staff alike. Previously, I’ve worked in the healthcare sector with change management and completed my degree in Philosophy (I love a debate!). In my spare time, I enjoy watching a good sci-fi film and getting my hands in the mud up at my allotment.

• Annie Clark

  Annie Clark, Repairs Contract Liaison Manager, Norwich City Council. Annie has worked in housing for ten years, having started her career as an apprentice in property services, but has also held roles in specialist housing support, helping residents sustain their tenancies. Annie is currently leading on the re-shaping of Norwich City Council’s repairs service, putting the customer at the heart of operational delivery. Annie is also the co-chair of the CIH’s Rethinking Repair and Maintenance group.

• Brandon Wheeler

  My Name is Brandon and I currently work for Sheffield City Council as a team manager within Housing Solutions. I started for Sheffield City Council in May 2019 as an apprentice with the Income Management Unit and over the course of three years progressed into a team leader position, managing seven members of staff. I moved to Housing Solutions in October 2023 to manage a team within a service under significant pressure and demand to tackle backlogs of cases. During this journey I’ve recently become a first time dad, which makes things so much more stressful but great at the same time. Within my current role at Housing Solutions we continue to tackle backlogs of homelessness cases, but have made such a difference to the service and also to customers lives. None of this would’ve been possible without the great teams I’ve managed and colleagues I’ve worked with.

• Chloe Etheridge

  I’m Chloe and I’m a neighbourhood manager. Ive worked within housing for four years now and have had a range of different job roles varying from housing support officer, homeless accommodation officer to a neighbourhood manager. No day is ever quite the same in this job and we’re faced with lots of challenges, but it’s all about what we can give back to individuals and the community.

   

• Emily Rees

  I joined Alliance Homes in September 2018 and I’m Acting Finance Business Partner. I’m studying now and my goal is to pass my AAT exams and become a fully qualified financial professional. I’m passionate about social housing and want to broaden my experience. I’m keen take on more responsibility and get more involved in influencing strategic decisions.

• Hibo-Nuura Yussuf

  My name is Hibo-Nuura Yussuf, and I’m currently serving as a community investment assistant project manager with the Lancaster West Neighbourhood Team (part of Kensington and Chelsea Council). I joined the council back in September 2019 and it’s been an incredible journey ever since. My responsibilities include overseeing the process of securing grant funding, from identifying potential sources and producing compelling bids to ensuring that all funding commitments are met. I also oversee the delivery of the estate improvement budget and offer assistance to our community development team in fulfilling their monitoring and evaluation commitments. A project I manage and am especially proud of is our financial resilience initiative. This project is dedicated to mitigating the risks of homelessness by providing holistic, tailored support to residents experiencing financial instability. I’m pursuing my MSc in migration, mobility and development at SOAS University of London, which I’m expected to complete in September 2024. I’m excited to be nominated for the HQN Next Generation competition! I couldn’t be more thrilled about this opportunity to engage with like-minded individuals and explore innovative solutions in the realm of housing.

• Jenna Riley

  I’m a performance and research analyst for the housing service at Sheffield City Council. After studying an undergraduate degree in politics, I became interested in the issues surrounding the UK’s housing crisis. I then started my career on a graduate scheme within the council’s housing service, working across a range of teams, including a frontline neighbourhood team and a team that led on major change projects for the housing service. Much of my current role centres around effective communication, producing performance reports that help councillors to make informed decisions on a range of issues, contributing to tenant bulletins and developing meaningful consultations that help our residents have their voices heard.

• Julia Karpinska

  My name is Julia Karpinska. I’ve worked as a communications assistant at ForHousing for almost two years. In my role I focus on delivering asset management, safety and compliance communications to ensure tenants feel safe in their homes. I’m passionate about being able to contribute to changing lives by effectively communicating what matters most to tenants. Outside of work I spend my free time discovering new cafés and travelling Europe.

• Kate Lester

  Hi, I’m Kate Lester. I’ve worked at Housing 21 for eight years now in several roles and currently I’m on a secondment as projects and change manager in the retirement living business stream. My role as one of the operational leads, supporting the implementation of our new housing management system, is to work with our frontline employees to ensure we’re gathering their requirements as the main user of the system. The role brings its challenges but I’m really enjoying working towards making a huge cultural difference to our national organisation. In my substantive role as operations manager, I managed 14 schemes of older people living independently across the West Midlands, with the support of my team of on-site local housing managers. No two days are the same in operations; I thrived on the variety and I’m passionate about leaving a positive impact on the lives of our residents who choose to live with Housing 21. I’m very grateful to have been nominated and shortlisted for 2024’s Housing’s Next Generation and look forward to seeing what’s next in store!

• Lizzie Skillen

  I joined the housing sector in 2020 as a graduate trainee with Tower Hamlets Homes (now part of Tower Hamlets Council) and gained inspiring insight into housing leadership and strategy by working closely alongside the executive team and board. In my current role as a housing policy and regulations officer, I provide crucial expertise to service areas about regulation, policy and governance, enabling them to drive forward improvements.

   

• Mica Joseph

  With a career spanning over ten years in housing, I’m determined to continue working with the sector to enhance service delivery across the country. Throughout my journey, I’ve held various roles, collaborated with different teams and led numerous large and complex projects. I began my housing career working for a family-run maintenance contractor, delivering reactive repairs to small housing associations across London. However, eager to explore the other side, I was keen to work from a different perspective. My contractor roots have equipped me with valuable insights into the challenges faced by suppliers which, in turn, impact service delivery – giving me knowledge of the ‘tricks of the trade,’ as some may say. About five years ago, I transitioned into managing teams in housing and have successfully developed my career to now being a head of service. I strongly believe that the only way we can improve our services across the sector is by attracting, supporting and developing the best people to work alongside us. The individuals within housing associations/RSLs shape the organisations into what they are. I have a keen interest in integrating better technology into the sector and am often envious of some advances within other industries. Beyond my career, I love to travel, spend time with friends and family and indulge in a bit of shopping, with a genuine dedication to making a positive impact on my personal and professional communities.

• Sam Spackman

  I started working for Alliance Homes in August 2021. My current role is as an Income Officer. I always put our customers first and I enjoy thinking of new ways to improve our service to them. I’d love to progress my career in housing and complete a CIH qualification, take on a management role, or perhaps research sustainability in the housing sector.

• Travis Leonard

  Hi! My name is Travis Leonard, I’m 28 years old and work for Rochdale Boroughwide Housing, I started as an apprentice electrician back in 2013 and now I’m the electrical safety manager for the responsive repairs team who carry out daily repairs on our homes.

Timeline of events

	Top 20 submit a written response to one of several topical questions
	Judges select 10 entrants to go forward to the semi-final
	Live semi-final and final five announced
	Final five take part in the first round of the grand final at day one of the HQN annual conference
	The finalists take part in a final live session at day two of HQN’s annual conference. Audience vote for the winner

Previous winners

In our series of podcasts former winners Kate Ratcliffe (Vivid Homes) and Tom Leon-Grimes (Orbit Group) talk to Shauna Hutchinson (Sovereign Network Group) about their housing careers to date and why young housing professionals should think about entering this year’s competition.

The prizes

• A year’s free membership of Housing Quality Network
• Access to exclusive briefings and member content
• Free places at HQN events and best practice groups
• The opportunity to be mentored by a senior housing sector figure, and much more.