As a Corporate Support Officer, my role involves providing support to the Chief Executive, her PA and the Board.
I was initially unsure whether to apply for the role, as I did not actually have any experience of working in a similar position, but I did have lots of experience from other roles, which I have found has helped. After completing my Law degree and postgraduate diploma in legal practice, I held a variety of posts, ranging from the legal sector, to third sector money advice, to debt advice and litigation for businesses, in organisations both large and small.
As soon as I was interviewed by CCHA, I knew that this was different to every other organisation I had worked for. My interview was with the Chief Executive and, immediately, I got the feeling that this is an organisation that cares about its employees.
I was delighted to be successful in my application and could not wait to begin my new role.
On a day-to-day basis, I provide support to the Chief Executive, for example, by attending and minuting meetings, and am the first point of contact for Board Members with any administrative matters. I also work closely with the Chief Executive in organising and providing support at Staff Forum meetings, where staff have an opportunity to have meaningful dialogue with her.
At times, I have found that my role can involve spinning various plates and I have drawn on my organisation and time management skills which I have gained from previous roles to enable me to work calmly and efficiently.
Aside from providing administrative support, my role involves a lot of checking and proofreading documents and I have found that I am very well suited to this, thanks to my ‘critical eye’ picked up from my legal background.
During my time at CCHA, I have also learned more about how the organisation engages with residents. Having dealt with social landlords in previous roles, the thing which stood out to me the most was the way CCHA always seems to go the extra mile for its residents, especially during the pandemic. For a period during this time, I was seconded to the Income Team to assist with making phone calls to residents to check how they were getting on, and whether there had been any changes to their income as a result of, for example, being furloughed. Reaching out to residents, some of whom lived alone and had not had any contact with others, was considered to be very important by senior management, not only to discuss any potential income issues, but also from a wellbeing point of view – and this seemed to be a view shared by residents.
One year on at CCHA, and every day has been a delight. I am looking forward to growing and developing in my role and I hope that there are many more years to come.