A2Dominion appoints chief customer officer on permanent basis

London housing association A2Dominion has made its interim chief customer officer Kate Gascoigne permanent.

Gascoigne began working with the 38,000-home landlord as a consultant in February. She then became the interim chief customer officer as part of a wider executive shakeup in September.

Her appointment followed failings tackling damp and mould identified by the Housing Ombudsman. 

Gascoigne beat 200 other candidates to become permanent in the newly created role. The £389m-turnover housing association described it as “a competitive recruitment process.”

She brings 20 years of sector experience to the role, having worked at Irwell Valley, Vivid Homes and spent a decade as a consultant for large housing associations, contractors and local government.

Her role at A2Dominion will be to improve customer front-line services and streamline internal processes.

“I’m excited to be continuing my journey with A2Dominion, working with my new colleagues to ensure our customers receive the high-quality service they deserve,” she said in a statement.

>>See also: Troubled A2 Dominion posts deficit following write-downs and aborted schemes

>>See also: A2 Dominion changes executive team structure in drive to improve resident services

“The changes we have planned sit alongside our new corporate strategy and will really help improve our service offer. This new focus will also support our neighbourhood teams to provide a far more personalised and effective service.”

Ian Wardle, CEO of A2Dominion, said: “The decision to create our first-ever executive director for customers will help us to achieve this, and will give this area the dedicated focus and resource it requires.”

The announcement follows a difficult few months for the London landlord. 

The Housing Ombudsman made severe maladministration findings after investigating two damp and mould cases in A2Dominion properties in May and June 2023.

A2 Dominion announced a new corporate strategy in July this year, which it says will prioritise safety issues, address disrepair, damp, and mould, and create action plans for buildings over 18 metres that will require a second staircase.

Another priority set out by A2Dominion is to improve its complaint-handling process and introduce measures for monitoring its performance against RSH’s new tenant satisfaction measures and consumer standards.

A2 Dominion built 745 homes in 2022/23 and aims to deliver 719 in 2023/24.

The 38,000-home landlord last month announced it has decided to split its executive director of operations role into two, creating a new chief property officer and chief customer officer role.

Last month Michael Reece was appointed chief property officer covering repairs and building and fire safety.