Former association CEO Jill Haley will become president of 17,000-member organisation next year
Jill Haley has been named Chartered Institute of Housing vice-president after winning a ‘closely fought’ election among its 17,000 members.
Haley, who has worked in senior roles at 30,000-home housing association Gentoo and at Sunderland Council during a 41-year career, secured 42% of the votes cast. Haley served as chief executive of 1,800-home association Byker Community Trust for nine years until July last year. The election is important because the vice president by convention is made president the following year, giving the holder influence over the direction of the Institute.
Haley polled more votes than the other candidates, who were Mike Ash, director of housing at Swindon borough council and Hannah Harvey, chief operating officer at Saffron Housing Trust. Haley will officially become vice president at the institute’s annual general meeting in September and will take over from Lara Oyedele as president in 2023.
Haley said: “I really want to give something back to the profession, by raising the profile of housing and increasing awareness of the sector’s social value and purpose.
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“I would like to thank Mike and Hannah, who it was a privilege to compete alongside, the CIH staff for such a well-run election and those who supported me and shared their views during the campaign.”
In her manifesto (see below) she said the social housing regulation bill, which aims to strengthen consumer regulation of affordable housing providers, “provides a great opportunity” for the CIH to influence professional training and development in the housing sector.
She said the new regime is “about community vision, meaningful involvement, support and empowerment, to deliver high performing services that meet the expectations and needs of our customers.” She added: “This will be crucially important in the coming year while we support people through the extreme economic challenges that lie ahead”.
Jill Haley’s manifesto statement ahead of the election
”I began my housing career working for a local authority aged sixteen and have developed a diverse breadth of experience, skills and knowledge across the sector during the last 41 years. Even at that early age I longed to become a qualified housing professional and CIH member.
From the beginning of my working life, I set my sights on being a positive ambassador for CIH and thoroughly enjoyed the student member learning experience, while studying for my housing degree.
After achieving this and CIH corporate membership, I joined the CIH NE board, where I served as membership officer, vice chair and chair, during which time, the regional membership doubled, and I introduced a range of new member events.
Throughout my career I have championed customer excellence and empowerment, no more so than in my role as CEO of Byker Community Trust housing association.
Equality for all became my purpose and my passion, in terms of access, involvement and opportunity, I never thought of this as anything special; it was simply my first consideration of any policy or strategy. I led Byker through great transformational change, overcoming significant challenges. My approach of empowering and regenerating communities, attracted national recognition and I was invited to write a chapter “the Byker Approach” in a book which was published in 2021.
Needless to say, I was delighted when a new consumer regulatory regime was announced, in terms of primacy of the tenant interest. The new regime certainly has potential to raise the bar but it should never come down to ‘what the RSH wants you to do’; its more about community vision, meaningful involvement, support and empowerment, to deliver high performing services that meet the expectations and needs of our customers. This will be crucially important in the coming year while we support people through the extreme economic challenges that lie ahead.
I offer experience, enthusiasm and the ability to energise others to the VP role, enabling me to bring people with me. When I delivered the CIH Sarah Webb memorial lecture in 2017, her family subsequently wrote to say that I had captured the essence of Sarah in my lecture, and it was the best that they had heard.
If appointed VP, I will give the role the time and commitment it deserves, without the competing priorities of a full-time job. I can travel the regions, speaking to members and raising awareness of the benefits of CIH to non-members.
The Social Housing (Regulation) Bill provides a great opportunity for CIH to directly influence future professional training and development in the housing sector. CIH is ideally placed to oversee all appropriate qualifications and standards for housing staff at all levels.
Becoming CIH VP would be an honour and a privilege; my dedication to the CIH as a housing professional has been exemplary; I would work really hard to represent the membership as well as the people and communities that we serve.”
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