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A week in the life of… a director of new business
Purnima Wilkinson of EMH builds relationships to make new developments happen, working with church groups and councils, to government agencies and internally with senior management. Here is her week
Monday
My job entails working with a range of people, building relationships to make new developments happen. A local church group got in touch to ask about a possible land opportunity next to one of our existing projects. The Church of England is keen to help tackle homelessness and the need for affordable homes.
Then I met up with colleagues from our care and support and delivery teams to visit a new extra-care scheme that’s almost complete. The 65-home project was made possible by working with North West Leicestershire Council and Homes England. It’s our latest contribution to meeting the region’s growing need for supported living.
Tuesday
A council contacted me to ask my view about some land in its area, and what sort of development might be viable. Enquiries like this happen more and more. As one of Homes England’s first strategic partners, councils know that we will consider a diversity of sites and work to explore partnership opportunities.
I’m a qualified coach and mentor, so I met with one of my coaching peers to see how our sessions were going. I really enjoy helping people realise their full potential. Investing in our people reaps benefits for customers and the business.
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Wednesday
I joined other senior managers from the leadership engagement group, a forum to work collaboratively across the business to make changes to our culture, technology or systems.
We looked at new digital tools and documentation to make us even better at identifying and securing deals or viewing and selling homes. We build at least 600 new homes every year, so small efficiencies can make a big difference.
Thursday
I start with another internal session, this time with colleagues from the Black, Asian and minority ethnic leaders group. We discussed progress against our equality and diversity action plan. I’d like to see more Black, Asian and minority ethnic people, as well as women, taking up careers in development as I often still find myself a minority.
Friday
Today was a big day because the development strategy I had been working on got final approval from the board. It sets out what we’re going to build, where, how and why, and is based on consultations from across the business including our resident engagement groups.
Another week is over and it’s time to relax, but I’ve got a full household spanning four generations – my father, daughters and granddaughter have all been living with me since March 2020.
Working at home has given me the freedom to spend time with them all, but I look forward to working more face-to-face again soon. I may work in property, but I’m definitely a people person.
A week in the life series
Our ‘A week in the life’ series features housing professionals talking through what they do in their job on a day-to-day basis.
Find out about the different challenges housing workers in a variety of roles face in a given week.
We aim to feature staff from housing associations, ALMOs, local authorities and more.
Click here to nominate yourself or a colleague for inclusion
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