Woman of the year: housing provider with over 15,000 homes

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Amy Lawson began her housing career 32 years ago as an assistant housing officer. Today, as director of later living and supported housing at Clarion, she is responsible for tenancy sustainment and safeguarding for more than 360,000 residents – two areas she has transformed across the organisation.

 

Her work has seen her creating a unified and multiskilled sustainment function that enables holistic tenant support; launching a new later living proposition; increasing support for domestic abuse victims; and equipping and empowering not only the 140 people who report directly to her to handle difficult cases, but also external stakeholders. This has included developing domestic abuse training for more than 2,500 NHS staff. 

 

Crucially, Amy’s work has delivered better resident outcomes. Around 95% of residents report improved well-being, 710 tenancy failures were prevented this past year and rent arrears have fallen by £1.4m.

 

As Catrin Jones, Clarion’s chief people officer, puts it: “Amy combines the commercial awareness of a chief financial officer with the empathy and compassion of a social worker: a rare and powerful combination for change.”

 

The judges said:

“What really makes Amy’s submission stand out is the scale of influence and the fact that her work is clearly changing both outcomes for residents and the organisation’s overall model”