Working in Housing Services at Anchor

Zabina Kauser

Financial Inclusion Team Leader

I have found Anchor to be a very diverse organisation with lots of career choices and pathways, plenty of opportunities and excellent EDI Networks. I work as a Financial Inclusion Team Leader in the Be Wise Team and absolutely love my role and the support, advice and information we give to our residents through this service. I am very grateful for the flexibility in my role and working hours, I currently do condensed hours and really value being able to have time to perform my daily prayers that fall within working hours. Anchor’s Refer a Friend scheme, which encourages colleagues to raise awareness of jobs here to their networks, is a great opportunity and demonstrates how broad the opportunities to join our organisation are. I feel I have a voice at work and contribute with my ideas and suggestions. As I’m able to work on my development in the organisation, I feel empowered to support my team and colleagues to do the same and have fair opportunities. I would highly recommend Anchor as a great place to work and where you can develop your career further. I get a lot of job satisfaction from helping our vulnerable residents, maximising their income, providing support via our Hardship Fund, as well as supporting staff in our team to deliver great results for our residents. I’ve had the opportunity to complete Anchor's Moving Up Program, which has been really helpful and taught me a lot more about managing and leading teams.

Nicola Shaw

Area Manager

I joined Anchor in 2008 when I was 21 years old. Although I had customer Service experience from a part-time retail job, this was my first full time role after leaving university. I started my Anchor career in the Customer Centre as part of the former Supporting People Team. A year on I wanted to move to Operations and experience a customer facing role. I was successful in gaining a position as a Location Manager, working at Mary Sunley House in Leeds. Over the past 15 years I have fulfilled numerous roles across various teams and areas including but not limited to Leasehold, Extra Care and Rental, continuously improving and developing my knowledge and skills. I progressed to a Cluster Lead before then becoming a Team Manager. I took maternity leave in 2020, during which time (following various restructuring) I got the opportunity to apply to become an Area Manager. This had been a role I had been working towards for a long time and following a successful interview and almost 2 years in the role this is now my current position. Working for Anchor in both Support Services and Operations has been fantastic and given me so many career opportunities and I am very proud to say I work for Anchor.

Mohammed Shah

Financial Inclusion Advisor Be Wise Team

Having worked previously with the Payment Advice Team and then joining the Be Wise team, I can certainly say the transition has been smooth. I have been given the opportunity to learn and develop myself through an apprenticeship. My team is supportive and caring which contributes to a positive work environment. The role itself is rewarding as I'm working directly with people to help them in what can be a difficult time in life. One of the main benefits of working with Anchor is that I have a good work life balance, being able to work from home and having managers trust me to carry out my work and allowing me to be flexible in managing my day makes a huge difference. An additional benefit is the extra value provided through Anchor's rewards programme.

Liz Pearce

Resident Liaison Coordinator

I joined Anchor in November 2018 as an Estate Manger within the Housing Operations team. My Area Manager, my colleagues and the wider team of colleagues are so approachable and very supportive. The induction programme was easy to follow and in no time I had passed my probation and on my way to becoming an experienced Estate Manager. After nearly 5 years I have now moved into the Property Team as the Resident Liaison Coordinator (RLC) for South Essex and London. The RLC role acts as the conduit between surveyors, operational colleagues, contractors and residents during planned works to improve the resident journey and experience. This is a great role for me as I enjoy meeting residents and going to different sites. Residents are the heart of our operations. If it wasn’t for them then none of us would be here. I would recommend Anchor as an employer, they do encourage career progression.

Emma White

Community Support Officer

I’ve worked in the field of community safety and anti-social behaviour for over 20 years and was lucky enough to join Anchor in October 2022 as part of the all new Community Safety Team. What I really love about working in anti-social behaviour is that no two days are ever the same and I get to work directly with people, whether that be residents, colleagues or external agencies. Whether I’m providing advice to colleagues, discussing ASB with residents or even attending court to present legal proceedings I love solving problems and finding long term solutions. I find this area of work very rewarding and really love what I do! Anchor is a great place to work, I work from home but also get the opportunity to travel to meet with colleagues and residents at least twice a week to have face to face interactions which is a great balance. I am encouraged to be myself and massively supported with my personal development both in my role and future career. I am also able to access great benefits such as the Blue Light card and discount in many shops and services. I would recommend a career with Anchor for anyone wanting to work in a career in the housing industry.

Nathan Foster

Financial Inclusion Advisor

I joined Anchor in June 2022 as Energy Advisor for the Be Wise Team, providing comprehensive advice and support for residents and staff. I really enjoyed the role and variety within it offered. As a result of a role merger in February 2023, my role changed to Financial Inclusion Advisor and so for the first time in 10 years I was given the great opportunity to work and learn new skills within the benefits and welfare rights world. The training, development and support I’ve received has been invaluable and will continue throughout as I develop my career and progress. This has been such a positive experience and a great opportunity, and I love how rewarding the role is, often getting the opportunity to go out and deliver Be Wise events around my region and getting to meet residents face to face. Helping to make sure people are receiving all they’re entitled to and assisting throughout the application process is extremely important in empowering them not to feel alone, the benefit system can be a minefield to navigate. The feedback I’ve received throughout my role so far has incredibly positive. We have a fantastic team with many years of knowledge between us all. I still get to utilise my experience within the energy world too and it’s great to be able to support the rest of the team with any complex energy referrals that come in. It was quite daunting leaving my previous employer and a role that I did for 10 years but starting a career at Anchor within the Be Wise was the best move I’ve ever made.