Our governance structure
We have six committees that support the Group Board.
Our Resident Panels
Our four regional resident panels help us monitor our housing services, policies and performance.
You can contact your panel to discuss priorities for your area at any time. We refresh panel membership every three years.
If you're interested in becoming a member, please contact us via residentengagement@onehousing.co.uk. Please put 'RP Member' in the subject line.
The role of resident panels
Our resident panels are designed to help scrutinise our services in detail, suggest improvements and tackle local issues. They give residents a voice and ensure we are aware of residents’ concerns. They decide what is important for the local areas and oversee local improvements.
Resident panels meet four times a year and attend an annual board awayday to discuss our strategic direction and our plans. Each member also attends at least one tenant and resident association or community meeting in their area, as well as an estate tour once a year. In return, members receive a small allowance.
All panels have a chair, up to seven residents and one independent member, plus a member of One Housing's Executive Team.
Although each panel is focused on a specific region, their work feeds into our Customer Services Committee to help us identify common issues for all residents. The Customer Services Committee is a key decision and policy-making body and reports to the Group Board. Each resident panel chair sits on this committee, to feedback what they have learned from their areas.
Recruitment drive
At One Housing we value our residents’ insights and local expertise, and we understand that nobody knows more about what’s best for a community than the people who form it. We would now like to invite residents to join our West and Island Resident Panels.
As a Resident Panel Member, you will make an important contribution in a role with wide-ranging responsibilities for example: reviewing customer-facing policies, scrutinising performance and service delivery and being consulted about the best approach for residents. The role will include oversight through a resident perspective of our 2021-24 Customer Experience Strategy and 2022-2025 Resident Engagement Strategy. You will work closely with other Resident Panel Members, Officers, and the senior leadership team to make sure we achieve our objectives and deliver great services.
Representing residents at the Resident Panel is an important role and means that you will be making suggestions and decisions for the benefit of all residents whilst bring your experience as a resident to the discussions. However, whilst collectively working with fellow residents on the Panel, Resident Panel Members will need to see beyond their personal interests and work for the benefit of all residents. You are not expected to be an expert in all the areas that Panels address but you will be able to deal with information and contribute to effective decision making. Induction, training and ongoing support will be provided to the successful candidates.
The Resident Panels each meet four times a year. As well as the formal meetings you will also be expected to attend other meetings to support wider communication of resident views and be consulted in between meetings. Quarterly meetings generally last 2.5 hours and are held in the early evening. To apply for this role, you must be a resident of One Housing, either a tenant or a leaseholder and this must be your sole residence.
One Housing is committed to equality and diversity. We consider that greater diversity on our Resident Panels strengthens our decision-making and allows us to better serve our customers. As such, we welcome and encourage applications from candidates from all backgrounds. A personal commitment to self-development and learning, diversity and inclusion and a strong empathy with and commitment to One Housing’s social purpose and values are a requirement for this role.
If you are selected as a Panel Member, you will be fully supported in getting used to the systems we use and how our Resident Panels work. You will get to spend time with fellow Panel Members and the One Housing officers supporting their work, forming important community relationships and working together to achieve good outcomes.
To apply, please submit your CV and cover letter to residentengagements@onehousing.co.uk. Please put 'RP Member' in the subject line.
In your letter, please tell us a little bit about your motivation for applying and any skills or experience you think would come in useful in the role.
Our four regional resident panels
Resident Panel East
This covers Havering, Lewisham, Newham, Southwark, part of Tower Hamlets and Waltham Forest.
The chair of this panel is currently vacant - we will provide an update shortly.
Resident Panel North
This covers Barnet, Camden, Enfield, Hackney, Haringey, Ealing, Islington and Westminster.
The chair of this panel is Linda Sluys.
Linda has been a resident of One Housing for over 30 years. She is currently retired but fully involved as chair of our North Resident Panel. She is also an officer of the West Hampstead and Fortune Green Neighbourhood Development Forum, which had its Neighbourhood Development Plan formally adopted by the London Borough of Camden last year. She has a background in local government, having worked in regeneration; helping to encourage and expand the skills of residents - this included providing employment training and extra tuition for students, arranging health education, as well as administering grants for community groups. She also has significant experience in housing development having worked with architects and building contractors.
Resident Panel West
This covers Bracknell Forest, Reading, Windsor and Maidenhead, Slough, West Berkshire and Wokingham.
The chair of this panel is Ceilia Gresswell.
Ceilia is a resident member and has over 20 years’ experience working with high-profile, blue-chip organisations to secure and deliver major projects. She is currently working for the Rail Executive. A specialist in EU Procurement and Tender and Bid Management in the public and utilities sector, Ceilia provides a wealth of expertise to help secure and deliver major contracts. Ceilia also has extensive experience in auditing processes and data analysis.
Resident Panel Island
This covers E14 in Tower Hamlets and the Isle of Dogs.
The chair of this panel is Jan Bros.
Jan Bros has lived on the St John's estate for over 30 years. She runs a social enterprise called J-go Consultants & Training, which supports local people running community projects. J-go has been running for 14 years and has links with over 65 local regeneration projects. Jan has considerable experience of training, enterprise and regeneration in social housing, public sector finance, contract management and procurement of major works contracts. Additionally, she has a keen interest in food growing, and would love to be involved in developing more sustainable food-growing projects on the Island.
Resident panel round-up
If you’d like to see what your resident panel members talk about, you can find summaries of the discussions in these resident panel round-ups.
Becoming a resident panel member
We review membership every three years and residents are chosen via an application, interview and selection process. They require varied skills, expertise and experience to join. This is because we want panel members to represent all residents, monitor and scrutinise our services and work with us to design service improvements.
One of our most recent recruits is John Lestourgen, who joined the West Region Resident Panel in June 2020. We asked John a few questions about what led him to apply. Here's what he had to say.
John Lestourgen interview
Have you been involved in this kind of group before?
I have been involved in resident groups in an unofficial capacity for several years. I have worked with many of my residents to bring about change in my building and the community.
What made you decide to apply?
I decided to become a Resident Panel Member because it'll be a fantastic opportunity for me to have my voice, as well as the views of residents around me, heard at an official level.
What are you hoping to achieve as a member of the Panel?
I believe this will be a chance for me to work directly with One Housing and become a collective voice for all residents, especially in Berkshire. I would like to be a part of the change and a positive impact and to leave behind a positive legacy in my local community in Slough, Berkshire.
Are there specific things that you want to address?
I want to work closely with One Housing to develop initiatives that help to improve our living standards as well as our community. I would also like to see more initiatives locally for our young people and families, for example family activities for residents and youth programmes for the youth.
Do you think residents in the West have different issues to residents in other regions?
I think different regions experience different concerns. For example, here in Slough, we do not have much green spaces it is a very concrete area. It is also a place where there is limited space. What I would like to see how we can improve the spaces we do have around our buildings and utilise these spaces to its full potential. I hope to work with different regions to learn from them but also work together to share ideas and issues that we all face.