Warrington Housing Association has welcomed Fiona Graham as its new Director of Operations following the departure of Niki Stockton.
Fiona said: “I have lived in Warrington for over 28 years and have raised my children here. I know the town well and have always kept a close eye on Warrington Housing Association because of its excellent reputation and the work they do around social value. When the opportunity arose, I was keen to join the team.”
WHA’s CEO David Cummins said: “We are delighted to have Fiona on board with her extensive experience of a broad range of areas in the housing sector as well as her in-depth local knowledge as a long-time Warrington resident. This combination has ideally positioned her to hit the ground running in her new role as WHA’s Director of Operations at a time when the sector and our residents are facing almost unimaginable challenges.”
Fiona started out as a Housing Assistant in the repairs call centre for Warrington Borough Council, then moved through roles in homelessness, performance, and service improvement.
Her first role in management included tenant engagement and then governance, communications, and risk management. Then moved into heading up Income, Social Regeneration, then all housing services including housing management, income, asset management and repairs alongside private sector housing before joining Warrington Housing Association.
Looking to the future with WHA, Fiona said: “We will be focusing our attention on the challenges facing our customers, looking at ways to make our homes more energy efficient, help reduce fuel bills and reduce our carbon emissions.
“No two days are the same in social housing and I love making a difference to people’s lives. While there are always challenges for us, there are also challenges for our customers and we aim to help and support our customers to maintain their homes.
“We will be listening to our customers and developing services which meet their needs and expectations. We want our customers to enjoy excellent services and have a safe and well-maintained home.”
Fiona observed: “The rent cap is a key challenge as this will impact on being able to deliver our objectives as costs are still rising for the sector, but we will have fewer resources to meet some of the challenges particularly developing new homes and meeting the decarbonisation agenda.”
Outside of work, Fiona loves spending time with her family – her two children and granddaughter – walking the dog, enjoying pub lunches, reading and the odd glass of wine!”
