Welcome
Many thanks for your interest in being Unity’s new Chief Executive.
Unity Homes and Enterprise is a successful, independent and ambitious housing association driven by social purpose, supporting BME communities and multi-cultural neighbourhoods across Leeds. We are proud to call ourselves a BME Housing Association, part of the national BME housing movement, and believe that is as important today as it was when we were founded 30 years ago. We are a member of BME National, the body which represents over 45 BME Housing Associations, and a member of Placeshapers, the national network for community focused social landlords.
Our social purpose is at the heart of everything we do: “We will fight inequality and empower BME people to improve their lives by creating opportunities and helping to regenerate communities”
This is a great opportunity for a creative person with the right track record and who ‘gets’ what we are all about, to work with the Board, the staff, the tenants, and the communities, to put their stamp on our next stage of development. We are open-minded about where this journey takes us – our commitment to diversity and to social purpose is non-negotiable, but, if that is your starting point too, you will find us good to work with and a great place for your creative talent to flourish.
The post is vacant because our long-standing Chief Executive, Ali Akbor, was appointed as the third member of the Grenfell Inquiry Panel in October last year. Ali’s leadership has been key to Unity’s success for many years and his departure was a big event for us. However, we also know this is a big opportunity for us to refresh and rethink, and so we are now seeking an outstanding new Chief Executive to build on our success and help lead us through the next exciting phase of Unity’s evolution and development.
We have not sat on our hands since Ali left – our excellent interim Chief Executive has helped us start that refreshing and rethinking process. But there is ample scope for a new permanent Chief Executive to put their stamp on the future. In doing so, you would find you were working with a solid core business (with the highest G1/V1 rating from the Social Housing Regulator), an experienced and committed Board, and a great staff team.
We look forward to hearing from you!