To celebrate this week, we caught up with Chloe and Kathryn to find out more about their careers.
Meet Chloe. Chloe is the support team leader in our Supported team. Here, she tells us more about her role and career.
“My role at Havebury is support team leader. Our team is here to support our residents in several ways. We help residents sustain their tenancies, give advice and support on hoarding and self-neglect, offer welfare and benefits advice and make referrals to partner agencies to enable our residents to live independently and safely in their homes, to name a few ways we can help. We also manage the support fund, allowing us to support our residents creatively.
Another part of my role is being the safeguarding lead; alongside our other safeguarding lead and our safeguarding deputies, we offer support and advice to our colleagues when they are concerned about one of our residents and ensure that referrals are made and followed up on to safeguard them. We also work to spread awareness of safeguarding throughout the business.
I started at Havebury just after the pandemic. I had done some work during the lockdown, supporting isolated, vulnerable people across West Suffolk. I loved this work and knew I wanted to find a role that would enable me to continue to help people.
When I first joined Havebury, I was a customer liaison coordinator in the Supported team. This role enabled me to spend lots of time working with our residents, and I enjoyed supporting and helping them when needed. I then started a new role as a support services coordinator; in this role, I managed the support housing advisors, which opened my eyes to the incredible support they give to our residents. Last year, I was lucky enough to start the role I am in now as the support team leader. I knew I wanted to progress in my career. Still, I wanted to continue working within the Supported team as the changes we were making to support our residents excited me, and I wanted to be a part of it.
The most rewarding part about my career is seeing the real difference that the team make to our residents. My favourite part of the week is our Friday team meeting. We use this time to talk about the highlights of our week, and hearing about the excellent outcomes the team have achieved and how they have helped our residents makes me really proud to be a part of the team and Havebury.
Don’t be afraid to jump in; being a beginner allows you to learn and grow.”
Meet Kathryn. Kathryn is our internal communications advisor in our Communications team. Here, she tells us more about her role and career.
“I work in the Communications team as an internal communications advisor. I help convey important information to our teams, such as business updates and news, promote employee engagement, and manage our internal communication channels. I also help organise internal events, such as the conference and our social events. Internal communications aims to ensure employees feel informed and connected.
I went to university when I was younger and obtained a degree in Events Management. My first job after university was for East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices in their fundraising team. I loved helping with the community events and fundraising and then visiting the hospices and families afterwards to see how that money had changed their lives.
After having my first child, I found myself working here in the Performance team as a performance assistant. I had never even heard of Communications before then, but as I started to get to know Havebury more, I realised that was the team I wanted to be in.
During lockdown, internal communications became a vital asset to any business, and I gradually found my role moving in this direction. I have since completed training specifically in this area and really love the direction my career has gone in. The most rewarding part of my job is when you organise an event and see people enjoying it. A lot of work goes on behind the scenes for events, but seeing smiles on people’s faces and getting good feedback makes it all worthwhile.
It is okay not to know what you want to do when you’re young. Changing careers or trying different jobs is normal and helps you figure out what you enjoy doing. Don’t be afraid to try new things; sometimes opportunities come when you least expect them.”
