Dear Applicant,

I am delighted that you have sought further information about the position of Chief Executive to the Hyde Group. The Hyde Group is one of the largest housing associations in the country recognised as having a very strong commitment to its social purpose, considerable expertise and success in regeneration and an innovative and commercial approach to development. The last ten years have been a period of considerable success and the Group intends this to continue into the future.

We manage approximately 33,000 properties over a large area of the South East and work with very diverse communities. These include both inner city and rural communities, those that have residents from diverse ethnic backgrounds and vulnerable people to whom we provide specialist support.

We are looking for an individual with a strong commitment to our aims and social purpose who brings excellent leadership skills and strong strategic management capacity and commercial acumen. The Hyde Group intends to raise its 2 star rating to 3 stars at the next Audit Commission inspection and requires a Chief Executive with a clear customer focus and a strong orientation to performance management.

Government policy is key to our business and we are in a period of significant change that presents both challenges and opportunities. We are looking for an individual who can lead the organisation to further success through the next few years by realising the benefits of new opportunities and ensuring that the Group remains fit for purpose as these present.

This is an exciting opportunity to lead one of the UK's most forward looking social housing businesses at an exciting time and I hope to receive your application by 29th June.

Yours sincerely,

Julie Hollyman
Chair The Hyde Group

Contents Attached

• Role description
• Advertisement
• How to Apply
• Information on the Hyde Group

Job Description and Person Specification

GROUP CHIEF EXECUTIVE

Purpose of the Post

To ensure the continuing success of The Hyde Group by delivering excellent services, financial strength and business growth whilst sustaining the ethos of the Group's social purpose.

Key Responsibilities

1. To act as principal strategic adviser to the Group Board to enable it to determine the Group's strategy and provide strong governance.
2. To fulfil the obligations and duties of a Hyde Group Board member.
3. To maintain an organisational culture that supports the Group's social purpose whilst enabling the Group to operate as an effective, efficient and creative business.
4. To provide effective leadership, management and development of the Executive Management Team.
5. To lead the development and implementation of the Group's strategy ensuring that plans are progressed to ensure:
   • There is continuing improvement and increasing efficiency in its services to customers through the effective management of properties and communities.
   • The Group has sound financial plans and systems that strengthen the organisation's financial capacity and manage risk effectively.
   • The Group has sustainable development plans that achieve its aspirations for growth and the development of new business opportunities.
   • The Group utilises fully and develops the capacity of its workforce.
6. To ensure that the Group meets all its legal, statutory and regulatory requirements, including discharging overall responsibility for Health & Safety.
7. To support the governance responsibilities of the Group Board by ensuring there are sound and transparent systems of control and risk management.
8. To promote and market the business of The Hyde Group.
9. To ensure The Hyde Group is an effective source of influence with all key stakeholders.

Person Specification

Essential

1. A high degree of personal integrity and a strong commitment to the aims and values of The Hyde Group.
2. A minimum of three years' experience at Executive Management level.
3. A proven ability to consider an organisation and its operating environment and develop an effective strategic response.
4. A proven ability to translate strategy into sound operational plans.
5. A track record of delivery in a demanding environment within a large, complex organisation demonstrating effective customer focus and strong performance management.
6. Excellent interpersonal, communication, influencing and political skills.
7. Well developed people management skills.
8. Well developed leadership skills commensurate with the level of the post.
9. An awareness and understanding of diversity issues.
10. Commercial acumen to ensure effective leadership of all significant business ventures.
11. A good understanding of the role of housing associations.

Desirable

1. Knowledge of or experience within the housing sector
2. Experience outside the public/voluntary sector
3. Experience of media handling

The Advertisement

Group Chief Executive The Hyde Group

Based London

Significant six figure package to attract the best.

The Hyde group is an innovative, forward looking organisation; one of the largest social housing businesses in the UK. We provide affordable homes and quality services for over 75,000 people across London and the south. We have assets worth over £2 billion and an annual income of £110 million. We work in some of the most challenging neighbourhoods and have a reputation for innovation and successful regeneration contributing powerfully to meeting housing needs and improving quality of life. We now require a new Group Chief Executive to build on our successes and to ensure that we remain “fit for purpose” for the future. This will mean helping to develop our strategic direction and strategy for growth whilst maintaining financial stability and service excellence to meet our social purpose. The ideal candidate must demonstrate the following:

- Excellent leadership skills for working at a strategic level within a large complex service focussed business.

- Well developed interpersonal and communication skills for influencing change and leading innovative solutions for a diverse range of customers whilst maintaining a cohesive organisation.

- The ability to link strategy to policy whilst identifying the impact on the business.

- Commercial acumen to lead negotiations for future mergers and acquisitions and significant business transactions.

- Demonstrable knowledge and/or experience of one or more of the following: housing management, property development, regeneration or sustainable communities combined with relevant financial and people management experience for working at board level.

- A performance orientated and customer focussed individual with the ability to ensure that the organisation is fit for purpose, efficient and effective.

If you are excited at the challenges you will face in leading The Hyde Group please visit www.harveynash.com/hyde for a full information pack and details on how to apply. Interested candidates should apply by emailing gps@harveynash.com or write to Harvey Nash plc, 13 Bruton Street, London W1J 6QA sending a covering letter indicating how they meet the above criteria and a detailed CV quoting reference: HN1710.

The closing date for receipt of application is 29th June. Final interviews will be held on 17th July in London.

How to Apply

Please send by email to: gps@harveynash.com

• quoting ref: HN1710
• A full CV
• A short covering letter indicating how you meet the ideal candidate profile
• Contact details for three referees
• A completed Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form

Or by post to:

Harvey Nash plc
13 Bruton Street
London W1J 6QA
Attention Adwoa Gyempeh

Key Milestones

The Hyde Group – creating thriving communities

The Hyde Group is a leading provider of affordable housing. We make a significant contribution to meeting housing needs and improving people's quality of life.

Hyde is one of the largest housing association groups working in England. We own or manage over 30,000 homes, and provide housing and related services to over 75,000 people. The Group's assets, at current value, are worth over £2 billion. Turnover in the last financial year was £110 million.

Hyde is exciting and innovative. We are continually breaking new ground with, for example, landmark regeneration programmes, the country's first operational housing PFI, stock transfers, our approach to sustainable development and our use of modern methods of construction.

Underpinning all of our activities is a proven track record for excellence in services to our residents and a commitment to continuous improvement.

Visit The Hyde Group to view Performance Reports and further information.

Organisation

Hyde has a group structure - a formal association of separate organisations which retain their own legal and financial identities.

The Hyde Group currently consists of the following organisations.

• The parent body, Hyde Housing Association, which works in London, Kent, Surrey, Sussex and Hampshire.
• Five significant subsidiaries:
  • Chichester Diocesan Housing Association (CDHA) which works in Sussex and Surrey
  • Minster General Housing Association which works across the East of England and East Midlands
  • Hyde Southbank Homes (HSH), which is responsible for estate regeneration in the London Borough of Lambeth
  • Hillside Housing Trust, which is re-developing the Stonebridge estate in the London Borough of Brent and will be the successor landlord to Stonebridge Housing Action Trust (HAT)
  • in touch which provides supported housing services.
• Two smaller subsidiaries: Hyde Charitable Trust, which through its Youth Plus programme, funds regeneration activities that support disadvantaged young people; and Hyde Vale, a company devoted to market renting and outright sale.

Hyde has two specialist operating divisions: Hyde Plus, dedicated to community and economic regeneration; and INplace, responsible for marketing shared ownership, intermediate rent and keyworker homes.

Vision

The Hyde Group - creating thriving communities

The Hyde Group is a leading provider of affordable housing. We make a significant contribution to meeting housing needs and improving people's quality of life.

We will:

• Provide an excellent service
• Be creative, flexible and responsive
• Fully involve residents in all aspects of our work
• Ensure equality of opportunity and embrace diversity
• Continuously improve performance
• Be financially robust and efficient and achieve value for money
• Demonstrate good governance

Management structure

We have recently restructured the management of the business with three key aims:

• to enhance our customer services and to move the Group forward to become a three-star organisation (the highest Audit Commission rating)
• to enable the Group to grow and develop more homes and services for people in need
• to continue to deliver services locally, but within an overall strategy and a consistent framework

The critical elements of the restructure are:

• The Group Board has put in place a wider Senoir Management Group to provide strategic direction to the wider Senior Management Group.
• Establishing an Operations Directorate with responsibility for customer services and performance management across the Group.
• Establishing a Business Development Directorate which has responsibility for development and growth across the Group.
• Setting up a new subsidiary to be responsible for supported housing activities across the Group.

Governance

Over 130 people, including 38 Hyde residents, serve on our boards and committees.

The Hyde Group Board is responsible for

• setting the overall strategy for the Group
• establishing financial plans and monitoring the Group's financial health
• managing and monitoring risk
• taking an overview of performance

The Board delegates some of its responsibilities to committees. There are four Group-wide committees: Operations, Business Development, Audit and Finance & Organisation committees. Hyde Housing Association's Customer Services Boards provide a local focus and subsidiary organisations have their own boards.

The Board of Chichester Diocesan Housing Association and the Hampshire Regional Committee are currently considering how they can work in partnership. The aims of this initiative are to produce a new and financially robust southern focus within the Group.

The Group Board members are:

• Nicholas Badman
• Elizabeth (Liz) Butler
• Sharon Darcy
• Baroness Kishwer Falkner
• Nicolas Gooderham
• Janet Green
• Julie Hollyman (Chair)
• Brian Jolly
• Prodaman (Pommy) Sarwal

Co-optees

• Derrick Biggs (Chair of Minster General HA)
• David Hancock (Acting Chair of CDHA)

Service excellence

The Hyde Group has an established track record for providing quality services that are accessible and responsive to our residents' needs. The Audit Commission has given our housing management service a two-star rating, saying: "Hyde is providing a good two-star service with standards that are more challenging than the industry standard".

Hyde is also recognised as a high-performer by our regulator, the Housing Corporation, who awarded the Group "green lights" in all categories.

The Hyde Group has grown rapidly over the last two decades. Throughout this period we have been concerned that we should not become bureaucratic and unresponsive to local needs. Our network of local offices demonstrates the importance we give to maintaining clear links with the communities in which we work.

In our most recent, independently-conducted, residents'survey, 87% said they were satisfied with the service they receive from us. This places Hyde top of the G17 (17 largest housing associations working in London) performance table* in this category.

* Housing Corporation Key Performance Indicators

Regeneration and community development

By definition, as a group of Registered Social Landlords, we work in communities where incomes are low and unemployment rates are high. Some years ago, we recognised that we were at a crossroads: we had to decide whether to continue solely as a housing provider or whether to broaden our responsibilities to assist communities in tackling problems such as low incomes and high unemployment. We met this challenge head on. In March 1996, we launched our dedicated economic and community regeneration arm - Hyde Plus.

Through Hyde Plus, we are working to achieve two main objectives:

• supporting and promoting our residents to become more involved in Hyde and the wider community in which they live, and
• addressing some of the most pressing economic and social problems faced by our residents.

We also have a strong historic commitment to investment in older housing stock and an impressive record in regenerating local authority estates.

Developing new homes

Hyde is one of the leading housing association developers. Our total rolling development programme averages £300m and provides approximately 1000 new homes each year.

The Hyde Group has received £97.8m from the Housing Corporation's National Affordable Housing Programme (NAHP) 2006/08. This allocation is in addition to the £14.4m Hyde has received under the New Partnerships in Affordable Housing Programme (NPiAH).

Overall, The Hyde Group's Housing Corporation-funded development programme totals £112m and will deliver 2,514 new homes.

The programme is distributed across the Group as follows:

• London £38.6m - 761 homes
• Kent £25.8m - 724 homes
• Hants £20.4m - 490 homes
• CDHA £24.2m - 462 homes
• Minster £3.0m - 77 homes

Our development programme includes major neighbourhood regeneration projects such as Bermondsey Spa in London, and creating new communities such as Oakgrove in Milton Keynes. In February 2006, we were selected by the London Borough of Brent for the £1bn redevelopment of South Kilburn.

Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form

To make sure we maintain our commitment to equality of opportunity and valuing diversity in employment, please fill in the details below.  We will only use the information on this detachable form to monitor our recruitment.  It will not be used in the selection process. 

Name:

1.  I would describe my ethnic group as follows:

Choose ONE section from A – E.  Then tick the most appropriate box.  Please tick one only.

A.   White  1. British 2. Irish 3. Any other White background  (please state)	D.  Carribean, African and any other black background  1. Carribean 2. African 3. Any other Black background  (please state)
B.   Mixed   1. White and Black Carribean 2. White and Black African 3. White and Asian 4. Any other Mixed background  (please state)	A.  Chinese/Other 1. Chinese 2. Any other background
C.  Asian or Asian British  1. Indian 2. Pakistani 3. Bangladeshi 4. Any other Asian background  (please state)	2 - Do you consider you have a disability? Yes  No  If ‘yes’ what is your disability?
	Please specify any special facilities you may need when attending an interview.

• ‘Ethnic Group’ refers to a ‘racial group’ defined by the Race Relations Act 1976 as a group of persons described by reference to colour, race, nationality or ethnic or national original.  The groups are listed in line with CRE recommendations.
• As defined under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995.