Working with us

Sue Cooper

“I’ve had three roles in two years here, and I’ve been able to take something new from each one of them. I first joined the business within the Operations Directorate, before taking up the Head of Maintenance role.

Each promotion has brought more responsibility along with even more opportunity to make a difference. I’ve found myself getting more involved with other areas of the business such as Finance and Communications, and I’ve also had to broaden my skills.

I’m responsible for all of Affinity Sutton’s housing assets in our London region, a total of around 18,000 properties.  The job has a varied remit which encompasses Property Services, Neighbourhood Management, Planned Maintenance, Stock Transfer, Development and Regeneration.

Everyday is different! My focus is achieving a strong performance and consistency of service across our different locations. There’s a real drive to do the best for our customers, and as a senior manager you are encouraged to get out there and be innovative in seeking improvements – you can pilot ideas and try new things in every aspect of your work, but you have to recognise that you need a strong team of people behind you every step of the way.

I believe we have a culture of support and encouragement. People aren’t afraid to take risks and suggest ideas. It gives us more scope to try out fresh thinking and groundbreaking initiatives.

That support also extends to career development. On joining, I was at a stage in my career where there were no formal training programmes or qualifications directly relevant to me, I didn’t know how far I could go but the opportunities here have been frequent.

My mentor encouraged me to promote myself more, build networks and make people aware of my skills and abilities, so I can offer more to the organisation. My mentor remains a great source of assistance, and now I’m lucky enough to help others too as I’m also a mentor myself!”

Are you impressed by Sue’s career progression?

Why not take our quiz and see if Affinity Sutton is the organisation for you to put down roots too?