Sarah Cross
Sustainability Programme Manager, Lancaster West Neighbourhood Team
Charityworks Alumni, 2022
“My proudest achievements so far in my housing career are being a finalist for the Women in Housing’s Woman of the Future (2023) award and a finalist in the Housing Quality Networks Housing’s Next Generation Leader (2024) competition.”
About my journey
Before joining Charityworks I was completing my Masters degree in Earth Science, and experiencing the age-old student dilemma, what next? Armed with the knowledge that I wanted to help both people and the planet I set about looking for opportunities and came across Charityworks. What attracted me most to the programme was the range of placements, all under the central cause of making a positive impact within the public sector. As a new graduate with an open-mind Charityworks provided me with the perfect opportunity to get stuck into something new, whilst allowing me to be confident that wherever I would be placed I would be making a difference.
Whilst I didn’t know specifically that I wanted to work in the housing sector, now I’m here, I’m here to stay! Housing plays a crucial role in providing safe, affordable and sustainable living conditions for people, contributing positively to this sector is rewarding, impactful and tangible.
My Placement experience
I was placed at the Lancaster West Neighbourhood Team as a Sustainability Project Support Officer. Following the Grenfell Tower tragedy in June 2017, the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea created the Lancaster West Neighbourhood Team to provide hyper-localised neighbourhood team services to the Lancaster West Estate. A central aim of the Neighbourhood Team is to place a Green Recovery at the heart of the Grenfell Recovery in Notting Dale. As well as providing local housing management services, a resident-led refurbishment project is currently underway to transform the estate in North Kensington into a model of 21st-century social housing that will be carbon-neutral by 2030.
From the start of my placement I worked on a variety of projects, as I was finding my feet this included writing funding bids and supporting on the monitoring of funds already secured, setting up office recycling, improving active travel initiatives and encouraging engagement with our sustainability objectives, both with staff and residents. As my experience grew, I was given the opportunity to work on a particular passion project of mine, PlanBee. I set about measuring our estate’s biodiversity baseline, forecasting improvements to be made in support of our aim “restoring a Garden Estate with a thriving, biodiverse and climate-adapted environment” and began delivering local garden projects across the estate. To date PlanBee has one two national awards; an Unlock Net Zero Award for Biodiversity and a Pineapple Award for Climate Resilience. As I continued to grow as an Assistant Project Manager and then Project Manager, I took on more responsibility and managed larger projects, including a landscaping project that seeks to improve biodiversity, minimise flood risk, improve safety and the quality of public realm across the whole Estate. The engagement done as part of this project also won the Resident Engagement of the Year, this year at the Unlock Net Zero awards.
Where I am now
Three years after completing my Charityworks fellowship and four years after starting my career I am now the Sustainability Programme Manager at the Lancaster West Neighbourhood Team. I lead a team of five incredible fellow sustainability enthusiasts. We work in partnership with residents to drive delivery of a range of projects that will meet our goals to be carbon-neutral by 2030. Charityworks not only provided the springboard into this role by facilitating the placement itself but also provided me with the early career leadership, management, communication and confidence skills needed to progress so impactfully within the public sector.
My proudest achievements so far in my housing career are being a finalist for the Women in Housing’s Woman of the Future (2023) award and a finalist in the Housing Quality Networks Housing’s Next Generation Leader (2024) competition. Being recognised at the Women in Housing awards was such an honour and was a great opportunity to meet and hear about some incredible women across the country. The HQN competition was just as rewarding but also challenging in new ways, the experience resulted in huge personal and professional growth and really opened my eyes to the wider Housing Sector including issues around tenancy management, housing needs and equality.
Reflections on the sector
When reflecting on the impact of the Charityworks fellowship programme on the sector I think it has been overwhelmingly positive. Since starting at Lancaster West, I have worked with nine fellow graduates and met many more throughout Alumni networks. The shared drive, ethics and enthusiasm we all share is palpable and is clearly identified in the Charityworks recruitment process.
Schemes like Charityworks are so important not only to provide experience for young people looking to get their foot in the door of a sector that can be exclusionary, but also to provide local authorities, housing associations and housing charities with diversity, energy and often new ways of thinking.
I think the recruitment crisis experienced by the Housing Sector has similar drivers felt across all sectors, and across the country. The job market is highly competitive, other sectors, particularly private, may offer more attractive salaries, benefits and career progression opportunities. Compounded by the struggles often faced by housing organisations to secure funding and resources, it can be hard to attract and retain skilled professionals. Engaging with schemes like Charityworks enables housing providers to attract the talent, and then build the skills as they go, improving staff retention and nurturing the next generation of housing professionals.
Standout moment from my placement
A standout moment from my placement so far would have to be completing my first garden project, complete with the Lancaster West Estate’s first sustainable urban drainage system. Following a years’ worth of resident co-design, engagement, project management and fund management, a multi-generational sensory SuDS garden was constructed including new seating, planting, a biodiverse swale and even energy generating gym equipment! Walking past the area one summer evening after completion I noticed a large family gathering, with residents using the garden in ways they had mentioned they were not able to previously. A picnic on the hill, children on the basket swing and teenage girls on the gym equipment, it was a picture-perfect snapshot of what can be achieved if you work with residents to create spaces that work not only for the environment but for the people that will use them.
Seeing this project come to life gave me an immense sense of pride to be able to work in an organisation that places residents needs front and center and of course offered me the opportunity to manage such an impactful project.
If you are reading this and thinking about starting a career in the housing sector, my advice would be wholeheartedly to go for it! I recommend exploring the range of roles that are available, from urban planning and architecture to housing management and rent finance, there truly is something for everyone and each role is as rewarding as the other. In my experience colleagues across the sector are dedicated, passionate and willing to push through often demanding and stressful roles to provide a safe home for all, if this sounds like you, come and join us!