Places for People Scotland are part of the Places for People Group. We are a registered Scottish Landlord and Scottish charity.

Places for People Scotland has extensive housing experience dating back to 1972. We have one goal in mind - to create happy, healthy, and inclusive Communities.

Over the years, we've grown and evolved our business across Scotland to reflect the changing needs of our Customers, Communities and the environment.

To us, Community matters — that's why we support Communities across Scotland to reach their full potential. As one of the country's leading housing associations, we provide affordable and quality homes.

Our priorities and the things we care about make us stand out from the crowd. We believe that a quality and sustainable home is a springboard for people and places to thrive. We create joined up Communities, with people at the centre of all we do.

Purpose of Role

We are looking forward to welcoming two new Non-Executive board members to our board in 2025. The individuals will have a track record of executive roles, ideally with some focus on Government & public affairs/policy, housing and asset investment. One of the individuals should have a financial qualification and be able to demonstrate that they have recent and relevant financial experience.

Places for People Scotland are looking for proven leaders with relevant skills and experience who can quickly get to grips with our complex group structure and bring commitment and enthusiasm to the board.

We are seeking People who can support us to achieve our strategic goals, and who are excited by the range of opportunities and challenges ahead, including those around decarbonisation, safety, property and service quality, and delivering sustainable and positive social impact for our customers now and in the future.

Places for People is committed to achieving high standards of business integrity, corporate governance and professionalism. Our activities are overseen by a board comprising five Non-Executive and two Executive board members. The Non-Executive board members act independently of management which ensures the highest standards of accountability and transparency are upheld.

Key Responsibilities

Non-Executive board members are expected to participate fully in ensuring that the Scotland Board exercises effective leadership and provides constructive challenge and support to executive Colleagues. In particular we value Non-Executive board members bringing to the board knowledge and experience of other relevant organisations and independence and objectivity of judgement on matters relating to:

• Strategy – constructively challenging and contributing to the development of the strategy of the Group.
• Performance – monitoring performance against objectives, and the reporting of performance.
• Risk – being satisfied that the group has an effective and dynamic approach to all aspects of risk, and ensuring that controls and systems of risk management are robust and defensible.
• People – contributing to shaping our culture and People policies as appropriate.

Committees

Non-Executive board members may be appointed to a committee of the PFPS board and may be asked to join any subsidiary board. The PFPS board and any committee or subsidiary related to it generally meets quarterly.

Person Specification

All successful candidates will bring:

• Governance experience - Senior Executive and/or Non-Executive board member experience and high standards of probity and an understanding of governance issues.
• A strategic focus - the ability to look beyond the operational and to focus on the achievement of the strategic objectives.
• Complex stakeholder networks - experience of working effectively with a wide range of stakeholders and public affairs in the housing sector and/or housing policies.
• Excellent communication skills - the ability to present arguments with knowledge and understanding of the wider strategic context; ability to promote the organisation and to communicate effectively to ensure its aims and objectives are achieved.
• Ability to work with others - a personal and professional credibility that will command confidence at all levels; has the ability to assess and interpret a wide range of stakeholder interests and requirements and balance them effectively.
• Customer focus - an awareness of the needs and aspirations of our customers, and of the local Communities where they live. We would welcome applications from individuals with lived experience of affordable housing; and
• Understanding of ESG - A clear understanding of, and positive attitude towards, environmental sustainability and the broader landscape around ESG.

Role

We are keen to consider a relatively broad range of candidates who bring experience of leadership roles and who have a track record of Government & public affairs/policy, housing, asset investment and financial acumen.

Ideally a candidate who has sector experience with awareness and understanding of Government policy that particularly impacts our organisation.

Candidates will need to evidence broad strategic leadership where they have operated in like-minded organisations.

Our company is for everyone. In our services, our partnerships and our employment practices, our commitment to equality and diversity is absolute. We are determined to build a diverse board and would welcome interest in these roles from People who bring the broadest possible range of backgrounds and perspectives, and those from underrepresented groups.

Terms of Appointment

Non-Executive board members are typically expected to serve an initial term of three years and for no more than six years in total although, in exceptional circumstances they may be invited to serve for longer.

How to Apply

To apply, please submit your CV and covering letter via our online recruitment platform.

Or alternatively, for a confidential discussion you can contract Katie Smart, Director Places for People Scotland.

Closing date for applications is 14th March 2025

What's next?

If you meet the criteria and are ready to make the next step in your career then apply following our simple 5 minute application process, upload a CV and a supporting statement which demonstrates how you meet the requirements of the role. If you have any questions please call the recruitment team on 01772 666555.

If you are a Places for People customer and you're looking for support with your application, please contact our skills and employment team on skillsemployment@placesforpeople.co.uk.

Please note that we may bring the closing date forward, if we receive a large number of quality applications. If you are interested in this role we would advise applying immediately to avoid disappointment.

If you are using a mobile device such as an iPad then ensure your CV is stored in the cloud, we currently support Google Drive, OneDrive and Dropbox.