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One to watch – Kath Menzies, housing services officer, Link Housing
Kath Menzies is a housing services officer at Link Housing, and the latest to be interviewed in our series on ‘tomorrow’s leaders’
Tell us about your job.
I deal with day-to-day housing management. I allocate houses, manage void properties, carry out estate management inspections, manage and minimise anti-social behaviour, collect rent and manage rent arrears. We get involved in all aspects of help for our tenants, including issues around domestic abuse, child protection concerns and social issues.
As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I didn’t have a dream occupation, but I always thought my strengths were people-focused.
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Tell us about how you first came to work in housing.
I was exposed to ‘housing’ at an early age. My parents were hoteliers and we often housed statutory homeless households. When I was 16, I interviewed for an apprenticeship with my local authority and they allocated me a housing apprenticeship.
What’s your proudest work moment?
My biggest achievement is winning HQN Housing’s Next Generation award in 2020.
And every day I am proud to have the opportunity to help people out of debt, or into stable housing, or resolving long-term neighbour disputes.
And what has been your hardest moment?
I’ve been employed in various fixed-term posts over the past eight years in efforts to get as much experience and do as much learning as possible. It’s been testing to manage my commute with applying for jobs, part-time education and various volunteer positions in housing or peripheral organisations.
In day-to-day tasks, it can be difficult to watch tenants fall further into difficult but preventable circumstances.
Who has been the most important person who has helped your career so far – and why?
I have been fortunate to have enjoyed a lot of posts in various organisations throughout the UK. Undoubtedly, I’ve done a lot of learning in these places and been greatly impacted (positively and negatively) by various colleagues over the years.
My current line manager, Sue Shone, has had the greatest impact to date. Sue is aware and supportive of my aspirations and ambitions. She has had an interesting and varied career herself, and takes the time to talk with me and offer advice and guidance which is not just limited to housing.
If you could change one thing about the housing sector, what would it be?
People make better choices when they fully understand and are informed of the choices available to them. I think the sector could be better at engaging with education services and young people about housing tenures, budgeting, personal finance, debt, who to contact in a crisis etc. There is still a lot of hidden youth homelessness, and the sector could improve in our prevention of homelessness and the housing crisis.
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