One to Watch – Rosalyn Springer, partnership manager (social value) at MTVH

When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I wanted to be an Egyptologist. I was always reading my book on Egyptian myths and legends, and wrote to the British Museum to request work experience when I was about 10. They wrote back and said they’d be delighted to offer me work experience when I was a bit older.

By the time I had to pick a placement, I had changed paths and volunteered at Greenpeace.

What’s your proudest work moment or biggest achievement so far?

When I joined NHG, I was also studying for my BSc in community development and public policy, which started when I was carrying my daughter. 2018-19 was a busy year, as I graduated from this and achieved qualifications in leadership, management and housing practice in the same year.

The second was jointly redeveloping and launching NHG’s staff network for women, Beehive. I led the network for three-and-a-half years and it was a formative part of my journey at NHG.

What’s been your hardest moment?

Being furloughed for four months during the first year of the pandemic and unable to support my residents was incredibly hard.

At the time, I was also expecting a baby, which I then lost not long after returning to work, so I was already quite unwell but still wanted to help.

We can turn negatives around where we leverage our strengths. One of the first things I did was to instigate some work on our maternity and bereavement policies, which came to fruition a year or so later.

Who has been the most important person in your career – and why?

I’ve had encouraging words from various people over the years, but honestly I’d have to say my biggest cheerleader is my mum. She’s always on hand to listen, to push me when I am having a crisis of confidence and to child-sit when needed.

And me – I push and challenge myself; I’m unafraid and I refuse to settle. You can’t rely on other people to open doors for you.

If you could change one thing about the sector, what would it be?

I’d make our sector more proactive and less reactive. Many of the issues we see come to light in the industry – Grenfell, the death of Awaab Ishak, violence against women and girls, hate crime – we know about already. Our residents tell us about these things, our frontline staff tell us.
We just need to actively listen.