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Essex housing association appoints customer services director
Essex housing association CHP has appointed a new customer services director.
Isabel Varey is now responsible for the Chelmsford landlord’s neighbourhoods, customer resolution and insights, and engagement and community investment teams, across its 11,000 homes.
Ms Varey joins CHP from Stonewater, where she spent five years – first as customer experience director and later director of housing services development.
Before that, she spent six years in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, working at both a housing association and local authority.
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Ms Varey was head of care and supported housing at Hightown Housing Association from 2017 to 2019 and associate head of business and improvement at One Housing from 2016 to 2017. She also spent over three years at Dacorum Borough Council as strategic housing team leader from 2012-2016.
CHP said Ms Varey was “focused on listening to the voice of customers, delivering change and responding to the Housing Ombudsman and regulatory consumer standards”.
She also has experience working in London-based roles for large housing associations such as Sanctuary. She started her career at Housing Solutions, a stock transfer association in Maidenhead, Berkshire.
CHP said Ms Varey was “particularly looking forward” to shaping the landlord’s new corporate strategy.
She said: “I can already see how passionate everyone at CHP is about delivering great services for customers.
“The teams are working really hard to get the outcomes our customers need – I can feel the energy coming from everyone and all the great teamwork across departments.
“I’m grateful to everyone for being so welcoming and friendly. I’m looking forward to working with you and our partners, to help us deliver great services and homes.”
Last month, CHP reported an 8% boost in operating margin in 2023-24 after selling shared ownership homes to a for-profit partner.
The landlord’s operating surplus totalled £25.9m, an increase of £5.9m year on year, according to its annual report.
CHP said this was down to “sales of shared ownership equity to for-profit partners”; predominantly 168 shared ownership homes that were sold to M&G.
The M&G deal was revealed by Inside Housing last year.
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