Management Team

Please see details below of the members of the CVHA Management Team.

Lesley Clarkson
Housing Services Manager

I have been with the Association since it was established in April1996. Initially employed as a Housing Officer I later became Assistant Housing Services Manager and am currently Housing Services Manager within the organisation.

I have worked in housing for over 30 years, firstly with Scottish Special Housing Association, then with Scottish Homes until 1994 when I was seconded to the Scottish Government to assist with the stock transfer to Clyde Valley Housing Association.

In my current role as Housing Services Manager at Clyde Valley, I am responsible for overseeing the effective delivery of a range of services to customers. These services include property factoring, tenant participation, welfare benefits, mortgage to rent acquisitions, right to buy and developing, monitoring and reviewing policies and procedures.

Recent achievements at Clyde Valley have included acquiring our 100^th property under the Scottish Government’s flagship Mortgage to Rent (MTR) scheme, having acquired our first MTR property in May 2007. As a result, within a relatively short period, we have helped prevent homelessness for 100 households and added significantly to our stock portfolio. 

Future ambitions include to continuouslyimprove the quality of service provided to our customers and to promote and demonstrate innovative developments in the management and provision of socially rented housing.

Sean Currie
Asset Manager

As Asset Manager I am responsible for ensuring that Clyde Valley Housing Association’s asset base is maintained to the standards required by statutory and best practice guidance.  This generally involves the replacement of major building components as and when they reach the end of their economic life.  For example; we aim to replace boilers on or just before they reach 15 years old.  To assist in this process I maintain the Association’s Asset Management Database, which records the condition of our complete housing stock and when each individual component is due for replacement. 

To allow the delivery of the major repairs programmes, I am also responsible for undertaking a range of procurement exercises. This involves a robust process to appoint contractors and consultant based on a range of criteria ensuring we achieve value for money.

As one of the newest members to the Clyde Valley Housing Association team the last year has been full of new and exciting challenges. Looking forward, I will be ensuring that we maintain a high quality of service, while ensuring that the best value for money is achieved during these financially challenging times.

Carol Kirkman
Development Manager

I have been the Development Manager with Clyde Valley Housing Association since July 2005.

In that time Iam delighted to report that  I have been heavily involved in the  project management of 600 new build affordable homes for Social Rent and Shared Equity since I stated as Development Officer. In addition I have provided Development Services for local councils and RSLs project managing the new build of 118 affordable homes for our strategic partners to date, all this at a cost of £78m, funded by a mix of Housing Association Grant and Private Finance.

My first project was Phase 1 of the redevelopment of Stock Transfer properties in the Burnbank area of Hamilton. CVHA is currently undertaking its 4^th phase of the redevelopment of the Robertson Street/ Anderson Street area and still remains close to my heart!

Kevin McGhee
Housing Maintenance Manager

I have worked with the Association for 8 years firstly as Technical Inspector and for the last 4 years as Housing Maintenance Manager. As Housing Maintenance Manager I manage a team who help maintain the portfolio of stock to a high standard. Within my role I am responsible for the reactive and cyclical repairs and also oversee the following maintenance programmes:

·                       Reactive  maintenance (day to day).

·                       Gas servicing and maintenance (including annual gas servicing).

·                       Landscape maintenance.

·                       Electrical inspections.

·                       Medical adaptations.

·                       Emergency 24 hour callout.

A major achievement in my area was the introduction and implementation of our Repairs by Appointment system that I introduced for routine repairs in October 2011.

I am passionate about customer service delivery, and always looking at areas with staff and contractors for continual improvement and efficiencies.

Fraser MacKenzie
Business Development Manager

I joined the organisation in August 2010 with 3 main areas of development.

·                     Seeking and developing new business ventures that support the core housing functions of the organisation.

·                     Establishing new business opportunities and income streams with a particular focus on Social Enterprise.

·                     Identify opportunities for strategic alliances, joint ventures and other forms of partnership working which align with our Group objectives.

My role includes effectively and successfully supporting the promotion and delivery of our business strategy and operational objectives. Representing and championing the organisation to external audiences and building strong and sustainable relationships with key and influential stakeholders.

Key areas of current business modeling include developing a range of Energy ventures anchored around education and advice, insulation and the potential use of renewable technologies that will not only help address the increasing problem of fuel poverty for our customer base but will also generate additional income to the organisation.

Despite the current economic climate there are opportunities to develop and broaden our business activities to support our core housing activities and continue to contribute to the development of vibrant, prosperous and safe communities.

Andy McVey
ICT Manager

I have been working with the Association for over 5 years and as ICT Manager am responsible for the development and delivery of the Association’s IT Strategy and the management and delivery of IT services.

These IT services cross all areas of the organisation including Housing and Asset Management, Finance, HR and Payroll, mobile working and communications. This also includes delivering IT services to our social enterprise centre at Wellwynd, Airdrie.

The organisation places great importance on its systems and processes and a major project that I lead on involved the implementation of a full Document Management system allowing all paper based systems to be held electronically, and to be fully integrated with the main Housing Management software. This has increased efficiency, reduced cost and the carbon foot print of the Group. This success of this project led us to be shortlisted for a Herald Business IT Award in 2009.

Always interested in new technology, I am looking to continue the introduction and adoption of new and emerging technology within the Association, with the aim to stream line processes, increase efficiency and ultimately help provide great customer services.

Susan Samson
Group Accountant

I joined the Association in March 2007 as Group Accountant, and I am responsible for overseeing the operational service delivery of the Finance function to both internal and external customers.

 I qualified in 1999 and have 19 years’ experience in finance across a number of industry sectors, including practice, manufacturing, banking, retail and  4 years in social housing.

Since joining the Association I have successfully automated the majority of the  processes in the Finance Department, set up the new Subsidiary for reporting purposes, set up Internet Banking, Direct Debit collections, Government Procurement Cards and an automated electronic Purchase Order Processing System. I am currently working on a new system to automate the housing assets process.

It is my vision to minimise manual entry from all the processes, to enable the team to add value to the Group by providing information that can assist decision making and provide an analytical review of existing activities.

Linda Sneddon
Housing Operations Manager

I have been with the Association since it was established in April 1996. Initially employed as a Housing Benefit Officer and Housing Officer, I later became Estate Manager and am currently Housing Operations Manager within the organisation.

I have worked in housing for 27 years, firstly with Scottish Special Housing Association, then with Scottish Homes.

I manage a team of Housing Officers and Housing Assistants who deal with Allocations, Collection of Rental Income, Debt Recovery, Estate Management and Anti-Social Behaviour issues.

I previously managed the large scale transfer of Coatbridge properties from North Lanarkshire Council. This area was completely rebuilt in partnership with tenants and the many contractors.  This culminated in various awards for design, regeneration and partnership working.

I enjoy the many challenges Housing Management brings, working with our tenants and partners, ensuring our tenants the fundamental right of a safe and secure home.