Michelle Briggs

Soha Housing is a community based, mutual housing association owned by its residents and staff. Our mutual status embodies our commitment to the full engagement of residents and staff in making decisions about our future, collaborating in the design and delivery of services, and holding Soha to account for delivery of excellent services. We own and manage around 7,300 homes throughout Oxfordshire, Wiltshire and West Berkshire, including Oxford, Swindon and High Wycombe and currently have over 15,000 residents. We build new homes at sector leading levels – homes for rent, for shared ownership for first-time buyers and sheltered and extra care housing for people who want some extra support. We are financially strong and committed to doing all we can to provide homes for the many people who struggle to afford secure, affordable homes in our very expensive area of the country. We believe we have an important role to play in building safe, sustainable communities and supporting our residents to access services, facilities, information/advice, and employment and training opportunities. We are a member of PlaceShapers, a national alliance of more than 100 community-focused housing associations. We know that we need a diverse workforce, with the right skills and understanding, who can work with our residents to achieve our goals. That is why equality and diversity drives our recruitment, development and retention policies and practice. We make sure our recruitment procedure does not unfairly discriminate against anyone. We collect and monitor recruitment data to make sure our practices are fair and reflect best practice. We positively encourage people from under-represented groups to apply for our jobs, so we reflect the communities where we work. We provide all employees with the training and development they need to fulfill their potential and to fully understand equality and diversity.