HQN is pleased to announce the semi-finalists for this year’s Housing’s Next Generation competition.

The successful candidates made it through this year’s blogging task, where they had to write 500-word articles answering one of the following questions:

• How do we make social housing a career of choice for young people? What motivated you to seek a role in the sector and how would you encourage others to do the same? 
• AI will transform the social housing sector over the next five years. Please discuss in practical terms.
• How can housing providers ensure they get services ‘right first time’? What do you think are the key ingredients for success?
• Describe your organisation’s approach to meeting the requirements of Awaab’s Law and discuss how it is preparing for the second phase later this year.
• Describe how your organisation is preparing for the Social Tenant Access to Information Requirements (STAIRs) that come into effect later this year. Why is this so important in helping to balance the landlord-tenant relationship?
• The Tenant Satisfaction Measures have had little impact in improving the quality of services. Discuss.
• According to Crisis, the social housing allocations system is no longer fit for purpose as it no longer prioritises people with the most housing need. Discuss.

Our judges were asked to score candidates on their understanding of the social housing sector, clarity and structure of argument, engagement and audience awareness, and written communication quality.

Commenting on the quality of this year’s blog entries, Next Generation judge Gordon Perry, said: “Some very interesting blogs from this year’s candidates, on a range of topics. Those that stood out to me gave me new insight to an issue or made me think and reflect.

“The best of them challenged me to re-consider my previous views. I’m so looking forward to the semi-final and encourage candidates to be bold and confident, not to take the safe route!” 

The candidates who have made it through will now compete for a place in July’s grand final at our semi-final day, which takes place at the Sovereign Network Group offices in Wembley, North London, on 17 June.

The semi-finalists

• Natalia Widomsk, Tenant Engagement Officer, Swindon Borough Council
• Jessica Doran, Housing Advisor, Norwich City Council
• Zorba Emelonye, Head of Homelessness Services, Brent Council
• Beth Flexen, Housing Officer, ForHousing
• Jonny Scott, Head of Accommodation, Jigsaw Conferences Ltd
• Adam Smith, Income Officer, 54North Homes
• Lorna Biddell, Co-Creation Officer, London Borough of Redbridge
• Frankie Lane, Junior Finance Business Partner, NSAH (Alliance Homes) Limited
• Millie Clive, Service Improvement Officer, The Barnet Group
• Ellie McGuinness, Community Development Officer (multi-storeys), Gateshead Council
• John Dunne, Housing Officer, Birmingham City Council.

• Abraham Bickersteth

  Abraham Bickersteth is a housing needs manager at Barnet Homes, where he’s spent his entire career in social housing.

  He joined Barnet Homes as a graduate trainee within the Housing Options Service in September 2018. After a year, he became a housing needs officer and, in March 2023, progressed to senior housing needs officer. In January 2026, he stepped into management, becoming a housing needs manager. He’s proud to hold a management position within Barnet’s statutory homelessness service.

  His role includes managing the Trainee Development Pathway at Barnet Homes, enabling individuals with no prior experience to become housing needs officers within the local authority. He also led on this scheme in his previous position as a senior housing needs officer. Abraham manages a team of housing officers responsible for critical decisions such as banding priority and eligibility for temporary accommodation. He’s motivated to provide high-quality services to residents and views public service as a privilege. He enjoys the responsibility of managing a team and believes that, in order to provide the best quality service, staff need to feel consistently supported.

  He’s fortunate to have benefited from strong management and guidance during his time at Barnet Homes, which has shaped his approach. He’s grateful for the opportunities he’s had so far in his career and is always looking to give back by helping others.

• Amy Mitchell

  After graduating from university in 2023, Amy began her career in the Barnet Group’s Service Improvement Team. She spent a year as a trainee before moving into the role of service improvement officer, where she worked on various projects and improvement initiatives to enhance customer experience.

  Amy has recently moved into a new role as a temporary accommodation (TA) reduction analyst, producing key insights into TA need in Barnet and making recommendations for tackling the rise in TA use in the borough. She believes this is one of the biggest challenges facing the sector and hopes to contribute to the delivery of a robust, future‑proof service.

• Charlie McCorriston

  Charlie is the programme co-ordinator for new business at the London Borough of Hillingdon. He began his career in February 2022, working closely with the Property and Estates Team at LBH to identify new housing opportunities in the borough and present data to senior members for decision making.

  The role has since evolved, with a primary focus on securing grant funding for housing and maintaining strong relationships with funding providers through the negotiation of grant rates and monitoring projects from start on site through to completion. He’s fortunate to be in his position and recognises his responsibility to provide unwavering support, always advocating for residents and putting them first.

  He’s excited about the future of housing and is committed to playing his part in delivering positive change within the sector, contributing to the shared goal of providing much-needed homes for families who can benefit.

• Frankie Lane

  Frankie joined Alliance in 2014 as a customer experience apprentice. After successfully completing a Level 2 NVQ in Customer Service, Frankie continued to work in the Alliance Contact Team until 2020. Since then, she’s moved into the world of finance working in Purchase to Pay and then her current role as junior finance business partner, completing AAT Level 2 & 3 with the plan to start Level 4 shortly and become a fully qualified finance professional.

  Frankie says, “I’m passionate about the work we do here at Alliance and grateful to those who have seen my potential and supported me throughout my career. Working alongside like-minded people who genuinely care about the services we deliver motivates me to bring my best to the team and help with shaping the quality of service our customers receive”.

• Jake Wortley

  Jake is a multi-skilled engineer with over three years’ experience in the housing sector, specialising in damp and mould.

  He’s passionate about creating safe and healthy living environments and helps to identify, resolve and prevent property issues. He’s committed to learning, continuous improvement and progressing into more senior roles, including supervisory and management positions.

• James Hague

  James works within the Fire Safety Team at Sheffield City Council, supporting the management of fire safety across a housing portfolio of more than 20,000 council-owned dwellings.

  His role involves helping to ensure buildings meet legislative and regulatory requirements, while taking a practical, risk-based approach to keeping residents safe in their homes. He works closely with internal teams, contractors and external partners to manage fire risk across a diverse and complex housing stock, contributing to continual improvement in fire safety standards and resident protection.

• Jessica Doran

  Jessica joined the homelessness prevention team at Norwich City Council in 2023 as a specialist housing adviser for newly recognised refugees. The role was created as a response to growing numbers of asylum seekers and refugees in the area and was the first role created in the county.

  She has experience with supporting individuals and families to secure safe housing solutions following a grant of refugee status, including in the private rental sector, helping people navigate the ever-changing housing market. Holding a masters degree in international human rights law, Jess is passionate about helping people to integrate into the UK and giving people the tools to successfully rebuild their lives.

   

• John Dunne

  John is an estates housing officer (GR4) working within the South Housing Quadrant, based at the 1A Vineyard Road Neighbourhood Office in Northfield. He joined the council in 2018 as an apprentice caretaker at the age of 21 and has since progressed into his current role.

  His working day begins at 6:30am, managing communications including phone calls and emails from council staff, contractors, subcontractors, MPs, councillors and residents. He’s responsible for responding to and resolving a wide range of enquiries, including cleaning issues, repair requests, fly-tipping, boundary disputes and other complex or unusual situations.

  In addition, he oversees service delivery across his area by ensuring appropriate staffing levels are maintained. This includes monitoring attendance, managing sickness procedures and ensuring continuity of service for tenants.

  He also coordinates training for team members and ensures they are equipped with the necessary tools, communication devices and personal protective equipment (PPE) to carry out their duties effectively and safely.

• Mia Edwards

  Mia is a senior FTTP project manager at Sanctuary Group, with nearly nine years’ experience across property services at Sanctuary.

  She’s passionate about customer safety, compliance and digital inclusion, and is proud to have contributed to developing legal frameworks and processes that place customer safety at the centre of fibre works. She actively collaborates with other housing associations to shape best practice and has had the honour of representing Sanctuary and her customers at Connected Britain and Connected North, championing inclusive and compliant fibre delivery.

  She loves working in social housing, recognising the impact her work can have on people’s lives, and is excited about what the future holds for the sector.

• Natalia Widomska

  Nat began her career in the housing sector in 2023, bringing with her eight years of experience in customer-facing roles. As an apprentice, she’s been shortlisted as a finalist for Swindon Borough Council’s Learner of the Year annual award. Nat quickly progressed into a permanent position within the tenant engagement team and successfully completed her CIH Level 3 Apprenticeship in Housing and Property Management with distinction.

  Nat’s work focuses on ensuring tenants feel listened to, respected, valued and involved. She supports engagement through community cafés, drop-in sessions, Let’s Talk Housing events and resident meetings, listening carefully to feedback and helping turn it into action.

  Following the findings of the Regulator of Social Housing’s recent inspection, Nat has played an active role in supporting the ongoing delivery of commitments set out in housing’s improvement plan linked to the Transparency, Influence and Accountability Standard. She’s committed to finding creative and inclusive ways to engage underrepresented groups, making involvement accessible to everyone. Nat has been instrumental in setting up the scrutiny and asset management groups and is currently encouraging tenants to join the new policy and complaints groups, ensuring residents can influence decision making within housing.

  Committed to learning and development, Nat believes housing services work best when staff continue to listen, learn and adapt to residents’ changing needs. As an AI champion, she explores new ways to work more efficiently and to record and analyse tenant engagement. Nat also works closely with partner organisations to identify support opportunities and build strong links between tenants and services, helping residents access the right support at the right time.

• Adam Smith

  Adam Smith is an income officer at 54North Homes. He began his career in housing seven years ago as a rent and income officer with Gateshead Council, before progressing to a neighbourhood officer role at Believe Housing. He joined 54North Homes in September 2024, where he continues to build on his experience within frontline housing services.

  He’s passionate about playing a meaningful role in strengthening communities, promoting tenancy sustainment and contributing to the future of social housing. Working on the frontline has reinforced the importance of understanding the wider circumstances affecting customers’ lives to ensure the right support is provided. This led him to complete his CIH Level 5 qualification, which he found extremely valuable in developing a deeper understanding of the complex housing environment.

  He’s keen to continue progressing his career in housing, contributing to continuous improvement and sharing ideas that help deliver positive outcomes for residents and communities.

• Beth Flexen

  Beth completed her master’s degree in English in 2020 and was keen to pursue a career that would allow her to support people in communities like her own. She joined the housing sector as a community development officer at ForHousing, where she supported community champions to develop exciting and innovative projects for residents.

  She quickly progressed into the role of housing officer, enabling her to work closely with tenants on a one-to-one basis and support them through a range of issues to help sustain successful tenancies.

• Ellie McGuinness

  Ellie joined Gateshead Council’s Multi Storey Housing team in August 2025 as a community development officer, where she works to strengthen resident participation and improve tenant satisfaction in high-rise social housing.

  Since joining, she has built strong relationships across the local authority, Gateshead’s vast VCSE network and the communities living within multi-storey housing, developing a clear understanding of hyper-local challenges and opportunities.

  Through resident meetings, door-knocking activity and consultation processes, she’s established new communal spaces in five high-rise blocks and co-designed inclusive engagement programmes that promote wellbeing and social connection among residents. All initiatives are resident-led, ensuring they reflect the priorities and lived experiences of the communities they serve.

  Nine months into the role, she’s more passionate than ever about a career focused on empowering local people to shape spaces and opportunities where they feel heard, valued and optimistic about the future of social housing.

• Grace Volante

  Grace is currently on a placement as a housing graduate at Settle Housing Group (now SettleParadigm) through the Charityworks programme, a development scheme for the non-profit sector.

  She’s undertaking a rotational placement across Settle, spending time in different teams to gain experience. So far, this has included the communications team, neighbourhoods team and the project team, contributing to community investment, internal policies, and communications on regulation and legislation. She also spent time as co-ordinator for the neighbourhood team. Of these experiences, community investment has been a particular highlight, especially supporting the organisation of the Christmas hamper drive and delivering seasonal events in the areas they serve.

  Another key highlight has been conducting an impact research project on Settle’s sustainability portfolio and its wider role in local green infrastructure. She’s also supplemented her day-to-day role through involvement in the EDI colleague group, contributing towards inclusive accreditations and improvements to the working environment.

  Grace is one of many who didn’t initially choose a career in housing, but it has since become a strong passion. She’s particularly motivated by the challenge of addressing the housing crisis and looks forward to building a career contributing to that solution.

• James Feetham-Evans

  James joined the social housing sector in 2024, bringing over 15 years’ lived experience as a social housing tenant and as an ambulatory wheelchair user. This perspective shapes his strong EDI lens and his commitment to improving accessibility, trust and fairness across housing services, particularly for customers who experience additional barriers.

  Working in customer experience, James focuses on getting services right first time by designing them around real customer journeys and inclusive principles. He combines professional learning with personal insight to challenge systems, influence organisational culture and drive meaningful, practical improvements that lead to better outcomes for customers across the housing sector.

• Jessica Woods

  Jessica initially joined the housing sector in 2024 as an engagement officer and was successful in progressing to her current senior role in October 2025. Her primary focus has been on ensuring that all tenant voices are genuinely heard and that involvement leads to real, meaningful change. She’s worked with the public since the age of 16 across a range of sectors, but her core values have always remained the same: ensuring people feel heard, respected and valued.

  Jessica is currently completing her CIH Level 3 qualification in housing practice and is highly motivated by the opportunity to develop and shape a focused involvement team and to build strong, trusting relationships between tenants and landlords.

• Jonny Scott

  Jonny is head of accommodation at Jigsaw Conferences Ltd, overseeing both day-to-day and out-of-hours account management teams. With a background in local authority homelessness services and temporary accommodation, as well as lived experience of the sector, he brings a well-rounded perspective to delivering high-quality placements and resolving complex client and resident needs.

  He also leads Jigsaw’s major decant operations, managing large-scale relocations with a focus on care and efficiency. A CIH certified professional, Jonny is passionate about raising standards across housing and promoting it as a meaningful career path.

• Lorna Biddell

  Lorna is a co-creation officer with just over two years’ experience in the housing sector. She was looking for a role where she could make a real difference, and leading on co-creation has allowed her to do exactly that.

  In her role, she uses performance data to identify key areas of resident dissatisfaction and leads collaborative service improvement projects. These projects bring staff and residents together as equal partners, ensuring lived experience directly shapes recommendations and outcomes.

  She believes co-creation is meaningful engagement that builds trust between the housing service and residents, demonstrating that the service genuinely listens and cares. She’s passionate about helping people, driving positive change and embedding the resident voice at the heart of every service delivered.

• Millie Clive

  Millie has worked in housing with the Barnet Group for two and a half years. She joined straight from university as a trainee and progressed to her current role as a service improvement officer a year later.

  She enjoys the variety of her role and the opportunity to work on projects that make a tangible difference for residents. This has included helping to launch a portal for residents to view their rent and service charges online, and more recently working on a project to improve both the quantity and quality of resident data to help tailor services. Her work supports the delivery of more inclusive, fair and responsive services, which she’s extremely passionate about.

  She’s also co-chair of the organisation’s Women’s Group. In this role, she’s delivered sessions for colleagues across the organisation, covering topics such as health and wellbeing, fertility and family planning, retirement and mentoring. This has included hosting live discussions with the CEO and a female director to support and empower female staff.

• Zorba Emelonye

  Zorba is head of homelessness services at Brent Council, leading a frontline service delivering prevention and statutory homelessness duties. She has extensive experience across the sector, supporting households at risk of homelessness and driving improvements in service delivery.

  She’s passionate about early intervention, improving access to services and ensuring residents receive the right support at the right time. Her work focuses on system-wide collaboration and creating practical, inclusive solutions that support long-term housing stability.

  Zorba has played a key role in service transformation, improving decision-making and outcomes for residents. She’s a strong advocate for inclusive services, particularly for individuals with complex or neurodiverse needs and has been recognised as one of the top housing professionals in the country.

Housing’s Next Generation is back!

The annual competition designed to showcase the best new talent in the social housing sector is now in its fifth year and we’re looking for a bumper crop of entries from housing associations, local authorities, ALMOS and other relevant organisations.

Housing’s Next Generation is about giving new housing professionals a voice – to share their thoughts and ideas and help shape the future direction of the sector. We’re looking for people from a diverse range of roles and backgrounds who can bring fresh thinking to the challenges faced by housing organisations, our communities and the residents we serve.

Last year, Olivia Richards, social research and policy advisor at Welsh housing association Hedyn, was crowned the winner at HQN’s annual conference in London last July after impressing the competition judges and 120 delegates in a closely fought final.

It was the culmination of a competition that saw shortlisted candidates battle through a series of rounds, including a semi-final where they had to demonstrate their leadership and teamwork abilities in a task built around the conversion of a former hotel into a homeless shelter.

Commenting on her success, Olivia said: “It goes without saying that I’m beyond proud of my achievement, but I’m also really grateful to have met [such] wonderful people during this experience.

“The other candidates were no easy feat to beat – all phenomenal in their own right – and I’ve learned so much throughout each stage of the competition.”

What we’re looking for

We’re looking for passionate and talented housing professionals who:

• Show leadership potential whether through individual or team tasks
• Are passionate about delivering excellent services to residents
• Have a commitment to diversity, equality and inclusion
• Want to make improvements to the social housing sector
• Are ready to take the next step in their careers.

Why you should take part in Housing’s Next Generation:

• Personal development – to help develop analytical, writing and presentation skills
• Confidence – to gain the confidence to be a leader and express ideas
• Opportunity – previous winners and finalists have gone on to become directors and gain wider recognition across the sector
• Networking – to be part of a growing network of young housing professionals through our Next Generation Hub
• Exposure – to experience different aspects of housing, helping prepare for future challenges.

So, don’t be shy – it’s your time to shine!

Timeline of events

	Nominations open
	Closing date for nominations
	The top 20 are announced
	Completion of the top 20 challenge
	Judges select and announce the final ten
	Live semi-final and final five announced
	Final five take part in the first round of the grand final at day one of the HQN annual conference
	The finalists take part in a final live session at day two of HQN’s annual conference. Audience vote for the winner

The prizes

• A year’s free membership of Housing Quality Network
• Access to exclusive briefings and member content
• Free places at HQN events and best practice groups
• The opportunity to be mentored by a senior housing sector figure, and much more.
  
  

Who is judging the competition?

We’re delighted to announce this year’s esteemed line-up of judges, featuring HQN’s chief executive, last year’s winner, and a host of leading lights from the social housing sector. They are:

• Alistair McIntosh, Chief Executive, HQN
• Olivia Richards (2025 winner), Social Research and Policy Advisor, Hedyn
• Kate Ratcliffe (2023 winner), Social Value Analyst, Vivid Homes
• Shauna Hutchinson, People Advisor, Sovereign Network Group
• Gordon Perry, former CEO Accent Group and governing board member at the Chartered Institute of Housing
• Mica Joseph, Assistant Director of Operations (London), Riverside
• Simal Govindia, Solicitor, Birketts LLP
• Guy Marshall, Director, Fuza Ltd.