Two Rivers Housing has appointed Chris Watkins as its Assistant Director of Assets.
Chris joined the Newent-based housing association as a Carpenter in 2007 and has worked his way up through the organisation. He held supervisory and team leader roles within the repairs team before taking on the role of Head of Maintenance in April 2020 and the newly created role of Head of Assets and Building Safety in 2022.
Having successfully secured the role on an interim basis at the beginning of the year, Chris was appointed to the role permanently following an interview with the executive team.
During his interview, he outlined his plans to support the team and help them work more closely with tenants to make improvements to the services they provide. He showed a real commitment to helping the team deliver a great customer experience and ensuring that the team have the chance to grow and develop their own skills and knowledge.
Jonny Jones, Executive Director of Homes at Two Rivers Housing was part of the interview panel and was impressed by the vision Chris has for the future of his team. He said:
“We could see that he had really taken on board our vision for the kind of organisation that we want to create and our core values, and this was reflected in the way that he wants to set up and support the team. He was also committed to putting our tenants at the heart of the services his team provides – working closely with them to understand their needs and using their feedback to improve what we do and how we do it.”
Chris is a local lad that learned his trade while working for a building company in the Forest of Dean before joining the Two Rivers Housing team. Commenting on his appointment he said: “Over the years I have held different roles in the organisation and that gives me a good understanding of what we are doing well and where we can improve things. I’m looking forward to working with our tenants and the team to improve the services we provide.”
Two Rivers Housing manages more than 4,600 homes in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire and the surrounding areas.