Merthyr Tydfil Housing Association
Board Members
(2 vacancies)
Would you like to be part of a vibrant and successful organisation? To feel part of a team that is making a real difference to the lives and communities of Merthyr Tydfil?
If the answer to either of these questions is yes, then we would like to hear from you.
Merthyr Tydfil Housing Association (MTHA) is one of only 2 housing associations exclusively providing homes for people in Merthyr Tydfil. Our local roots and knowledge means that we provide tenants and residents of the borough with a service that is second to none. Our trustworthy reputation means that we are the popular choice for social housing in Merthyr, we also provide more for our tenants, for the community and for local commerce - See more at: http://www.mtha.org.uk
The Association is managed by a Board of Management who delegates the day to day running of the organisation to the Chief Executive and Senior Management
Team. The Board is looking to fill two vacancies.
The successful candidates will be able to demonstrate a commitment to the values of
MTHA and be able to dedicate the time required to attend Board and other meetings.
For more information please visit our website: www.mtha.org.uk/job or for an initial, informal chat, please contact Karen Dusgate by email:kdusgate@mtha.org.uk or by telephone: 01685 352800
Closing date for applications: Friday 29 th August 2014
Interviews: 30th September 2014
Observing first Board Meeting: 28 th October 2014
MTHA Board Recruitment Pack
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Board of Management
Members - Person Specification
Each Member of the board must have:
1. A commitment to the Association,
2. A willingness to devote the necessary time and effort to their membership.
3. Integrity.
4. Strategic vision.
5. Good independent judgement.
6. An ability to think creatively.
7. A willingness to speak their mind.
8. An understanding and acceptance of the legal duties, responsibilities and liabilities of a board member.
9. An ability to work effectively as a member of a team.
The board of management will need skills and experience in the following areas:
1. Setting targets, monitoring and evaluating performance and programmes.
2. Financial management.
3. Management of social housing.
4. Social welfare, including the needs of the disabled and those with special needs.
5. The development process and construction of housing.
6. Legal matters.
7. The community.
8. Tenant issues.
Board members should be available for monthly board meetings and for the subcommittees they serve on.
Members will need to read and familiarise themselves with all papers and reports before each meeting.
Board members need to be contactable by telephone and available for occasional meetings in between board meetings.
If board members miss four consecutive board meetings without good reason they will be removed from membership under the rules of the Association.
Board members are expected to attend all Board meetings if attendance drops below
60% without prior agreement, membership will be reviewed.
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MTHA Board Recruitment Pack

History of MTHA
Merthyr Tydfil was the cradle of the industrial revolution. One result of this is that the town has a large number of industrial terraced housing, some of the oldest in Britain.
In the early to mid 1970’s an action group “Merthyr Housing Group” was formed out of a local branch of Shelter to address two major problems:

Shortage of suitable specialist accommodation for the elderly, disabled, single people and young couples

The urgent action needed to address the decay in terraced housing communities
Merthyr Tydfil Housing Association was established in 1977 as a non-profit making
Industrial and Provident Society with non-charitable rules (which were changed to charitable based rules in 1998). Initially the Association worked in the specific areas of Dowlais, Aberfan, Troedyrhiw and Cefn Coed. The work of the Association gradually spread to encompass the whole of the local authority borough of Merthyr
Tydfil.
By March 1989 the Association had 513 units in management and through targeted acquisitions and rehabilitation had considerably improved the fabric of communities such as Dowlais.
Since 1989 and the advent of mixed funding the Association has continued developing primarily new buildings on in-fill sites and as at 31 March 2013 we had
1,130 homes in management. The development programme for the forthcoming year will see a further 12 properties coming into management at Old School Close,
Georgetown. In developing new buildings the Association is very conscious of the existing environment and seeks to complement existing buildings and enhance the community.
In keeping with its strong sense of history and community the Association has developed a number of landmark schemes which have assisted in the preservation of historic buildings. Two examples of these are Dowlais Stables and Taibach
Cottages in Pentrebach.
More recently work in this area has extended to Flooks the Jewellers in Pontmorlais and the Old Town Hall.
MTHA Board Recruitment Pack
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Staffing & Board
The Board of Management defines the values and objectives of the Association, establishes plans and budgets to meet those objectives, and monitors progress and performance. The Board will meet on 11 occasions each year.
At 1 st July 2014 the Board comprised:
Mr Keith Fletcher Chairman Consultant
Mr G Davies
Dr Alun Batley
Mrs A Roberts MBE
Mr John Dawes
Ms Helen Williams
Miss Courtney Roberts
Mr Neville Carpenter
Treasurer
Board member
Board member
Board member
Board member
Board member
Board member
Retired Bank Manager
Director & Consultant
Senior Nurse Manager
Director of Housing Services
Corporate Services Manager
Tenant
Tenant
Mr Robert Hancock
Vacancy
Board member Tenant
Board member Tenant
Mrs Denise Morgan Board member ???
Ms Gabriella Zapata-Lancaster Board member Architect
Staffing
The recruitment and retention of skilled staff and voluntary members who are able to manage the Association is a key objective of the organisation. Our ability to achieve this objective is dependent on having a staffing structure that will ensure that the work of the Association is carried out effectively and efficiently but equally important is our commitment to creating and sustaining a working environment that supports individuals in their personal and professional development and in terms of their health and well-being.
We believe that work plays a significant part in people’s lives and so we want our organisation to be a happy and a healthy place. In November 2010 Merthyr Housing was awarded the Gold Corporate Health Standard in recognition of the significant work being undertaken to promote and support the health and well-being of its employees. This award builds on successes in 2004 when the Association was awarded the prestigious Arena Environmental Network, Sustaining Well-being in
Business Award and in 2005 the BBC Healthiest Small Workplace in Wales and our
Silver Corporate Health Award achieved in 2006.
Corporate Governance
Board members of Merthyr Tydfil HA (MTHA) were the first in Wales to complete a new Governance Award endorsed by the Institute of Leadership and Management
(ILM). The award - the BDA Governance Award (Intermediate) signifies competence to govern a social business, such as a housing association.
In achieving the award Board members were able to assess the current governance framework of the Association.
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MTHA Board Recruitment Pack

Vision
Our vision is to be recognised as the best provider of housing and housing services within the County Borough of Merthyr Tydfil, creating and sustaining environments and communities where people want to live.
Mission
To provide the people of Merthyr Tydfil with an excellent housing service at an affordable price. To work in partnership and to reinvest surpluses back into our community to:

Give people opportunities to grow;

To provide housing;

To improve the built environment
Our Values
Our behaviour shows what we value – our values are how we behave towards our customers, our colleagues, our partners and our work.
We believe that it is important to be:
 Accountable
 Caring

Efficient
 Knowledgeable
 Respectful

Innovative
What we value:

Our customers
 Our community
 Our staff
 Our partners
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MTHA Board Recruitment Pack

Vision
Operational
Systems
Roles &
Responsibilities
Interpersonal
Personal
In response to the implementation of the Welsh Government’s new regulatory
Framework, MTHA reviewed and extended the remit of its Audit Sub-Committee to include responsibility for overseeing the Associations approach to self-assessment – the Board re-named the sub-committee - the Business Assessment Panel (BAP)
Continuous Improvement
Our strategy and plans are formally updated annually. We improve our performance based on what we have learned and we adapt, review and refine our plans accordingly. Our WAA (Whole Association Assessment) has highlighted that these working groups and action plans form the mechanism to review our performance against plans, modify these plans as appropriate in response to changing needs, involve the views of key people involved in the process and allow new, better and more improved processes to be developed and documented.
The Business Plan is supported by a Strategy Map and Balanced Score Card (BSC) which provides key information that helps us and our Board to identify how the
Association is performing against set targets.
The Association is regulated by the Welsh Government. We are accountable, through corporate governance, to the Board and our stakeholders in every area that we operate.
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MTHA Board Recruitment Pack

Financial & Risk Management
The finance function the Association can broadly be split into two areas – financial management and treasury management.
Financial Management
The finances of the Association are managed, reported and regulated through a matrix of information and controls.
30 Year Business 5 Year Business Plan
Plan
Development Annual Budget
Programme
Departmental Budgets
Grant Funding Line Manager consultation
Internal Audit External Audit
Regulation
Statutory Accounts
Quarterly Mgt Accs
Accounts
Monthly Departmental
Accounts
Welsh Government
Financial Viability
Judgement
The budget is set annually in advance and is approved by Board each February. It is prepared in consultation with all line managers and the needs of their department for the year ahead are discussed and evaluated. The largest areas of spend are salaries and property maintenance. There is full input, consultation, and understanding of the budget mechanism and it is prepared in-line with a strict timetable.
Monthly departmental accounts are prepared by finance and distributed to budget holders. Budget holders are required to review their reports and report on adverse variances. Management accounts for the whole organisation are prepared on a quarterly basis and presented to Board the month after the quarter end.
In 2012, external audit was tendered and awarded to PKF.
The annual accounts are presented to the Business Assessment Panel (BAP) for discussion and then to the main Board meeting for approval in June of each year.
The Business Assessment Panel (BAP) considers the outturn of the quarter 4 management accounts against the annual accounts. This gives the Board confidence of the accuracy of the quarterly management accounts. All finance systems are subject to an annual programme of Internal Audit inspection.
In accordance with Welsh Government guidelines (from June 2005) the Association completes a 30 year business plan that is revised and submitted annually. The plan is presented to and approved by Board before submission. The Association has met the reporting deadline to Welsh Government of 31 July in each year.
The housing stock is continually monitored by property surveys and the data collected is recorded and analysed in a dedicated stock condition survey database
(Lifespan). The expenditure needed to ensure sound maintenance and improvement
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MTHA Board Recruitment Pack

of the stock is profiled, reported and incorporated into the annual budget and business plans. An economic appraisal is undertaken for individual properties to ensure that future income streams will support the maintenance and overhead costs and that there is no fixed asset impairment.
Treasury Management
Treasury Management encompasses cash flow, banking, investment & loan funding.
In 2006, a best value service review was undertaken of the treasury management function. A total of 26 housing associations were surveyed. An analysis of the results has confirmed that the Association is currently operating best practices, subject to a formal Treasury Management (TM) Policy, and compares very favourably to other
Associations. There were no areas of concern raised. A TM strategy has since been developed and is updated annually and approved by Board in October each year.
The amount of surplus funds available for investment depends on the capital development programme, the amount of social housing grant (SHG) and the timing of the grant drawdown.
A new loan facility of £8m was agreed with Barclays bank in June 2008, which included a £2m Revolver facility. In 2010, a further £4m facility was agreed with
Santander. This additional funding will see us through our current development phase. Our gearing will increase and our loan covenants have been revised accordingly. Financial covenants and housing and maintenance statistics are monitored in the Trends Analysis report on a quarterly basis by Board.
Risk Maps
A detailed risk map of 287 risks is evaluated by the Business Assessment Panel
(BAP) every 3 years. The risks are considered for probability and impact and scored.
The top scoring risks are then used to create two high level risk maps – an operational risk map and a business significant risk map (strategic). A risk assessment panel (RAP) review the operational risk map on a monthly basis and update the Risk Action plan.
All new business risks are considered and the RAP plays an important role in embedding the concept of risk management at all levels throughout the organisation.
The business significant risk map is reviewed by the Business Assessment Panel
(BAP) on a bi-monthly basis.
In the life of the last Business Plan significant work has been undertaken to develop quarterly internal controls assurance statements from each departmental manager and incorporate a controls assurance statement into the annual accounts.
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MTHA Board Recruitment Pack