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Group Board Member, The Barnet Group and Chair of Opendoor Homes, £9,000 p.a.
Board member Opendoor Homes and Bumblebee, £5,000 p.a.
Location: London (hybrid)
Introduction
The Barnet Group (TBG) is a local authority trading company established in 2012, owned by Barnet Council. The Group is the parent company to Barnet Homes, Your Choice Barnet, Opendoor Homes, Bumblebee and TBG Flex.
Opendoor Homes, a Private Registered Provider and a subsidiary of Barnet Homes, was created in 2017 to deliver crucially needed affordable housing for Barnet residents. Since then, it has built and acquired close to 1000 homes, has secured over £40m in external grant funding, has a funded programme to acquire another 300 and is ambitious for even more.
This is an exciting time to be joining TBG. As one of the first local authority trading companies to be created, we have blazed a trail in terms of growth and innovation and are ambitious for more. We have grown from 250 employees to close to 1000 and manage more than 14,000 properties in addition to delivering Barnet Council’s homelessness and housing options services. TBG includes Your Choice Barnet, a care and support company operating 7 care homes and providing services to adults with a range of mental and physical disabilities. We also have a residential sales and lettings agency, Bumblebee. Established in 2018 it has grown to hold a portfolio of almost 350 private rented homes, has started to gain a foothold in the residential sales market, and will shortly be transitioning from being an online estate agency to one with a high street presence in Barnet.
We have a turnover of around £125m and have built 648 new homes, with another 201 at pre-construction stage. Alongside this, we have acquired over 800 homes to meet homelessness need, with a funded pipeline for another 300.
We are active partners with groups across the community to deliver training and employment support, community development and youth engagement services through our in-house BOOST team. We combine a public sector ethos with a private sector commercial focus.
We have a supportive culture and an excellent relationship with the Council. The future of TBG is secure with a recent decision from Barnet Council to enter into a new ten-year management agreement for Barnet Homes.
The Roles
TBG is seeking to appoint to two posts, a new Group Board Member to contribute to the leadership and strategy of the Group, who will also be appointed as Chair of Opendoor Homes, and a Board member of Opendoor Homes that will also be a Board member of Bumblebee Lettings.
Board meetings are quarterly, with additional away days. Engagement with the organisation is expected between formal meetings, within the remit of a Non-Executive Director. The anticipated time commitment for each role is around 12 days per annum.
- Group board meetings are quarterly, in-person at 4pm on a weekday
- Opendoor Homes board meetings are quarterly and alternate between in-person and virtual at 4pm on a weekday
- Bumblebee Lettings board meetings are quarterly and held virtually during the day
- Committee meetings are quarterly, virtual at 4pm on a weekday
- There are 2 in-person away days on a weekday from 10am – 4pm
- There will also be estate and YCB visits on occasion in between formal meetings
- Appraisals take place each year which are face to face for around an hour
- Engagement with the organisation is expected between formal meetings, within the remit of a Non-Executive Director
- Positions are for an initial term of 3 years (subject to annual performance reviews), with the option to extend for a further term of 3 years.
We would like to improve the diversity of our board to better reflect our customers and the rich diversity of the borough of Barnet. We welcome applications from all backgrounds and would particularly encourage candidates whose views are currently under-represented on our board to consider applying: people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, younger candidates, and people with a disability.
We are looking for people that offer relevant experience for the roles, particularly in property development, asset management and maintenance, treasury and housing. It would also be great if you have some knowledge of the Barnet area. Ideal applicants for the Chair of ODH will already have experience of Chairing.
Please contact Sue Manning at Forest HR at sue@foresthr.co.uk if you’d like to ask any questions or to arrange an informal conversation with a member of the board.
Timetable
The recruitment process for the Chair of ODH will take place first, with the aim of the designate appointee taking part in the final interviews for the Board member role.
- Initial interviews (virtual) – Chair of ODH – Thursday 22nd May
- Final interviews (on site) – Chair of ODH – Wednesday 28th May
- Interviews (on site) – Board member ODH & Bumblebee Lettings – (early June)
If you would like to apply:
Please send your CV and complete the supporting statement template a copy is attached separately for you to download.
Fore more information visit The Barnet Group website, a copy of the Role Profile for Board Members, TBG Strategic Plan 2024-29 and Opendoor Homes Strategic Plan 2022 - 26 are available as supporting documents for you to download.
Closing date for applications: by 9.00am Wednesday 14th May, 2025.
We will keep in touch with all applicants throughout the process and advise them whether they have been shortlisted.
