Our governing Board is responsible for agreeing the strategic direction of the Association. They are unpaid volunteers elected by our membership at our Annual General Meeting. We also appoint co-optees each year.

Current membership of the Board and further details are noted below. :

Chairperson, John Hamilton (elected as chair in 2021)

Our Governing Board Office Bearers following our 36th AGM in September 2022 are:

John Hamilton, Chairperson (since 2021) – is a local resident of Neilston, current president of the East Renfrewshire Chamber of Commerce, and a health and safety consultant. He has been on the Board since 2014 and completed a governance certificate from Napier University in March 2018.

Drew McKinney, Vice Chair (elected 2021) – is a professional member who has worked within the area in the past and within the local authority sector, holds a LLB degree and Diploma in legal practice. He was elected to the Board in September 2015

Other Board members are:

Rena McGuire BEM – Rena has been on BHA’s Board since 2006. She was chairperson from 2011-2016. She is a local resident of Barrhead, and plays a key role in other local voluntary organisations including Dunterlie Tenants Action Group, Health and Social care integration; Barrhead Community Council and Public Partnership forum. She received her BEM in January 2015 for her long service to the community of East Renfrewshire

Brian Connelly MBE – Brian has been on BHA’s Board since 2002 and has been Secretary for the majority of those years, until August 2018. He is local resident of Barrhead and has worked for the community for over 20 years receiving his MBE in 2005. He is Chair of Auchenback Active, Auchenback Tenants and residents group and on the Board of TPAS. He is a retired civil engineer.

Beth Welsh (Convener – Development sub since 2022)– was elected at the AGM in 2017. Beth has a wealth of experience, having worked across the third sector, including as CEO of a credit union and is currently the Head of Business Development for Aberlour Children’s Charity.  Through her career she has built up extensive board experience and is a long serving director of Glasgow Social Enterprise Network, partner in the Glasgow TSI. She has a background in housing associations have worked in development for a large national RSL and holds a Msc. in Housing Studies.

Councillor Danny Devlin

Paul McIlvenny, local to Barrhead and chief officer for IncludeMe2, a local charity involved in supporting a wide range of vulnerable people in our communities. Paul joined the Board in October 2020

Alan Glasgow (Convener – Audit Risk and H&S since 2022) has extensive senior experience in housing management with a track record in leading change and delivering excellent customer service and performance.  Alan is currently Managing Director at Dumfries and Galloway Housing Partnership and holds a post graduate diploma in Housing Studies.  Elected 2021

Lesley Anne Junner joined our Board in June 2022. Lesley-Anne is a finance professional and has been working in senior management positions in the third sector and housing for the past 16 years. As well as being a qualified chartered accountant Lesley-Anne is also a member of the Chartered Institute of Housing. Lesley-Anne is currently Director of Finance and Corporate Service at Children 1st

Deborah McVey joined our Board in June 2022. She has worked in Financial Services for 25+ years, successfully undertaking a number of different roles within Operations and HR and has a Post Graduate Diploma in Human Resource Management. She is results orientated, has a high degree of energy and great commitment to getting things done. Deborah’s current role is Senior Audit Manager, Performance & Quality, for the Internal Audit Team at Virgin Money.

Alan Oliver joined our Board in September 2022. Alan is a Barrhead resident who has been a Board member with Levern Property Services since 2018. Alan is a Chartered Civil Engineering in the Transportation sector and is currently employed as a Senior Associate Director, where his current responsibilities include the development of cycling infrastructure design guidance for Scotland, and providing training for industry professionals. Alan is also a Volunteer mentor for the Social Mobility Foundation, which aspires to provide opportunities, and networks of support for 16 and 17 year-olds who are unable to get them from their schools or families.

Jim Whyteside joined the Board in July 2023. An East Renfrewshire resident, Jim is a graduate of the University of Glasgow and has over thirty five years of experience in Communications, Marketing, Public Affairs and Policy.  In a career spanning education, local government, healthcare and the heritage sectors, he has most recently held senior positions in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and the National Trust for Scotland.

BOARD PURPOSE:

The Governing Board sets the Association’s values and standards and monitors the extent to which we are achieving our high level aims and ambitions. It is also responsible for ensuring we fulfil our legal responsibilities and meet the expectations of our Regulators including the Scottish Housing Regulator.

There are 12 places on our Board. Board members all give their time on a voluntary basis, receiving no payment with the exception of travel expenses and some subsistence for training events. They bring considerable knowledge and expertise from a variety of different backgrounds and receive full induction when elected and make a commitment to ongoing training and development. Our Board membership is currently sitting at 100%. When a vacancy arises, we will provide further information on our skills gap and recruitment process here

Annually each Board member will receive an appraisal which will review the skills and knowledge they bring to the organisation as well as highlighting areas for continuous improvement.

Rena getting BEM

Rena is awarded her British Empire Medal June 2015

Our Governing Board meets every month on a Thursday with a minimum of 9 meetings per year. We also have Audit and Risk and Staffing and Health and safety sub-groups and ad hoc working groups to oversee specific operational activities of the Association.

 

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We are always interested to hear from potential new Board members – contact our Chairperson or our Chief Executive for a chat.

A Governing Board Summary handbook provides some further details, including a Code of Conduct which can be viewed – here. You can also view a number of Governing Board policies such as Board Members Expenses Policy; Entitlement, Payments and Benefits Policy for Governing Board members and staff Hospitality & Gifts Policy within the download section.

Data Protection Act 2018 - The information you have supplied to us will be used by Barrhead Housing Association to process your enquiry or comments. We may also use your information to verify your identity where required, contact you by post, email or telephone and to maintain our records. Barrhead Housing Association will use this information because we need to do so to perform a task carried out. You can find out more about how we handle this information and your rights in respect of it by going to www.barrheadha.org.uk/usefuldocuments where our Data Protection Statement and Privacy Policy are available. If you do not have access to a computer and wish a paper copy please let us know by contacting us at or by telephone at 0141 881 0638.