North East housing association Bernicia has further strengthened its senior leadership team with the appointment of two highly experienced professionals into key new roles.
Jenny Allinson will be joining the Ashingtonheadquartered company as director of corporate governance and Lindsay Muers as assistant director of people services. Both bring with them years of experience in senior roles at leading North East organisations. Jenny joins Bernicia from Home Group where she was the head of risk and compliance. She will bring a wealth of skills and knowledge to her newly created director role, acting as Bernicia’s advisor on all corporate governance matters, keeping pace with rapidly changing environments to ensure compliance with legal, statutory and regulatory requirements. She will also support the research and development of Bernicia’s forthcoming review of its corporate strategy in the light of the Covid pandemic, and oversee Bernicia financial and social inclusion work that is supporting communities across the North East. Jenny said: “I’ve been really impressed with the pace of change at Bernicia which is a really strong organisation, well placed to help communities. I want to make sure that we continue to adapt and evolve to maintain that strength and deliver on the ambitions of the region. “Part of my role will be to capture the great work that Bernicia already does, particularly in social and financial inclusion, and to make sure this has the maximum impact for people across all of the areas we work in.” Lindsay brings 25 years’ experience working in HR roles at large multi-sector organisations to the new role of assistant director of people services. As well as her extensive HR experience, she serves as a board member at Active Northumberland. She will ensure Bernicia’s staff feel they are trusted, respected and valued for their unique contribution to an ambitious company. “I feel excited to be joining the senior leadership team in driving forward change across the business,” said Lindsay. “I can’t wait to get out across the business and meet more colleagues as pandemic restrictions lift, talk with them and embed the work we’ve been doing in the people services team over the past 12 months.” John Johnston, Bernicia chief executive, said: “We are really excited at the prospect of Jenny and Lindsay joining Bernicia. Their undoubted skills, knowledge and enthusiasm will be invaluable as we seek to push on and deliver even more value for the communities of the North East. “Jenny will help maintain our drive for continued excellence in governance and support the research and development of our revised corporate strategy, while Lindsay will strengthen our unique vision and values to help us retain, develop and attract talented people.”
