Magna Housing Group

Magna Housing Group owns and manages approximately 8,000 housing units through two subsidiaries, Magna Housing Association, operating in Dorset, Devon and Hampshire, and Magna West Somerset Housing Association operating in the West Somerset region around Minehead. The Group provides low cost rented accommodation for general needs, sheltered and supported housing and, in addition, a small amount of shared ownership homes, allowing residents to get a first step on the property ladder.

We work actively with Social Services and other agencies to improve the quality of life of our residents and to provide opportunities for the disadvantaged to give young people a stable environment and basic skills to help them establish a career. Despite our social focus the Organisation operates on commercial footing.

Each Association has a Direct Labour Organisation which seeks to maintain our properties to a high standard and provide an effective response to tenants with repair needs. The Group has a development programme to increase the housing stock in management and replace property sales under the Right to Buy programme. We are also pursuing more innovative ways of providing accommodation to a wide range of potential residents and diversifying our operations from additional affordable housing development.

Magna Careline is the other company in the Group, providing a 24 hour, 365 day a year support service. Magna Careline employs 16 members of staff, providing response handling, administrative support and management services within the company. Careline take calls from residents of our sheltered housing schemes, staff members at our supported housing schemes and out of hours repairs calls for both Associations. We also operate a Careline service to domestic violence units and private residents in their own homes.

The Group has around 360 staff, approximately 80 of whom are employees of Magna Housing Group Limited, which provides services to other parts of the Group including Finance, IT, Legal, Personnel, Facilities and Communications to other members of the Group. Magna Housing Association employ approximately 200 staff and Magna West Somerset Housing Association employ approximately 80 staff, providing front line services to tenants with our Housing Services, Customer Services, Technical Services and Building Services departments. Recruitment advertising is traditionally carried out in the local press for each region and relevant professional journals for more specialist positions.

In more recent times, we have followed developments in technology by advertising all vacancies on our website and websites associated with the publications we advertise in. In line with our recruitment and selection policy, applicants are assessed against criteria relevant to the post for which they have applied and interviewed if they have the relevant skills, experience and aptitudes. Magna places great emphasis on providing a good working environment including a contributory pension scheme. We have developed a number of ways in which information is shared through communication and from management to staff and vice versa and we pay particular attention to equality and diversity.

After reviewing our current practice and level of understanding, we have committed to undertaking a programme of further training to raise awareness across the Group of issues faced by minority groups. We have well developed training programmes run internally in addition to external training in specialist skills. In addition there is a programme to identify and develop those employees who show particular aptitude or potential to become managers and directors of the future. If you would like to learn more about Magna Housing Group, please log on to the website www.magna.org.uk