I joined a local housing co-operative as a prospective member 20-odd years ago, and eventually served as Secretary and a member of the Board of Directors for a few years. Never keen on accounting or figure work, eventually found my niche in the Maintenance/Property Management area in which I served for approximately 10 years.We had 32 properties then, a mixture of apartments and stand alone houses. Government funding dried up and we decided that in order to grow and prosper, we needed to… Show more I joined a local housing co-operative as a prospective member 20-odd years ago, and eventually served as Secretary and a member of the Board of Directors for a few years. Never keen on accounting or figure work, eventually found my niche in the Maintenance/Property Management area in which I served for approximately 10 years.We had 32 properties then, a mixture of apartments and stand alone houses. Government funding dried up and we decided that in order to grow and prosper, we needed to amalgamate with three other local housing co-operatives and form a Company. Over the next few years, Jacaranda Housing emerged, with a total of over 70 properties. This meant that we needed to employ paid workers, and Maintenance (Property Management actually) passed from we very few overworked volunteers into professional, paid hands. Now I confine myself to the Asset Management committee and organising meetings to keep the local members abreast of what is happening in the wider area of our new company. I also now act as Liaison officer for members with personal or housing problems. Along with many other previous volunteers from the group of cooperative housing groups, I have gained invaluable experience in forming and keeping financially viable such an organisation, as well as meetings with government officials - all this whilst holding down a 9 - 5 career as an Administrative Officer. All of this experience has been invaluable, both for the housing cooperative, and on a personal basis. This I can now pass on to the new paid workers as required. Cooperative housing is a life style choice especially for low income families, and its ethics, management and aspirations are quite different from the normal rental market. Our member tenants chose cooperative - style living, staying with us for many years. With so many people in desperate need of secure, long-term accommodation, we need to grow, and funding is now a major concern. Show less

Basic Admin Assitance, Document Management, Purchasing etc, Secretarial work (PA as it is now called)