Even though many of our graduates will have progressed in their careers since completing a case study, they are still of interest to students who wish to gain an understanding of the world of work.

Responsible to a Board of Trustees or the running of a large charitable organisation with a staff of 1600 and 4000 volunteers. We have 14 retirement villages (including one in Sheffield) and 17 smaller housing schemes.All locations are for people over 55 wanting to buy or rent their own home.

It might involve preparing/reviewing reports to the Board, checking performance information, visiting one of our locations to meet staff and residents, explaining what we do to interested local authorities, advocating for more excellent housing with care opportunities on behalf of the Trust or our trade body ARCO, meeting senior colleagues, showing MPs and Councillors what we do...

Being able to make a real difference to people's lives, being at the cutting edge of this type of housing with care, working with a brilliant team of colleagues, working alongside partner organisations to create something special, comparing notes with colleagues in Australia and the Far East, influencing the UK's policy agenda for housing and care for older people.

Making the finances work at a time of local authority cutbacks to revenue support, delivering quality care services via a workforce in a traditionally low wage sector, always being seen to be cheerful!

I have always been involved in public sector housing management and development, much of which was for older people. I took on this post 4 years ago and was attracted by the extension into social care which I had not really done before. So now we can provide both housing and care for older people

Challenging, questioning, articulating, cajoling, analysing, writing and persuading, a formal Housing Management qualification

Refresher training mostly now - safety, vulnerable adult safeguarding, health and safety

Early housing management work in London with the Greater London Council and then a housing association. the dissertation I had done at Sheffield involved some housing research and that certainly helped with the first job. I took a three year housing qualification at this time and have retained Fellowship of the Chartered Institute of Housing.

I worked in local authorities in Colchester and Clacton-on-Sea, rising to a post of Housing Manager by the time i was 30. This was a post responsible for 25 staff and 4,000 homes.

I was deputy Director of Housing with Solihull Met Council from 1987-90 and then transferred internally to a post look after a team responsible for all the Council's non-housing buildings: schools, residential care homes etc, and also for the Council's Economic Development and land assets.

I moved in 1992 to become CEO of a housing association - Hereward Housing - in Ely, Cambridgeshire, which took over all the Council's housing stock (4,200 homes). We managed the tenancies, built new homes and gradually extended our operation geographically. I also held posts with the national trade body (National Housing Federation) of Vice chair, and was Chair of a Local strategic Partnership, vice chair of a Regional Housing Forum (responsible for drafting a regional Housing Strategy).

Hereward merged with Sanctuary Housing in 2005 and i ended up as their Group Director (Housing) responsible for about 56,000 homes throughout England and Scotland. That was my last post before moving to my current role in 2010.

I don't see myself moving on from ExtraCare

Prospective employers will be impressed by people who have researched the company applied to and who can demonstrate an empathy with the objects and ethos. Web based research is so easy, but many don't exploit it fully. Experience of a related voluntary role - such as care for older people or others with special needs - would be an advantage. Showing how business principles can be applied to a charitable ethos.