NACCOM (the UK-wide No Accommodation Network) is pleased to announce that freelance consultant Heather Petch will be taking on the role of Interim Director of the charity, until a permanent Director is appointed later in the year.

Julian Prior, Chair of NACCOM’s Board of Trustees, said: “We’re delighted that Heather will be joining the NACCOM team on an interim basis. Heather has significant interim and senior management experience, coupled with a detailed knowledge of the refugee and migration sector and funder landscape, which will enable her to hit the ground running, inspire confidence and provide stability during this time of transition.”

He added. “Heather has been a long-standing supporter of NACCOM and played a key role in shaping the strategy and direction of the charity back in 2016. We look forward to working with Heather again in the coming months.”

Commenting on her appointment, Heather said: “I am pleased to be able to support the continuity and stability of NACCOM at an important time in its development. When I worked with Julian and the small team of founders back in 2016, there were 25 members. Immigration policy is at a worrying juncture, but there are now over 130 extraordinary members of NACCOM providing accommodation and support to people seeking asylum, refugees and migrants with no recourse to public funds who are experiencing. I am looking forward to working with the NACCOM team and network, which is grounded in a range of expertise including lived experience.”

About Heather Petch

Heather has operated in senior roles in the housing, homelessness and wider voluntary and community sectors. For over a decade she was Chief Executive of HACT, the Housing Associations’ Charitable Trust. HACT’s programmes supported and evaluated pilots using networking, action learning and iterative approaches and included extensive work on partnership and collaboration with a dedicated programme for collaboration in supported housing services. Heather was also Chief Executive of Girls Alone Project, which provided housing and support services to girls and young women aged 16 – 21 years.

Heather’s consultancy work has included strategic planning, strategy setting and organisational development in small organisations, interim management at senior and Chief Executive levels, support for cross sector partnership working and evaluation and assessing social impact.

NACCOM is recruiting for a permanent Director – click here for further information