Agnes Crawford
Chief Executive and Board Secretary
Agnes has amassed over three decades in the non-profit sector, and primarily social housing for twenty five years. She excels in enabling good governance, reshaping boards, and staff teams to achieve strategic goals, an influencing best practices in ESG. Agnes has a proven track record in change management and service improvement. She has lead on developing operational teams and resident groups, improving assets, and delivering client-focused services with innovative solutions to housing and community needs.
Her role at Grove Community Housing Association, where she has been Chief Executive since March 2019, involves overall operational and strategic management, regulatory compliance, finance and development, HR, and overseeing audits. Under her leadership, Grove Community Housing Association has achieved Grade 1 regulatory position and won the CIH All-Ireland Housing Awards 2022 for “Innovation in Housing” category. She has embraced being a regular speaker at housing events across the U.K. and enjoys collaborating with others to find solutions to sector challenges.
Excellent and compassionate tenant services alongside human rights are areas Agnes is passionate about. Earlier in her career, Agnes was an Education & Welfare Adviser at Queen's University Belfast providing specialist housing advice, advocating for tenant rights, and supporting student welfare and secured winning a landmark legal case on letting fees. At Praxis Care, she served as a Supporting People Officer, managing government contracts value of over £5M, conducting audits, and developing policies across UK & Ireland healthcare jurisdictions.
Agnes has also held various positions, gaining both broad and specialist experience. Her first management role was at Ark Housing, where she managed operations which included complex homeless and supported housing operations, maintenance contracts, staff training, and compliance with regulatory standards.
In addition to her professional achievements and qualifications in Management & Leadership and Community Development, Agnes also enjoys volunteering and giving back to the sector whilst further developing her strategic skills . Since June 2023, Agnes has been a Board Member at the Northern Ireland Federation of Housing Associations (NIFHA), where she also serves as a Board Member of the NIHACT charity. She is also a proud voluntary Board Member of Ulster Garden Villages charity, an unregistered Housing Association, and serves on its Property Committee. Additionally, Agnes is a founder and first Chair of WISH (Women in Social Housing) Ireland, a networking group aimed at promoting diversity, support and growth for women involved with the sector.