Meet the Team: A day in the life of Gill Cook

Meet the Team!

A Day in the Life of Gill Cook, your Membership and Admin Coordinator

I‘ve spoken to many of you, if only by email, but the WISH team thought it was time you learned a little bit more about what I do and the kinds of things I do in a day.  Maybe you’d like to learn a little bit more about me as a person first….

I’ve worked in housing a long time, a very long time!  I am definitely one of those people who, once you’re in, you’re hooked!  I’ve worked for a local authority in their Strategic Housing Team, for a housing association in Organisational Development, been self-employed and before all of that, as a Rural Housing Enabler.  A complete mixture.  I can identify with our fantastic volunteer board members because I’ve had several volunteer jobs myself.  For around 9 years, I was on the CIH East Region Board, having a variety of roles including Memberships Officer, Vice Chair and Chair.  I was heavily involved in event organisation and was part of the team that planned the successful 3 day conferences every year.  I also led two study trips abroad.  I live in Bedfordshire but as my job with WISH is home-based, location isn’t relevant.

Now back to WISH.  I started my job with WISH back in February 2020.  I’d barely got going when Covid struck and within a month, we were in lockdown.  Not great for an organisation providing live events!  But we soon adapted and today, I think we’re better than ever.  We might never have tried online events but they’re definitely here to stay; many people have told us how much they love our inspirational speakers and that they can fit our online events into their day more easily.

Because we are a small team my role is very wide but that keeps it busy and interesting which is just how I like it.  My time is split between membership matters and supporting our regional boards and central WISH Directors.  I help sort members’ queries about all kinds of things such as events, membership renewals and job adverts.  I talk to potential members about what they can expect from a membership and am involved with developing the service to improve our offer still further.  I think my favourite part is helping members get the most from their memberships and making sure they use all the benefits from it they can.

We have 10 regional Boards across the UK with WISH Scotland being our latest addition.  With anywhere between 8 and 12 women on each of our Boards, that’s quite a lot of people.  I make sure new Board members see the policies they need to follow whilst they’re part of WISH and ensure their details are on our website so you can see what a great group we have.  I help to make sure they have the resources they need to provide events to members in the regions.

It's a very varied role and it certainly helps to be flexible but I love it!