Jonathan Drake

Background

About Jonathan Drake

Throughout my career I have worked in a number of roles within the private and public sector, providing leadership direction on programmes to deliver corporate financial sustainability by enhancing and diversifying the services; helping drive business growth through developing and implementing business strategies and plans, and creating thriving partnerships with leading brands in keeping with national policy agendas that has raised brand reputation to a national level. I understand the power and importance of strong narratives in all the programmes I have put together. My wide experience in media, politics, operations and marketing means that the narrative to my programmes links projects in a strategic way to wider political and policy initiatives but also making it relevant to the people that matter, the end user and the stakeholder communities. Following my role as a member of the leadership team that successfully delivered the stock transfer and subsequent re-structure at Salix Homes, I was successful in being appointed to lead the new Business Development service in 2016. This I found ideally suited my well-honed operational, commercial and creative skills and I have led the organisation in developing and growing a number of flagship initiatives including a GM wide private sector leasing scheme, repurposing empty and unused commercial buildings for affordable residential living, and a Salford wide health and housing partnership to explore the use of technology in the home. I have laid the foundations for many of the exciting non-landlord programmes Salix Homes is now pursuing as part of its mainstream service, always for the benefit of the user and the wider community. My initiatives have spearheaded the Salix corporate campaign ‘Rethinking housing’ which looked to refresh the way housing services are delivered such as embracing technology and utilising different ways to provide affordable housing. I have helped to firmly establish Salix Homes as a leading organisation within the social housing sector in Greater Manchester, becoming a strategic player in how it interacts with other Greater Manchester housing providers and one of the thought leaders in the sector being seen as forward thinking, ambitious, and innovative as it influences and shapes the GM agenda.