Our colleagues are what truly make Elim a great place to work. We have some amazing individuals with different backgrounds and personalities who have a real passion for what they do. 

Glester is Elim’s Purchase Ledger Officer and plays a vital role in supporting colleagues, customers and partner organisations. Recently, we got the chance to sit down with Glester to find out a little bit more about what makes his career to date and what attracted him to a Finance career within the Housing Sector. 

What does your role entail?
As Purchase Officer at Elim, my role is largely focused on processing invoices for the Elim Group ensuring they are paid in a timely manner. This includes being point of contact for all external suppliers and contractors from the point of ordering to the point of payment.

I’m also responsible for the processing and maintenance of the purchase ledger, All Pay prepaid cards, and All Pay control account.

I work within a small team where each member has a different focus point. We all have our area of expertise which is great for skill sharing and continued learning.

What personal qualities does your role require?
It’s important to be accurate, especially when working with figures and values. Any error can have a knock-on effect so it’s important to get it right the first time! Ability to build good working relationships also helps, I liaise with a lot of suppliers on a daily basis as well as our Maintenance and Housing Team so it's pretty essential.

Can you tell us about a time you were out of your comfort zone?
At the beginning I found being the single point of contact for all the supplier queries, maintenance and housing queries a lot. But I quickly learned to better manage my time to fully support the teams, which didn’t go unnoticed having won a colleague recognition award last year!

Can you tell us about some challenges you face in your role and how you overcome them?
Deadlines are key in my role, especially around month end and year end. But by communicating with my team and supporting each other we ensure all targets are met. It’s important to work together as we are all working to the same goal of providing a good service. 

What do you get out of your role with Elim?
I relocated from Dubai, UAE in 2021 and this is my first job since arriving in the UK. I enjoy working for an organisation with a strong social purpose, where I can see first-hand the impact Elim has and being able to be part of that means a lot to me. I have previously worked for private sector organisations and found the pressure of being solely target driven too much.

We skill share within the team which is really helpful and we also have the opportunity to access funding for training and accreditations if we wish, through the Elim Skills Academy.

Any advice for someone looking to get into a career in Finance within the Housing Sector?
If you like expanding your knowledge and skills and want to help make a difference, then I would highly recommend a support role within the housing sector. All though it may seem niche, a lot of the skills are transferable, and we learn as we go.

If you would like to find out more about our available roles within Elim Housing, please visit our recruitment page or call us on 01454 411172