UK owner and operator of student property, Empiric Student Property (ESP), has appointed Joanne Pollard to the newly created role of chief operating officer, as the business continues to scale.
Pollard, who will report to CEO Duncan Garrood, will have responsibility for maintaing and enhancing ESP’s service delivery for residents across its portfolio.
Pollard joins ESP from Prime Student Living, where she worked as managing director for three years. Pollard has over ten years’ experience in student housing and the wider living sector, with previous roles at Campus Living Villages and The Mansion Group, where she held senior positions in operations.
Pollard also has experience outside of the student accommodation sector, serving in lead customer service roles at Abbey National and Bupa.
Joining Pollard at ESP is Frances Abbott, who has been appointed as wellbeing manager to lead the company’s wellbeing offering to residents across its nationwide portfolio, encompassing its Hello Student and PostGrad by Hello Student brands.
Abbott has held a number of operational and wellbeing-focused postitions over the last decade, and brings expertise as an accredited sexual violence liaison officer and mental health first aid instructor into the role. Most recently, she spent over three years as a regional student support manager at Unite Students.
In her new position, Abbott will be responsible for overseeing ESP’s student welfare services, working closely with local site teams and senior leadership to deepen the level of health and wellbeing support it offers to students including its capacity to deliver on-site support for residents.
Garrood said: 'Providing an outstanding level of service to students is central to our business; we constantly strive to ensure our residents are safe, happy and healthy throughout the duration of their stay with us.
'Joanne and Frances’ appointments will further improve our ability to respond to the changing needs of students in post-pandemic university life and streamline our overall service delivery capabilities to deliver an even better resident experience.'
Pollard added: 'ESP delivers outstanding performance through a high-quality, service-first approach. I look forward to working closely with Duncan and the whole ESP team to maintain this exceptional momentum and take advantage of new opportunities to further improve the Company’s service offering to residents.'
