Owner and operator of premium student accommodation across the UK – Empiric Student Property – announces that it has appointed Joanne Pollard to the newly created role of Chief Operating Officer, as the business continues to scale its platform with a focus on its student customers.
Joanne – who will report to CEO Duncan Garrood – will have responsibility for maintaining and enhancing Empiric Student Property’s service delivery for residents across its portfolio.
Joanne joins the company from Prime Student Living, where she worked as Managing Director for three years. She 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.
Joanne also has experience outside of the student accommodation sector, serving in lead customer service roles at Abbey National PLC and BUPA.
Joining Joanne at Empiric Student Property 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.
“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.”
Duncan Garrood, Chief Executive Officer, ESP
Frances has held several operational and wellbeing-focused positions 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, Frances will be responsible for overseeing the company’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.
“Empiric Student Property delivers outstanding performance through a high-quality, service-first approach. I look forward to working closely with Duncan and the whole Empiric Student Property team to maintain this exceptional momentum and take advantage of new opportunities to further improve the Company’s service offering to residents.”
Joanne Pollard, Chief Operating Officer, ESP
Empiric Student Property is recognised as a top performer in the sector for student welfare and was awarded Best Student Wellbeing in the latest Global Student Living Index.
