A housing association is one of the best places to work in the UK – and that’s official.

Cartrefi Conwy is celebrating after being honoured for the fourth time in the prestigious Sunday Times Top 100 list of the best not-for-profit organisations to work for.

The accolade came after staff filled in an anonymous online survey, giving their thoughts on a range of questions from leadership, to terms and conditions and fair pay to personal development and wellbeing.

The organisation is responsible for nearly 4,000 social housing properties from Conwy County Borough Council.

Since then the organisation has increased its stock to nearly 4,000 by building more affordable homes and renovating disused properties across North Wales. After being identified as “one to watch” in 2015, Cartrefi Conwy broke into the Top 100 in the Sunday Times list and has now also been honoured as one of the top 25 housing associations in the UK.

This year the judges were particularly impressed with the organisation’s commitment to giving back to the community it serves.

A celebration was organised at Cartrefi Conwy’s headquarters in Abergele as a way of saying thank you to colleagues.

Community caretaker James Wilson, 50, who works in Rhos-on-Sea, said: “The staff are lovely. It’s a real pleasure to work with them because everyone is friendly and approachable, it’s really good.

“One thing that drives people here is the idea of giving back to the community which is great. I’m on the frontline so I see a lot of the impact of this.”

It was a sentiment echoed by modern apprentice Maya Waud, 20, who works in the customer services team.

She said: “Cartrefi Conwy is brilliant, it’s amazing. I’ve gained so much experience, I’ve met lovely people, I’ve got qualifications and it’s a vibrant and happy and positive place to work. That’s from the heart, I really mean it.“The ethos of giving back to the community is a big thing. It’s a not-for-profit organisation so it’s what we do we live and breathe our values.”Along with their other modern apprentices, Maya is organising a tough marathon charity walk later this year.

Members of the senior management team and other staff will be circumnavigating Anglesey to raise money for Cartrefi Conwy’s chosen charity, St David’s Hospice in Llandudno, which often supports the people in the community that Cartrefi Conwy work in. Siobhan Johnson, the head of human resources and organisational development, will be among those putting her best foot forward in the 64-mile trek which will take three days to complete.She said: “Our modern apprentices help plan and organise the Leadership Challenge so it’s a great experience for them working with managers across the business and coordinating a project of that scale.

“Apprentices that have delivered these types of projects in the past have gone on to become fantastic team members for the business in the future, which is ultimately great for our customers.

“It’s a great teambuilding exercise but it’s also pushing people to their extremes and gets them to dig deep when the going gets tough.“We work hard to keep colleagues really engaged because we know that means they give a great service to our customers. “We look at the whole person from employee wellbeing, to the value of the work that they do.“What makes our colleagues particularly proud is the positive impact they can have on people’s lives.

“One of the areas where we did particularly well according to the Sunday Times was the way we give back to the community and that is something that motivates colleagues to do their best every day at work.”

Chief executive Andrew Bowden is leading from the front with a two-pronged approach to raising money for the NSPCC.In addition to taking part in this year’s London Marathon, he’s embarked on a tour of all the other housing associations in North Wales where he’s washing cars in return for a donation.He’s also set up a JustGiving page for people to sponsor him for the marathon in April when he will be accompanied on the 26-mile run by his two sons, Jonathan, 32, and Marcus, 30.Team Bowden have set an overall target of £6,600 for the NSPCC.Andrew said: “I’m incredibly proud we have been honoured by the Sunday Times Top 100 as one of the best places to work in the UK. We’re also hugely proud in relation to the talent that we have at Cartrefi Conwy, the difference they make every day to tenants in communities we work within, making their lives better, providing the homes, making them safe and secure, and building new homes now which is just fantastic.”