Following a competitive recruitment and selection process, Paul McMahon will join EVH in October. Paul is well known across the social housing and not-for-profit sector from his role as a solicitor over the past 20 or so years, initially as a partner with two large Scottish legal firms, and then from 2019 with McMahon Employment Law (MEL) which he set up to provide specialist employment law services primarily to clients in the social housing and not-for-profit sector.

MEL will continue providing employment law services to EVH members with the same excellent level of service when Paul steps down from his current role as being the principal adviser to EVH and EVH members to focus on his new EVH director role in October.

EVH executive committee chair, Nicki Finlayson, said: “We interviewed some excellent candidates for the role but Paul stood out from what was a very talented pool and was the ‘ideal’ person to continue the journey started by Eamonn on delivering our exciting Business Plan objectives and further developing services beneficial to our current members but also to our potential future members.”

Paul McMahon recorded how “delighted and honoured” he feels to have been appointed as director of EVH. He said he recognises the many challenges facing social housing and other not-for-profit employers, large and small, but added that “working with the professional and dedicated staff team at EVH, the office bearers and the other members of the executive committee will help us successfully meet these challenges together and continue to improve the service offered to EVH members.”

Nicki Finlayson concluded that EVH has been “extremely fortunate to have had Eamonn Connelly’s leadership for over 25 years, firstly as depute director and latterly as director and he will be missed by EVH and the wider housing and social employer sector”.

She added: “EVH wishes Eamonn a well-deserved retirement and congratulates Paul McMahon as our new director and looks forward to welcoming him to EVH when he takes up this post in mid-October.”