Lead Support Worker

Lead Support Worker

Salary: £36,579 per annum

Hours: 37.5 per week

Location: City of London

Closing date: 05/01/2025

Interview date: 15/01/2025

Ref LWCOT - 1224

Internally the job title will be Lead Worker - City Outreach Team.

Whatever your experience of street homelessness and its impact on people's lives - personal or professional - when you join the Thames Reach team as a Lead Support Worker, we'll make the best use of all your understanding, compassion and commitment

About us

Thames Reach runs projects and services that help to end homelessness in London. We work directly with homeless people on the streets and in hostels. We work to prevent vulnerable people from becoming homeless. We help formerly homeless people get their lives back on track. We help people find work and access training and volunteering opportunities.

Is our mission easy? No, but we never give up on people. Last year we helped more than 12,000 people.

Is our work rewarding? Yes, in every sense. We're listed as one of the top 100 Best Workplaces in the UK. There's no better place to develop or transfer your skills and build a fulfilling career.

About this role

The Thames Reach Outreach teams operate across London and help those who are rough sleeping to find routes away from the street. The teams respond rapidly and work flexibly to reach people. Individuals are assessed to identify their support needs and support plans are created, including work to obtain identification, access health services and refer to other specialist agencies, including those offering immigration support.

You will:

• Lead regular outreach shift with partner agencies or volunteers, assessing new clients and quickly building trusting relationships.
• Manage a caseload of rough sleepers, identifying the quickest and most appropriate route off the street, and devising a plan to achieve this.
• Improve the local response to rough sleeping by coordinating joint working and collaboration between agencies.
• Represent the team at multi-agency meetings and case conferences.
• Identify gaps in local provision and research new pathways off the streets for a variety of rough sleepers, including those with no recourse to public funds.
• Work across a variety of databases to accurately record your work.

To succeed as the Support Worker you will have:

• A strong commitment to providing a high standard of service
• Experience working with people who have rough slept or vulnerable adults and supporting them to access services
• Excellent organisation and time management skills in order to remain strongly outcome focused, with the ability to coordinate a high number of cases and complete tasks promptly and efficiently.
• Excellent communication skills and confidence in public speaking when representing Thames Reach externally
• Experience in forming strong working relationships with partner agencies, being able to challenge them when required
• Strong IT skills with the ability to use Outlook, online recording systems, Excel, and Word, using a tablet and a smart phone.

We are listed in the top 100 UK Best Workplaces 2023 in the UK. As part of a commitment to our employees we offer:

• Generous holiday allowance - 29 days per year plus 8 public holidays (pro rata).
• Pension - we contribute 6.5% to your pension when you contribute 1.5%.
• Excellent development opportunities - career progression, regular supervision and appraisals, and learning programmes to support your career with Thames Reach.
• Wellbeing support - our 24/7 employee assistance programme and opportunities for TOIL.
• Life assurance - four times your annual salary and critical illness cover.
• Other benefits including a blue light discount card, interest free season ticket and cycle to work loans.

To apply, click the apply button where you can complete our application form.

For further information please contact, Charley Matthews, Lead Manager (contact details via the apply button).

We will not accept applications where Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been used to assist with completing the competency questions.

Thames Reach is committed to achieving a diverse workforce that reflects the communities we serve. We value, respect, and celebrate diversity. We welcome and encourage applicants from all sections of the community regardless of their history of homelessness, sex, race, disability, age, sexual orientation, or religious belief.

Thames Reach is committed to safeguarding. Applicants must be willing to undergo pre-employment screening appropriate to the post, including, but not limited to checks with past employers and the Disclosure and Barring Service. Having a criminal record will not exclude you from applying but you will be asked to provide further details as most posts are considered exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.