Employment Specialist (Support Worker) – Lambeth Individual Placement & Support

Salary: £33,472 per annum

Contract: Fixed term until 31 March 2027

Location: Lambeth

Interview date: 09/09/2026

Thames Reach runs projects and services that help to end homelessness in and around 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.

About this role… We are looking for a Support Worker to join the Lambeth Individual Placement and Support Team. Prevention services support vulnerable people by providing them with skills, housing advice, accommodation, and tenancy sustainment support. All these services help people transition towards leading independent lives.

You will:

• Meet with clients 1:1: Build rapport, discuss job goals, preferences, and strengths.
• Help with benefits planning so clients understand how work affects disability payments.
• Job development with employers: Visit local businesses to learn their hiring needs, advocate for clients, and negotiate job roles. You spend 65% of your time in the community, not the office.
• Rapid job search support: Help clients apply for jobs within 30 days of joining IPS. That means CV writing, online applications, interview practice, and in work support planning.
• Coordinate with the clinical team: Join mental health team meetings to integrate employment goals into treatment. Share updates and problem-solve work barriers with therapists, case managers, and psychiatrists.
• Provide in work support: Once a client starts work, offer coaching on workplace skills, disclosure decisions, and communication with supervisors. Step in early if issues come up to prevent job loss.
• Track outcomes and documentation: Record employer contacts, job starts, hours worked, and support provided. Use fidelity scales to make sure services follow IPS principles.

You will have:

• Relationship-building & engagement: Comfortable building trust quickly with clients who have mental health conditions, plus clinicians and employers. You need empathy, active listening, and zero judgment.
• Job development skills: Confident in talking to employers, networking, and negotiating job roles. Helping employers to understand that hiring your clients benefits their business.
• Knowledge of mental health & recovery: Understanding of common diagnoses, symptoms, medications, and how they impact work. Experience in mental health, vocational rehab, or social services is desirable.
• Benefits counselling basics: Know how earned income affects benefits. Or be willing to learn fast, because clients need accurate info before taking a job.
• Time management & fieldwork: IPS is 65%+ community-based. You will interact with multiple clients, employer visits, and clinical team meetings. Need to be able to work in the community and have strong admin skills.
• Fidelity to IPS principles: Experience with evidence-based practice helps. Key principles: zero exclusion, client preferences drive the job search, rapid job placement, and integrated teamwork. Willingness to track data and take fidelity reviews.

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.

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.