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 Worker we will 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 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. Is our mission easy? No, but we never give up on people. Last year we helped more than 15,000 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…We are looking for a Lead Worker to join the City Outreach Team. 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:

• Work with the Senior Practitioner and Lead Manager to ensure that support provided to people sleeping in encampments is effective and assertive.
• Lead regular outreach shifts, 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.
• Risk assess clients dynamically and participate in risk mitigations and safeguarding work, particularly within encampment settings.
• Use a variety of databases and virtual tools to accurately record and map tents and rough sleeping hotspots and encampments to ensure our support is targeted and effective.
• Represent the team at multi-agency meetings and case conferences, leading on work around tents and encampments with police and community safety colleagues.

You will have:

• A confident and professional approach to representing the team and advocating for clients in multi-agency meetings with other services that may hold different priorities and ways of working.
• Excellent communication, interpersonal, and advocacy skills, proven within a context of working with vulnerable adults.
• Strong time management and prioritisation skills, and the ability to deploy these independently.
• Experience and knowledge of support strategies to manage a caseload alongside the liaison functions of the role.
• A creative response to rough sleeping, and be able to work imaginatively with clients to plan their end to street homelessness.
• The desire to work in a busy team, and collaborate with colleagues to achieve quick but sustainable outcomes for our clients.

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.

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.

To apply visit our website and complete our application form. 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.