Lead Worker - South East London Prevention Service in City of London

Salary: £38,996 per annum

Hours: 37.5 per week

Location: South East London

Closing date: 08/11/2026

Interview date: 18/11/2026

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.

We are looking for a Lead Worker to join the South East London Prevention Service. Prevention services support vulnerable people by providing them with skills, housing advice, accommodation, and tenancy sustainment support.

You will:

• Support the triage function, taking referrals from multiple partner agencies and making decisions about priority allocation for casework.
• Carry out comprehensive assessments with clients in housing crisis.
• Source emergency placement options (often on the day of referral/assessment).
• Support clients to exercise their rights to access statutory services e.g. through Part VII HRA applications, Care Act & Adult Safeguarding referrals.
• Through 6 weeks intensive casework, seek out and secure short and long-term housing options, ensuring that clients have resettlement/tenancy sustainment in place.
• Signpost and refer clients to services that will enable a long-term positive housing outcome - e.g. Immigration services, Substance Use support, NHS, Mental Health, DWP, Employment, Day centres.

You will have:

• Excellent communication, interpersonal, and advocacy skills.
• Strong time management and prioritisation skills, and the ability to deploy these independently.
• The desire to work in a busy team and collaborate with colleagues to achieve quick but sustainable outcomes for our clients.
• An understanding of the complex factors that contribute to homelessness, together with demonstrable empathy for their impact on individuals' lives.
• An ability to form positive working relationships with multiple partner agencies across the statutory and voluntary sectors.
• An aptitude for development and practical application of knowledge of numerous systems across multiple local authority areas, such as: Homelessness application processes, supported housing pathway referrals, Private Rented access schemes, Care Act request processes.

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.

For further information please contact Jamie Shovlin, Service Manager at Jamie.Shovlin@thamesreach.org.uk

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.