Supported Pathways Officer

Why Southwark?

We are the largest local authority social landlord in London, managing 55,000 homes lived in by 40% of Southwark’s residents. We are home to over 18,300 businesses including iconic London venues and social enterprises and we have a young, diverse and growing population.

At Southwark we are committed to making our borough just and fair and are taking positive action to tackle inequalities. Our residents and communities are our greatest asset and the passion we have for Southwark is shared by millions of Londoners who enjoy our outstanding cultural offer, use our hospitals and attend our universities. Our refreshed borough plan and focus on Southwark Stands Together, (which is our work with Southwark’s communities and the council’s staff to tackle racism, injustice and inequality) underpins all that we do.

This post requires a satisfactory Disclosure and Barring Service DBS check at Enhanced level.

What You'll Be Doing

An exciting opportunity within our Supported Pathways Hostels.

As a Supported Pathways Officer, you will play a vital role in helping residents move towards independent living through assertive, person‑centred support.

You will work with a caseload of residents, providing key working, risk assessment, and support planning that enables them to maintain their current accommodation and make progress towards their housing goals.

Your work will include:

• Providing regular client‑centred key working sessions, using reflective practice and tools such as the Outcomes Star, to improve residents’ wellbeing, life skills and readiness for the next stage in their housing journey.
• Undertaking interviews, risk assessments, safeguarding checks, and health and safety inductions for all new residents.
• Offering intensive support to help residents sustain their placement and plan for move‑on accommodation, along with up to six months of floating support after they leave the hostel.
• Monitoring residents’ physical and mental health and liaising with social services, health teams, criminal justice partners, and other relevant agencies.
• Working collaboratively with the Supported Hostels Team to ensure rooms are safe and habitable, and accompanying residents to health, DWP, and housing appointments where required.
• Contributing to the safe day‑to‑day running of the hostel, including room checks, drills, inspections, and ensuring any identified risks are made safe.
• Maintaining accurate, high‑quality records, including case files, incident logs, fire records, financial information, and performance reports.
• Delivering and supporting life‑skills workshops and encouraging resident involvement in house meetings, feedback, and participation activities.
• Supporting arrears recovery, managing behavioural issues, and collecting evidence to support legal and tenancy enforcement actions when necessary.

This role is part of a wider hostel service that supports vulnerable adults through and after crisis and ensures equal access to independent living. You will work closely with housing, health, DWP, social care, and other specialist services.

What We're Looking For

You will be someone who is compassionate, resilient, and committed to empowering people with complex needs. You bring a trauma‑informed and person‑centred approach to supporting individuals who have experienced homelessness.

To thrive in this role, you will have:

• Knowledge of Adverse Childhood Experiences and Trauma‑Informed Care principles, and how these impact individuals with complex needs.
• Strong understanding of the Care Act, housing legislation, welfare benefits, and the support available for single homeless adults.
• Experience working with homeless people with complex support needs, including harm minimisation and recovery‑focused approaches.
• Experience in keyworking, risk assessment, and support planning within a supported housing or similar environment.
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to build trust, advocate for residents, and work collaboratively with multi‑agency partners
• Strong organisational skills, including the ability to manage your own workload and maintain accurate written and financial records.
• Ability to motivate residents, deliver holistic assessments, and support them to develop life skills and retain their accommodation.

Additional Information

Recruitment Timetable

Advert Closing date: 08/07/2026

Interview date: 28/07/2026

Guaranteed Interview Scheme:

As part of our commitment to inclusion, we offer guaranteed interviews for specific groups of people. To qualify, you'll need to meet the minimum requirements for the role, and identify with one of the below criteria:

• Members of the Armed Forces and veterans
• Are currently in care, or have previously been in care
• If you consider yourself to be disabled or if you have a long-term health condition

We are an organisation who is passionate about our people and understands that richness of diversity is a requirement to provide the best possible services to our communities. This is demonstrated through our council-wide ambitious commitment to tackle racial inequality in our communities and workforce through our Southwark Stands Together programme. We particularly welcome applications from members of the Black, Asian and ethnic minority communities to increase representation at senior management level in the Council.

Working week is based on an alternating rota of early shifts 8am-4pm and late shift 12pm - 8pm Monday to Friday, no weekends or bank holidays. No hybrid working as this is a front line service.

Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check required

Benefits and more information:

In your role, we want you to feel supported, challenged and rewarded. You will benefit from our family-friendly policies including flexible working, home working, and a local government pension scheme, plus many other staff benefits. You will join a motivated, driven and supportive team that strives for excellence and values its members. You will also be part of a successful and high-achieving development team that is making a real difference to the lives of residents in the borough. For more information about the wide variety of benefits you can take advantage of please visit our Staff Benefits page.

Attachments

• Click here to view the Job Description and Person Specification