Young People Support Worker

Join Us and Help Shape Brighter Futures

At Depaul UK, we believe in people’s potential — and we take action every day to help unlock it. Whether you’re supporting young people directly or strengthening our organisation behind the scenes, your work will create real, lasting impact.

About the Role

Young People Support Worker

£29,336 Per Annum (ILW) + Excellent Benefits | Lambeth, London | Full Time | Permanent

Are you passionate about helping young people overcome homelessness and build the confidence, skills, and resilience needed to create brighter futures? Do you want a role where you can make a genuine difference every day? If so, we'd love to hear from you.

We're recruiting for five Young People Support Worker across our Lambeth (London) services, including:

• 2 Young People Support Worker vacancies at Wolfington Road (Waltham Forest)

• 3 Young People Support Worker vacancies at Trent Road

These services provide supported accommodation for young people aged 18-25 who are experiencing homelessness or are at risk of homelessness. Working within an assessment, support, and move-on model, you'll help young people develop the practical skills, resilience, and confidence needed to sustain tenancies, access opportunities, and achieve greater independence. Your work will be underpinned by Depaul's assets-based and psychologically informed approach, empowering young people to identify and build on their strengths.

The young people we support may be experiencing:

• Homelessness and housing insecurity

• Poor mental health and emotional wellbeing challenges

• Complex support needs

• Social isolation and low confidence

• Barriers to education, training, employment, and volunteering

• Challenges sustaining accommodation and moving towards independence

In this rewarding role, you'll manage a caseload of young people, complete risk and needs assessments, develop SMART support plans, and deliver one-to-one and group support sessions. You'll build trusted relationships, work collaboratively with partner agencies, promote safeguarding and wellbeing, and support young people to access education, employment, training, and volunteering opportunities. Your work will directly support individuals to achieve positive move-on outcomes and realise their potential.

These vacancies are based across our Wolfington Road (Waltham Forest) and Trent Road services. Please indicate your preferred location within your application.

If you're motivated by purpose, thrive on building positive relationships, and want to be part of an organisation where your contribution truly matters, we'd love you to join us. In return, you'll benefit from excellent training and development opportunities, reflective supervision, supportive leadership, a fantastic benefits package, and the opportunity to help young people build lasting independence and brighter futures.

Please note that this job opportunity is offered as a full-time (37.5 hours per week), permanent role.

In this role (Key Deliverables):

•You will ensure the safety and wellbeing of clients in the service at all times possible including using Safeguarding and emergency alert procedures as applicable,

• You will carry a caseload of clients for whom you will be the named key worker, and you will also take joint responsibility with your team members for the wellbeing and day to day support of all clients in the services

• You will lead on risk and needs assessment and support planning for your key clients and contribute to ongoing needs and risk assessment of other clients in the service

• You will develop and implement SMART outcomes-based support plans for your key clients

• You will deliver one-to one and group support opportunities within their accommodation and in the local community aimed at increasing resilience in the clients we work with.

• You will proactively work in partnership with multiple agencies including statutory teams, to support the wellbeing of Depaul clients in accordance with data protection and information sharing protocols.

• You will be flexible, reflective and creative in your engagement with clients and personalised in your support to them.

• You will involve clients in the decisions made about them and encourage participation in DePaul’s wider community program of activities

• You will support all clients to participate in Education, Training, Employment and Volunteering opportunities as appropriate to the development of their skills, assets and aspirations

• You will participate in a Rota which may include unsocial hours and weekend working

• You will have responsibilities as part of the team for ensuring the health and safety of the environment for clients, staff, visitors and volunteers through regular checks and reporting.

• You will have responsibility as a member of the team for preparing the accommodation for new clients to move into and supporting the client to settle in.

• You will support and facilitate the work of the volunteers who add value to the work that we do

• You will undertake further duties as commensurate to the role and identified by your line manager.

• Supporting clients to maximize their benefit entitlement primarily by making Housing Benefits and Universal Claims.

• You will demonstrate a commitment to client involvement by advocating client involvement opportunities, for example by actively promoting the Voice of Depaul to clients and holding residents meetings

About You (What we are looking for from you – Person Specification)

When completing your application form please address all the points set out below.

• Experience of working with the client group

• An understanding and commitment to working in an assets-based way

• An understanding of the needs of people who have experienced homelessness, poor mental health, substance use

• A knowledge and understanding of Risk Assessments and Support Planning.

• Good literacy, numeracy and IT skills

• Able to demonstrate clear understanding of safeguarding requirements and procedures

• Commitment to working in a manner which promotes diversity and equality ensuring that everyone is treated with respect and dignity and no one, suffers from discrimination.

• Commitment to promoting an environment, which has the highest regard for the Health and Safety of others.

• Personal and professional integrity

• High level understanding of professional boundaries and ability to maintain boundaries

• Effective collaborative working

• Ability to effectively reflect on own practices for ongoing learning and development

• Respect for the values and ethos of Depaul and its founding partners.

What You’ll Receive

• Tailored training and development
• Flexible working options where suitable
• 26 days annual leave, rising with service
• Family‑friendly leave policies
• Pension scheme with employer contributions up to 7%
• Employee Assistance Programme with 24/7 GP access
• Discounts across retail, travel, food, fitness and more
• Cash health plan for you and your family
• Death‑in‑service benefit
• Access to legal and practical support

Safer Recruitment

Depaul UK is committed to fair and inclusive recruitment, and we welcome applications from people of all backgrounds. If a role requires it under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975, we will carry out the appropriate Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) check. We only look at information that is relevant to the role, and a criminal record will never be treated as an automatic barrier to employment. All DBS information is handled sensitively, confidentially and in line with the DBS Code of Practice, and we encourage applicants to discuss any concerns with us openly.