Hostel Support Officer

Why Southwark?

Southwark is a large, ambitious and progressive council with a ‘can do’ attitude and enviable reputation. As a Council, we are successful, passionate and forward-thinking. We are committed to our ‘Fairer Futures for All’ promise which ensures that our residents and businesses are central to everything we do. If you want to make a difference at a local level, apply to Southwark Council today.

What You'll Be Doing

As a Hostels Support Officer, you will play a key part in ensuring the safe, supportive, and effective day‑to‑day running of our hostels for vulnerable adults. Working as part of the Supported Pathways team, you will help residents maintain their accommodation, access essential services, and work towards greater independence.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Providing a welcoming reception service, including greeting visitors, distributing post, and answering enquiries.
• Supporting residents with maintaining their accommodation, including monitoring rent and service charge accounts, and assisting with benefit claims and key appointments.
• Carrying out regular room checks, health and safety inspections, and hostel walkabouts to ensure safety and compliance.
• Assisting in the quick turnaround of void rooms—raising repairs, coordinating furniture orders, and preparing rooms for new residents.
• Offering practical support to reduce social isolation, including accompanying residents to appointments where appropriate.
• Working collaboratively with colleagues and partner agencies to safeguard residents and support their progression.
• Monitoring contractors such as cleaners, pest control, and maintenance teams to ensure high service standards.
• Supporting tenancy sustainment by identifying risks early and helping residents manage their finances effectively.
• Assisting with processes related to evictions, including inventories, evidence gathering, and storage arrangements when necessary.

This role is central to delivering a service where residents are treated with dignity, respect, and compassion. You will work primarily from one hostel but may be required to support other sites as needed.

What We're Looking For

You will bring a compassionate, resilient, and solutions‑focused approach to supporting adults with complex needs. You are someone who remains calm under pressure, communicates clearly, and builds trusting relationships with residents and colleagues.

To succeed in this role, you will have:

• Experience of working with people who are homeless or who have complex support needs.
• Knowledge of safeguarding, risk assessment, the Care Act, housing legislation, and welfare benefits.
• An understanding of health and safety responsibilities within supported housing settings.
• Experience working in multi‑agency environments and coordinating support effectively.
• Skills in communication, record‑keeping, planning your own workload, and preparing basic written correspondence.
• A commitment to equality, anti‑discrimination, and person‑centred support.
• GCSEs (or equivalent) in Maths and English (Grade 4 or above).
• The ability to promote independence while providing practical and emotional support.

You will also need to complete an Enhanced DBS check and be prepared to work across various hostel locations when required.

Additional Information

Recruitment Timeline

• Closing date: 22.03.26
• Shortlisting: 23/03/2026
• Interview and assessments: 07/04/2026 - 10/04/2026

The Unit will be required to provide a highly flexible and responsive service to meet the needs of the residents, and therefore, on occasions, the post holder will need to be able to work outside normal office working hours, including weekends and evenings.

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.

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.

Benefits

Working for Southwark Council – Southwark

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.

Attachments

• Please Click Here For the Job Description and Person Specification