The Society of St James Jobs | 12 Live Vacancies

About The Society of St James

The Society of St James (SSJ) is a Southampton-based homelessness charity and housing association working across Hampshire. It began in 1972 when volunteers from local churches opened a church hall to shelter eleven homeless men, and it now supports over 3,500 people a year with more than 500 bedspaces. Its purpose is to prevent, relieve and ultimately end homelessness, underpinned by the belief that a safe place to live is a basic human right and that people deserve as many chances as it takes to change their lives.

Accommodation and support services

SSJ runs a wide range of accommodation, from emergency low-threshold beds and night shelters through intensive support hostels such as Patrick House in Millbrook and the Southampton Street hostel, to registered care homes and supported lettings that help people progress to independent living. Alongside housing it delivers a Recovery Hub and community day rehab for people affected by drugs and alcohol, a managed drinking service, Portsmouth Recovery Housing, floating support that helps people keep their tenancies, the RESET service for young adults aged 18 to 25, and Integrated Offender Management. Its Academy offers sport, education, training and volunteering, and social enterprises such as Cafe in the Park and Jamie's Computers create work experience and jobs.

Where SSJ works and who it supports

Services are concentrated in Southampton and Portsmouth and extend across wider Hampshire, with maintenance teams also covering Aldershot. SSJ supports adults and young people experiencing homelessness, often alongside problematic substance use, mental health problems, contact with the criminal justice system and histories of trauma. Most accommodation is accessed by referral from Southampton and Portsmouth city councils, while the Academy, Recovery Hub and floating support take direct approaches.

Working at SSJ

SSJ describes its approach as person-centred and trauma-informed, with values of Respect, Response and Recognition. Around half of its staff have lived experience of the issues faced by the people it supports, and it uses hybrid self-managing teams to give frontline colleagues more say in how services run. Staff receive reflective practice, formal supervision and training in approaches such as ACT, CBT and trauma-informed care. Advertised benefits include 25 days annual leave rising to 30 plus public holidays, the option to buy extra leave, flexible working, a cycle to work scheme, salary sacrifice pension contributions, an employee assistance programme, Blue Light Card access and discounted computers. SSJ is affiliated with Unite the Union and cannot offer visa sponsorship.

Typical roles

Vacancies are advertised through the HealthBoxHR portal and typically include homeless support workers on hostel rota patterns, accommodation and recovery workers, group facilitators in drug and alcohol services, service managers, clinical staff, maintenance apprentices and trustees. Recruitment enquiries go to recruitment@ssj.org.uk; head office is at 125 Albert Road South, Southampton SO14 3FR.