Street Light Chaplain and Outreach Worker

Recruitment pack

Contents

Thank you The job: an overview About the charity Mission, vision and values Our team The structure Equality, diversity and inclusion Learn about the job Application process

Key dates

Vacancy published 1 May 2026 Applications open 1 May 2026
Applications close midday 12 June 2026 Shortlisting by 16 June 2026
Invitation to Interview by 16 June 2026 Interviews held 22 June 2026 Start date from 1 September 2026 (dependent on applicant availability and current notice period)

THANK YOU

Thank you for your interest in joining our team. When looking at a new job, there are many unknowns and so we’ve created this pack to share some of the things that are important to us and to describe in a little more detail some of the things that we care deeply about.

We want people to love their job and those they serve – showing love and respect to others through the way we work, as well as expressing this through our practical help and support. Our work spans across different groups and includes supporting refugees, people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, those in hardship, and women at risk of exploitation.

Our church/charity staff team is diverse and includes people of other faiths and no faith. Together, we have recently agreed four common values we outwork across all that we do (Creativity, Pioneering, Empowering and Compassionate Community). We love being creative people, and we enjoy pioneering new projects, finding new ways of doing things, and we don’t mind the odd failure – it’s just a first attempt! Since the pandemic, our church congregation has changed its meeting structures in favour of being church in a different way – in smaller groupings, often using homes to build closer relationships that are more outward-looking and inclusive. We believe in empowering people – doing things with them not for them, seeing them gain the skills they need for their lives to improve. An example of this is our never-ending, free English classes that take place every week, with people from all over the world. Many of the people we work with have lost contact with, or been separated from, their families and so building authentic community is key for them, finding a place to belong and make their contribution.

We are looking for people from different backgrounds and life experiences, who want not only to work here, but to find fulfilment in working to make a difference in all the ways we’ve shared.

Thank you again for your interest in the role. If you feel you share our values and want to make a difference, please apply!

The job: an overview

Full Job Title:

Reports To:

Location & Hours of Work:

Salary

Street Light Chaplain and Outreach Worker

Church Leader (homelessness)

15 - 30 hours per week (depending on candidate preference)

Starting from £11,308.06 (£28,270.14 FTE) depending on experience and level of qualifications

Key purpose

To help coordinate and deliver the Street Light chaplaincy and outreach service to support and empower those sleeping rough on the streets or who are street attached in Southampton. Working to encourage positive and empowered life choices through build trusting, supportive relationships, providing holistic practical and spiritual support and facilitating their engagement with, and access to, support through partner agencies.

More details at page 10.

About the charity

City Life Church was founded in the 1970s and is a UK registered charity and company. Projects like CLEAR and Amber have been running for over 20 years and these have been joined by others including Hope into Action: Southampton, EU Welcome, Hong Kong Welcome and the Winter Beds Provision. All these initiatives are supported by the church congregation and by a range of partners in our community who share our vision and values. We have received and successfully delivered several National Lottery grants, Government grants and Trust-funded projects. Underpinning the delivery of these grants is a robust charity with a dedicated Board of Trustees.

We are also part of a number of networks and partnerships:

Pioneer Network of Churches

Advice in Southampton

Street Support

Southampton Chaplaincy

City of Sanctuary

One Body Southampton

Anti-Poverty Network

Our Mission

Our primary mission is around love: to show love and compassion towards others. We invite people of faith and those without a faith, to join us in this active mission.

CREATIVITY

We value the courage to reflect, learn and express ourselves creatively. We celebrate creativity in every action, expression, response and collaboration.

PIONEERING

We are responsive to the needs of those within our community and in the .communities we serve, finding creative solutions, breaking new ground, and courageously embracing the challenges that come with change!

Our Values

COMPASSIONATE

COMMUNITY
We embrace diversity,
welcoming both friends
and strangers, and seek
to offer a place of
belonging for all

EMPOWERING

We seek to give people the tools to enable them to live well and thrive. We are committed to justice for all, respecting each person’s beliefs and choices.

Main Church Leaders

Bev Webb

Bev is one of the two Main Leaders of City Life, and a Trustee. She leads the church pastoral team and focusses primarily on pastoral work, discipling and teaching

Paul Woodman

Paul is the other Main Leader of City Life, and a Trustee for the charity. He leads our Night Light project and is a chaplain for the HIOW NHS trust and Chaplain to the Rose Road Association. Paul is also the designated safeguarding lead for City Life Church.

Church and Project Leaders

Dan Pooley | Church Leader (Homelessness)

Dan is part of the Leadership Team at City Life Church, a main focus in his work is empowering and equipping people to establish lasting change in their lives. He runs our housing project (Hope into Action: Southampton), Street Light and the Southampton Church Rent Deposit Scheme. He also leads the Amber project reaching out to women selling sex on the streets to improve their health, wellbeing, and quality of life.

Nicky Porter | Pastoral Leader

Nicky is part of the leadership team at City Life Church and leads on pastoral work within the church community. She loves to see people connecting with God, receiving emotional healing, and knowing they make a difference!

Pete White | CLEAR Project

Pete is the Project Manager at CLEAR, which seeks to advocate, educate and empower asylum seekers and refugees who come to the city and need our support. The project offers advice and practical help to those navigating the asylum system and gives access to English classes and other relevant courses to help integration into life in the UK. The work is challenging but vital, and our team of staff and volunteers walk alongside some of the most marginalised people in our community.

City Life Organogram - May 2026

Equality, diversity and inclusion

City Life Church is committed to valuing diversity and promoting equality. We encourage and welcome applications from suitably qualified candidates from all backgrounds regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation.

We are firmly committed to diversity in all areas of work, believing that we have much to learn and benefit from diverse cultures and perspectives. We will endeavour to maintain an organisation in which those with differing ideas, abilities, backgrounds experiences and needs are fostered, valued, and encouraged to contribute.

City Life Church fully supports both the spirit and the letter of the:

The Human Rights Act 1998

Equality Act 2010

Learn about the job

Key Accountabilities

To help coordinate and deliver the Street Light multi-agency mobile hub and chaplaincy outreach provision, ensuring a consistent, compassionate presence and engagement with people on the streets that affirms dignity and value.

To set the culture alongside volunteer drivers, and staff from other agencies, cultivating safe, non-judgmental, and trusting relationships with those who are street attached or sleeping rough, recognising and responding to their individual journeys and needs.

Ensure the outreach van is clean, tidy, well stocked and appropriately maintained.

Build and maintain collaborative relationships with local support workers across other agencies and charities as part of delivering a multi-agency mobile outreach hub, and to ensure further joined-up support pathways, including through regular attendance at partnership meetings and homelessness forums and regular communication with, and occasional attendance at, the Night Light cafe.

Provide trauma-informed, person-centred support that addresses spiritual, emotional, and practical needs, including through informal chaplaincy, offering emotional, spiritual, practical and relational support.

Where appropriate and possible provide one-to-one follow-up support to encourage and support people to identify and pursue their own goals and aspirations, promoting self-worth and resilience.

Facilitate appropriate referrals and advocate for people’s needs within a multi-agency context, helping and empowering them to engage with partner agencies to access housing, health, recovery, and justice services, while respecting individual choices and readiness.

Learn about the job

Key Accountabilities

Take responsibility for appropriate capture, storage and communication of relevant data that demonstrates outcomes and helps to shape and grow the impact of City Life projects and services.

Contribute to the continual learning and improvement of the project and wider homelessness work through helping to coordinate and deliver regular training, volunteer/peer support events, monitoring, evaluation, and feedback of volunteers and the wider staff team.

Participate in ongoing planning and review of outreach activities in line with the charities vision, values and safeguarding standards.

Where appropriate represent City Life Church and the Street Light Project within the wider community, including through social media, engagement with churches, local groups, and networks, to raise awareness of the issues affecting those who are street attached or sleeping rough on the streets, and to support fundraising initiatives.

Uphold and communicate the values and vision of the charity and the Street Light project in all internal and external relationships.

Work alone, when necessary, in accordance with our Lone Working Policy

Participate in reflective practice, regular supervision, and ongoing training to enhance the quality of care and understanding of complex needs.

Take responsibility for identifying and responding to safeguarding concerns fully complying with policies, best practice and safeguarding legislation. Full Enhanced DBS check is required.

Commit to listening and engaging with diverse communities with empathy and respect. Valuing others internal and external to City Life Church.

Dimensions

The duties of this post are not exhaustive and may vary from time to time in line with the needs of CLC. If business priorities change. It is not intended for any additional duties/ variations to require formal variation of contract or to change the general scope of this job profile.

In accordance with the Equality Act 2010 it is an occupational requirement that the post holder is female and a practicing Christian.

Qualifications and Experience

English and Maths GSCE or equivalent

Relevant counselling or chaplaincy skills training or experience desirable

Values, Behaviours & Personal Attributes

The post holder will be expected to operate in line with City Life Church values and behaviours.

Open

We are honest, transparent and respectful

Collaborate

We achieve more when we work together

Effective

We care about doing the best job we can

We welcome differences and encourage diverse input

We learn from our mistakes

We strive to keep improving

We ask for, and offer, support when needed

We solve problems by working together

We give and receive useful feedback

We communicate clearly

We take responsibility for tasks from start to finish

Key Competencies

Key competencies around the following areas can be found in the full job description for the post:

● Communication

Leadership & Accountability

Planning & Organisation

- People and Team Management

Teaching, Learning & Pastoral

● Empathy (Incorporating Diversity & Inclusion)

● Financial Controls

● Technical

Working Conditions

● Innovation & Creativity

The full job description can be found with our application forms online at: www.citylife.org.uk/vacancies/

Making your application

Read up on the employer

Find out about us through our social media pages, our website, or even better, come to us for a chat!

Read up on the role

Try to spot all the key things we are seeking and find a way to address each of these in your application. Take a look at the full Job Description (with our application forms online) which includes the 'Key Competencies' we are looking for. Make sure your details are accurate.

A note on the use of AI

While AI tools can be helpful in generating ideas and drafting initial versions, they should never be the sole source for writing your job application. AI cannot truly understand the specific job you’re applying for or what makes you a good fit. Therefore, it’s crucial to personalise any AI generated content to accurately reflect your skills, experiences and aspirations. Relying solely on AI to write your application may result in generic, impersonal and potentially inaccurate content. Always review and refine any AI-generated text to ensure if effectively communicates your experience, skills, accomplishments, and aspirations and demonstrates your suitability for the position.

Send the application to us - before the deadline!

Our application forms can be found online: www.citylife.org.uk/vacancies/

Prepare for interview

What are the reasons for wanting this job?

What you think you can contribute to our organisation?

What are your plans for the future?

Ask about what we offer: training and opportunities for your personal development.

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