Job title
Salary
Day Centre Team Leader
£30,000
Responsible to
Services Manager
Hours
37.5 hours per week including two weekends each month (latest
until 1pm). Scheduling of hours open to discussion.
Wintercomfort is a small Cambridge charity supporting people who are homeless, vulnerably housed or at
risk of losing their homes. We offer basic welfare amenities, educational development, pathways to
employment and other services to help people achieve greater autonomy, in a safe and non-judgemental
environment.
Role Summary
As a member of Wintercomfort’s Team, reporting to the Services Manager the Day Centre Team Leader
role is responsible for supervising the weekend locum team, delivering welfare services over the weekend,
delivering Wintercomfort’s range of welfare services and social, learning, and work opportunities aimed at
supporting individuals out of the spiral of homelessness and back into mainstream society.
Purpose of the job
Our Project Workers are front line team members responsible for helping Wintercomfort to meet its
objectives of supporting the homeless and vulnerably housed in Cambridge to make positive changes in
their lives.
The role holder will play a vital part in delivering a broad range of services predominantly based at our
centre, Overstream House, with some outreach work within the community. Tasks range from helping
people who are sleeping rough to access our drop-in welfare service and access one-to-one key-working
sessions with an assigned Project Worker. This is a varied, challenging and incredibly rewarding role
working with some of the most vulnerable people in the community to change their lives for the better.
Key Responsibilities
To be a member of the project worker team running the day centre providing a welcoming and
safe environment in which welfare and learning and development services can be delivered.
To be responsible for running the service at weekends and be a team leader to the weekend
team.
Be responsible for co-ordinating day to day tasks during opening hours and, as a member of the
staff team, to deal with any breaches of policy or of the code of conduct.
To support the delivery of Wintercomfort’s welfare service overseeing access to essential
facilities such as meals, showers and laundry services at our centre.
To provide one-to-one support with issues such as benefits claims, access to IT and support
with online services and work with other professionals identifying individuals who require
JD – Day Centre Team
Leader
Reviewed by Agnieszka Gada
Date: October 2025
specific support in areas such as Housing, Recovery, Tenancy Support and Employment.
To have line management responsibility for the Locum Weekend Team and to ensure any
safeguarding concerns are reported to Services Manager.
To provide occasional cover of the reception area, welcoming visitors to the centre.
To ensure that accurate data and activities are recorder on a daily basis on shared database.
To ensure any necessary referrals and signposting is offered/ conducted with Service Users.
Note - this is not an exhaustive list, and you may be required to perform other reasonable duties
as assigned by the Services Manager and/or CEO.
Person Specification
JD – Day Centre Team
Leader
Reviewed by Agnieszka Gada
Date: October 2025
Criteria
Description
Experience
Previous experience of support work that effectively engages individuals
with opportunities for self-development.
Experience of supporting vulnerable people with complex support needs to
make positive changes in their lives.
An understanding of substance misuse, mental health and issues
associated with social exclusion.
Experience of delivering advice, guidance and employability/educational
support to individuals.
Knowledge of local services for homeless and vulnerably housed people.
Knowledge of the challenges associated with homelessness such as
poverty, crime, mental health and addiction.
Skills
Effective IT skills including Word, Excel & Outlook.
Strong verbal and written communication skills.
Strong co-ordination and organisational skills.
A constructive, flexible and positive approach towards working with
vulnerable excluded people.
Willingness and ability to work flexible hours including weekends.
Qualifications
Qualifications to demonstrate an understanding of vulnerable individuals
and such as Social work, Sociology, Psychology, Humanities.
Essential
or
Desirable
E
E
D
D
D
D
E
E
E
E
D
JD – Day Centre Team
Leader
Reviewed by Agnieszka Gada
Date: October 2025
Screening Check Requirements
We have a legal responsibility to ensure that you have the right to work in the UK before you can start working
for us. If you do not have the right to work in the UK already, any offer of employment we make to you will be
conditional upon you gaining it. We will ask to see original paperwork confirming your right to work in the UK.
This role requires a basic an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check. Any offer of employment
we make to you will be conditional upon the satisfactory completion of this check; whether an outcome is
satisfactory will be determined by Wintercomfort for the homeless.
General Information
Wintercomfort works with people who are homeless, at risk of homelessness or with a history of homelessness.
We provide services to aid every stage of recovery - from immediate basic welfare needs to long term help in
identifying and dealing with the problems which are undermining their stability, and enabling them to engage with
education, employment and specialist health services. National statistics rank the numbers of rough sleepers in
Cambridge within the highest 20 UK local authorities.
For further information about us please visit www.wintercomfort.org.uk
What can Wintercomfort offer?
One of our core values at Wintercomfort is to recognise and reward our staff as our greatest asset. We realise
that it's our people who have helped us to become a well-respected charity that helps to make a positive change
to homeless people’s lives. We want to continue to deliver excellent, relevant services for the homeless in
Cambridge by attracting and retaining talented and motivated people. If you choose to come and work with us,
you will find that we offer:
Benefits – You will be eligible for benefits and services, including pension scheme, death in service benefit
and tax-efficient bicycle lease.
A supported work environment - You will receive a comprehensive induction, and you will have a
probation period to provide a supportive framework for reviewing your progress and discussing your training
and development needs. You will be expected to have developed the skills to fulfil all role requirements
within this period. Appropriate performance expectations and objectives will be discussed, agreed and
reviewed regularly with your Line Manager so that your performance can be measured against these.
Training- We recognise the importance of having a motivated and effective staff team. We offer on-going
training to support you in your role.
Equality of Opportunity at Wintercomfort
We are committed to a proactive approach to equality, which includes supporting and encouraging all
underrepresented groups, promoting an inclusive culture and valuing diversity. We make selection decisions
based on personal merit and an objective assessment against the criteria required for the post. We do not treat
job applicants or members of staff less favourably than one another on the grounds of sex (including gender
reassignment), marital or parental status, race, ethnic or national origin, colour, disability (including HIV status),
sexual orientation, religion, age or socio-economic factors.
Job Description Review
JD – Day Centre Team
Leader
Reviewed by Agnieszka Gada
Date: October 2025
From time to time, this job description will be reviewed in line with the requirements of the work and
organisational development. The post holder will have full opportunity to discuss this and be active in any
changes and developments.
JD – Day Centre Team
Leader
Reviewed by Agnieszka Gada
Date: October 2025
WINTERCOMFORT FOR THE HOMELESS
13.21 per hour
Overstream House, Victoria Avenue, Cambridge, CB4 1EG
Full-time
Job title Salary Hours Annual Leave Locum Project Worker £13.21 08.00 – 12:00 Saturday and/or Sunday Calculated pro rata based on a full time equivalent of 25 days per year Responsible to Services Manager Location Overstream House, Victoria Avenue, Cambridge, CB4 1EG Role Summary As a member of the Project Worker Team, reporting to the Services Manager, the Locum Project Worker will principally be required to provide a warm welcome to people visiting Wintercomfort. The post holder will spend time interacting and chatting with service users, helping to facilitate a relaxed and positive environment. In addition, the Locum Project Worker will provide some welfare support during breakfast and lunch service, help with laundry services and the delivery of recreational activities as required. Key Responsibilities To help prepare the centre before opening for drop-in access. To provide a warm welcome to people arriving at the centre and to carry out needs assessments with first time visitors. To support people with access to welfare services including laundry facilities and clothing as required. To support people to access telephones and computers at the centre. To support people with information and fact-finding relating to other support services. To ensure that kitchen staff are supported to deliver the breakfast and lunch service. To facilitate and encourage engagement in conversation and social/recreational activities including quizzes and games. To maintain a safe and welcoming environment in the centre and to deal with any breaches of policy or of the code of conduct. To ensure that accurate records are kept to document the support service provided to Wintercomforts service users. JD – Locum Project Worker Reviewed by Agnieszka Gada Date: December 2025 Note - this is not an exhaustive list and you may be required to perform other reasonable duties as assigned by the Services Manager and/or Director. Criteria Description Experience Experience of working with vulnerable people with complex support needs to make positive changes in their lives. An understanding of substance misuse, mental health and issues associated with social exclusion. Knowledge of local services for homeless and vulnerably housed people. Criteria Description Skills Strong verbal and inter-personal communication skills. Strong co-ordination and organisational skills. A constructive, flexible and positive approach towards working with vulnerable excluded people. A calm and resilient outlook when encountering challenging situations. Excellent time-keeping and reliability. Essential or Desirable D D D Essential or Desirable E E E E E JD – Locum Project Worker Reviewed by Agnieszka Gada Date: December 2025 Screening Check Requirements We have a legal responsibility to ensure that you have the right to work in the UK before you can start working for us. If you do not have the right to work in the UK already, any offer of employment we make to you will be conditional upon you gaining it. We will ask to see original paperwork confirming your right to work in the UK. This role requires a basic an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check. Any offer of employment we make to you will be conditional upon the satisfactory completion of this check; whether an outcome is satisfactory will be determined by Wintercomfort for the homeless. General Information Wintercomfort works with people who are homeless, at risk of homelessness or with a history of homelessness. We provide services to aid every stage of recovery - from immediate basic welfare needs to long term help in identifying and dealing with the problems which are undermining their stability, and enabling them to engage with education, employment and specialist health services. National statistics rank the numbers of rough sleepers in Cambridge within the highest 20 UK local authorities. For further information about us please visit www.wintercomfort.org.uk What can Wintercomfort offer? One of our core values at Wintercomfort is to recognise and reward our staff as our greatest asset. We realise that it's our people who have helped us to become a well-respected charity that helps to make a positive change to homeless people’s lives. We want to continue to deliver excellent, relevant services for the homeless in Cambridge by attracting and retaining talented and motivated people. If you choose to come and work with us, you will find that we offer: • Benefits – You will be eligible for benefits and services, including pension scheme, death in service benefit and tax-efficient bicycle lease. • A supported work environment - You will receive a comprehensive induction and you will have a probation period to provide a supportive framework for reviewing your progress and discussing your training and development needs. You will be expected to have developed the skills to fulfil all role requirements within this period. Appropriate performance expectations and objectives will be discussed, agreed and reviewed regularly with your Line Manager so that your performance can be measured against these. • Training- We recognise the importance of having a motivated and effective staff team. We offer on-going training to support you in your role. Equality of Opportunity at Wintercomfort We are committed to a proactive approach to equality, which includes supporting and encouraging all underrepresented groups, promoting an inclusive culture and valuing diversity. We make selection decisions based on personal merit and an objective assessment against the criteria required for the post. We do not treat job applicants or members of staff less favourably than one another on the grounds of sex (including gender reassignment), marital or parental status, race, ethnic or national origin, colour, disability (including HIV status), sexual orientation, religion, age or socio-economic factors. Job Description Review From time to time, this job description will be reviewed in line with the requirements of the work and organisational development. The post holder will have full opportunity to discuss this and be active in any changes and developments. JD – Locum Project Worker Reviewed by Agnieszka Gada Date: December 2025