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Working at Community Southwark

There are many benefits from joining our team and working for Community Southwark. Here's a bit more about us and about the borough that we feel very privileged to support.

There are many benefits from joining our team and working for Community Southwark. Here’s a bit more about us and about the borough that we feel very privileged to support:

Community Southwark 

Our Vision: We strive for a Southwark in which all communities and individuals can fulfil their potential. 

Our Mission: We empower local people and voluntary organisations with the tools they need to work together in creating a borough that works for everyone. 

 Our Values: 

  • We are Brave 
  • We are Impactful 
  • We are Collaborative 
  • We are Supportive 

 These values are always underpinned by: 

  • Our commitment to respecting diversity and promoting equality 
  • Putting Southwark communities at the heart of everything we do 

 Our organisation 

Strong local non-for-profits and active citizens are the backbone of our community. We are honoured to be able to serve them in everything that we do 

Community Southwark is the umbrella body for the Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) in Southwark. We support charities, community groups and individuals through capacity building, networks and volunteering. 

Our 2022-26 strategic objectives are to: 

  •  Enable a more impactful, collaborative, and sustainable voluntary and community sector 
  • Support the creation of a more inclusive, diverse, and equal Southwark 
  • Increase the sector’s ability to influence change no matter the size or background of an organisation or individual 

Our members are not for profit groups and organisations operating in Southwark. We offer support such as training, one-to-one advice, volunteering, and hosting networks.  

We are a champion for the sector and look to ensure we have a seat at the right table on its behalf. We have strong and productive links with the VCS in Southwark, its funders, Southwark Council, Partnership Southwark, and the local NHS. We also host Healthwatch Southwark and deliver a variety of other funded programmes. 

Governance and the Team 

Southwark’s diversity is its strength and we are proud to have a diverse and inclusive staff team. We welcome applications from all sectors and experience levels and use Applied to ensure an inclusive hiring process. 

We particularly encourage applications from disabled, Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) people and people from the LGBTQ+ communities. 

We are a registered charity and a Company Limited by Guarantee. Our Board is at 12 members out of a possible 12. We continuously review our governance structures and aim for a diverse and inclusive board with the skills and experiences needed to represent the borough and Community Southwark. Find out more about our trustees here and our staff here. 

The benefits of working at Community Southwark 

Supporting the borough’s brilliant Voluntary and Community Sector to make life changing differences to those most in need is the reason we all come to work every day. We know that a VCS which is well supported, resourced, and collaborative is the way to tackle the deep-rooted inequalities in our borough.  

Working with a like-minded team of people who are warm, open and friendly is also cited by our team as another main reason we love our jobs.  

We are a flexible employer with a 35 hour week (full time staff), flexi-time, and working from home options. Staff spend a minimum of two days per week in the office (11 Market Place, London, SE16 3UQ) as well as time spent in the community with our members and partners.  

The other additional benefits are: 

  • 30 days annual leave (exclusive of public/bank holidays) per annum 
  • 2 Volunteering Days per annum; pro-rata for part-time employees. Employees are entitled to up to two days paid leave for undertaking voluntary activities 
  • £515 annual training allowance 
  • Pension – Employer contribution: 5% 
  • Cycle to Work Scheme. The scheme allows employees to get bikes and accessories tax-free 
  • Eye care vouchers 
  • Enhanced maternity and paternity pay              

The London Borough of Southwark 

Southwark is a densely populated inner London borough with almost half the community belonging to an ethnic minority, including the largest Black African population in the country. It has some of the highest areas of poverty and deprivation in the country. Over 25,000 children live in poverty (as high as 1 in 3 in some wards) and 55,000 adults have a mental health condition. 41% of children in Year 6 are obese, and we have the second highest level of sexually transmitted infections and HIV in England. Air pollution and poor housing conditions are amongst the worst local authority areas in England. These stark figures mask the huge inequalities which were so starkly demonstrated through Covid. 29% of black residents live in the most deprived neighbourhoods, compared to 17% of white residents. 46% of black residents experience food insecurity, contrasted with 9% of white residents. You can view the latest Joint Strategic Needs Assessments and profiles from Southwark Council here. 

Despite these challenges, the Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) in Southwark is vibrant and plays a vital role in tackling these inequalities and giving marginalised people and communities practical support, advice, and a voice for change. Community Southwark meets the varied needs of the diverse VCS in Southwark from small volunteer-led grassroots community groups to more established charities that work with a wide range of people and communities from older people to people with disabilities to children and families. The groups we work with also tackle a wide range of different issues including food insecurity, mental health, and social exclusion.   

Any queries?

If you would like to know more, please do get in touch at info@communitysouthwark.org, or call 020 3848 6540,


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