Nikesh

From running a successful interior design business to becoming our Maintenance Team Leader, Nikesh’s journey shows how a search for meaning can lead to a completely new career.

What inspired your career change from interior design to working in the homelessness sector?

For 15 years, I ran my own interior design business, managing high-end residential projects across the Middle East, overseeing everything from construction and architecture to sourcing furniture and accessories right down to the toothbrush. It was creative, financially rewarding work, and I managed whole teams of contractors as a one-man band.

But over time, something shifted. The lifestyle was good, but the fulfilment faded. During COVID, I started volunteering: delivering food to people in hostels, supporting homeless and vulnerable individuals who couldn’t get out. That experience planted a seed. Helping people directly felt meaningful in a way I had been missing.

I began volunteering with Single Homeless Project and Change Grow Live and eventually took a year out to figure out my next step. I worked in a yoga studio during that time, and the humility, compassion and grounding I found there reshaped how I saw myself. That’s what nudged me towards the charity sector, I wanted a role where my work had real value.

Why Single Homeless Project, and why the Maintenance Team Leader role?

Coming from a creative background, I always loved building things, physically and conceptually. The role at Single Homeless Project felt like the perfect blend: project management, problem-solving, managing people, and caring for environments that shape people’s wellbeing.

Now, I oversee day-to-day repairs and voids across hostels, managing a team of caretakers. I still use my project management skills, but in a completely different context. Safeguarding, lone-working, trauma-informed practice – all of this is new territory for me, and I’ve been learning constantly. The training alone has opened my mind in ways commercial work never did.

Transitioning from self-employed efficiency to empathy-driven leadership has been the biggest shift and the most rewarding.

What has the learning curve been like?

Steep and brilliant.

When you’re self-employed, you only think about your own deadlines. Now, I have to think about the bigger picture. If a staff member is unwell or a resident is experiencing crisis, it affects the whole service. I’ve had to learn empathy, communication, and team-based working on a deeper level.

There have been real curveballs too like, entire hostels losing electricity, meaning we had to move clients into hotels overnight. Or boilers breaking down in winter. Those situations require quick thinking, teamwork, resilience and a genuine understanding of the people involved.

This job pushes you beyond the task at hand and you have to understand the people, the circumstances, and the impact.

What has the learning curve been like?

Steep and brilliant.

When you’re self-employed, you only think about your own deadlines. Now, I have to think about the bigger picture. If a staff member is unwell or a resident is experiencing crisis, it affects the whole service. I’ve had to learn empathy, communication, and team-based working on a deeper level.

There have been real curveballs too like, entire hostels losing electricity, meaning we had to move clients into hotels overnight. Or boilers breaking down in winter. Those situations require quick thinking, teamwork, resilience and a genuine understanding of the people involved.

This job pushes you beyond the task at hand and you have to understand the people, the circumstances, and the impact.

How has Single Homeless Project supported your transition into a completely new sector?

Single Homeless Project has supported me from day one.

My manager went on leave for four months, which meant I was thrown into the deep end immediately but not alone. HR, senior managers and colleagues across teams stepped in with guidance, reassurance and encouragement. Even sitting in the office with different teams most days has taught me more than I expected; you absorb so much from simply being surrounded by people who care.

That sense of warmth and community is what stands out most. Single Homeless Project feels human. And coming from a commercial background, that’s been refreshing.

What do you enjoy most about working here?

The community, without question.

Single Homeless Project has warmth. People talk to one another, support one another and genuinely want the best for our clients and for each other. Even though my role sits in maintenance, I get insight into every type of service eg. women’s refuges, complex needs hostels, housing first models, young people’s pathways. It’s given me a whole new appreciation of how varied and vital the sector is.

Every day, I’m learning not just new skills, but new ways of seeing people.

What advice would you give to someone considering joining Single Homeless Project or switching sectors?

Do your research, Single Homeless Project is much more than “a homelessness organisation.”

There’s comms, sports, fundraising, maintenance, frontline services, housing teams, strategy – a whole ecosystem you don’t see at first glance.

Engage with SHP’s social media; it gives you a real insight into the work and culture here. And once you join, talk to people. Visit services. Ask questions. SHP gives you the freedom to explore across teams, and that’s where real learning happens.

The charity sector can be transformational professionally and personally only if you lean into it.

What has been the biggest challenge in transitioning into your new role?

Letting go of old habits.

When I first arrived, I would communicate in a very direct, commercial way “This is how we do it; this is the right way.” But in this environment, people deserve to be met with respect, empathy and autonomy. Single Homeless Project helped me unlearn that rigidity and adopt a trauma-informed approach.

Another challenge has been adjusting to working in a large team after years of operating alone. But that’s also what I value now, the sense of shared purpose.

Is there anything else you’d like to share with people considering a career change?

Yes: this environment can change you for the better – if you let it.

Single Homeless Project gives you space to grow not only professionally but personally. You learn compassion. You see the human impact of your actions. You understand the bigger picture.

There’s so much culture, community and opportunity here. Whether you want a 9–5 or a place to develop meaningful skills, there’s room for both. And what you learn here transfers to your everyday life in ways you don’t expect.