Clinical Psychologist

About Simon Community Scotland

Simon Community Scotland is the largest provider of homelessness services in Scotland. Our vision is for everyone to have a safe place to live, with access to the support they need. Every day we help make positive things happen for people facing extremely difficult circumstances. Everything we do is about and for people, the people we support, our staff, our partners and everyone affected by homelessness.

Our values are built into every area of activity and tell the story of how people remain at the heart of Simon Community.

Day by day, person-to-person, we tailor what we offer to what people need. We are here to provide consistent, friendly and informed support so that people can explore options and take ‘the next step’ towards a positive future. We offer support across a range of service delivery points;
Street Outreach teams, Housing First initiatives, Floating Support, Information Hubs, Managed Alcohol Program (MAP), Supported Accommodations, Emergency Accommodation, Rapid Access Accommodation, and our own rented properties. These services are delivered across many local authorities within Glasgow, North Lanarkshire, Edinburgh and Perth.

We welcome people with a wide range of skills and experiences to our team. To make a difference, we need to work flexibly, with everyday leadership and a ‘can-do’ approach. We want to make it right and make it happen – not only for the people we support, but also for each other.

Our #One Team ethos is core to who we are, and it means caring for and supporting each other regardless of our role, service or location. Find out more about our services here.

Within Simon Community, we pride ourselves in taking a psychological and trauma informed approach to our work. We understand the people we work with have likely experienced and continue to experience adverse life events which lead to trauma responses, impacting both physical and mental health. The role of psychology within Simon Community ensures psychological theories and principles are embedded within the organisation in a creative and flexible way.

Providing psychological safety and the best wellbeing possible for everyone accessing or working for Simon Community Scotland.

Our psychology team within the organisation is continuing to grow, demonstrating their value and importance to our ever evolving services and support. We are looking for a Clinical Psychologist to lead on this work across Simon Community Scotland and take an active leadership role within the organisation. The key focus of this role will be to support the organisation to continue to implement psychologically informed environment principles and trauma informed care, creating and maintaining psychological safety for all.

This work will be carried out under the supervision of a Principal Clinical Psychologist external to Simon Community Scotland. The job plan will be agreed with the Director of Services, working independently within the framework, policies and procedures of the organisation. The job plan will cover both direct and indirect work, with more focus on indirect, it is an opportunity to use the range of skills of a Clinical Psychologist;

leadership, formulation, consultation, supervision, research and service development. The job will include working across different services, including supported accommodation, community support hubs and outreach. This job description will be subject to review as the psychology team, as well as the organisational need develops and the postholder will be a key stakeholder in that review. This is an exciting opportunity to really explore what Clinical Psychology can offer those facing severe and multiple disadvantages and implement needed change, thinking creatively, in an organisation that puts ‘being human’ and relationships at the heart of the work.

Key activities will include:

• Provide highly specialist and psychological assessment, formulation, and therapy with people experiencing homelessness. Provide a progressive model of support and care that goes beyond traditional approaches, reimagining what psychological work can offer to those we…