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 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.

Our Support Services

Job Summary 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.

Job Purpose 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 support with creativity. Ability and willingness to meet people where they are at - physically, emotionally, socially. Maintaining accurate case notes and records.
• Work as part of a team, both within the wider leadership in the organisation, as well as local front facing teams; bringing psychological insight into care planning and service delivery. Adapting and communicating any psychological concepts to the audience to ensure it is clear, understandable and supportive.
• Work in flexible, non-traditional settings (e.g. support accommodation, outreach, community access hubs), with a commitment to trauma-informed, culturally competent, and human rights based practice.
• Offer clinical leadership, supporting psychologically-informed approaches and PIR across the organisation, including a psychological perspective on service development and strategy, as well as be part of a wider multi-agency/disciplinary voice on the psychological needs of people, teams and organisations, on both a local and national level.
• Alongside the team, support a co-production approach that recognises the importance of living experience being at the centre of service design and delivery. Assisting in the design and implementation of development and improvement projects including literature reviews, data collection, analysis and production of reports and summaries.
• Supervise and support junior psychological staff and others in leadership roles in the organisation. Operate within defined scope of practice under regular clinical supervision from a registered Clinical Psychologist.
• Ownership of leading the psychological perspective to best serve both people we support and teams, keeping up to date with research, best practice and the voices of people with lived and living experience.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead on the continual consideration and promotion of psychologically informed environment principles in the organisation, ensuring it is present in both relevant strategic development and operational delivery. Attend and contribute to organisational leadership meetings, as well as local team meetings (when required).
• Undertake highly specialist and timely psychological assessments, formulations, and evidence-based interventions - being highly skilled in adapting psychological models to be creative and fit with the people in this community. Using the pretreatment model principles to guide relationship formation. Working with people in our community with a wide range of experiences and cultural backgrounds with dignity, respect and kindness.
• Embed psychological formulations within teams in a way that is both theory and practice driven to guide support planning in an accessible and consistent format.
• Continual assessment of opportunities to upskill and support teams, external stakeholders and people supported through reflective practice, psychoeducational group work, training packages, worksheets or workshops. Implementing and upskilling others to facilitate psychoeducational groups and reflective practice groups.
• Attendance at multi-agency meetings with psychological input recorded and shared appropriately. Effective communication with a wide range of professionals across relevant and connected sectors for the benefit of the people we support, including proactively building relationships and attending national networking meetings.
• Clinical supervision of junior psychology staff and other members of staff.
• Engage in audit, research, and service evaluation activities, contributing to service improvement and development. Including proactively detecting gaps in research to be explored, working alongside researchers and people with lived experience to contribute to learning and growth in the area. Support evaluation, including key outcome measures for projects, methodology for data collection that is creative and meaningful for the community.
• Completion of agreed CPD hours and supervision sessions, in line with professional requirements. As well as attend national meetings regarding psychology within homelessness settings to share and learn best practice. Work autonomously within professional guidelines and the overall framework of the team's policies and procedures. With responsibility to keep to date with any changes in terms of clinical guidance, policies and legislation.

Our Values Inclusion & Participation

We include everyone in the services and resources they need, regardless of their circumstances and ensure each person's voice and influence are heard and felt in everything that we do.

Personalised & Creative

Each person we support is an individual with unique circumstances, needs and future potential which requires a uniquely tailored response.

Warmth & Regard

We see beyond a person's current or past circumstances, recognising their inherent value, worth and potential as human beings.

Partnership & Collaboration

We know we need to work positively with others to deliver a truly inclusive and personalised approach, improve our response and add value to the experience of the people we support.

Supportive & Ambitious

We encourage and support ambition, building on strengths to foster hope for the people we support as well as deliver growth and development for staff and volunteers.

Training & Qualification Essential

• Post-graduate doctoral level training in clinical/counselling psychology
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