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 #OneTeam 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
Working as a Service Coordinator within Simon Community Scotland’s Milestone service is a unique opportunity. You are operating at the intersection of acute clinical care, harm reduction, social prescribing and residential support.
Milestone is an intermediate care service designed for people experiencing homelessness who have complex health needs. To succeed here, your role must bridge the gap between the Safer Services (risk management and trauma-informed care) and the complex health issues (physical and psychosocial recovery). This is a great opportunity for the right person.
This role will support the Service Lead at Milestone with the day-to-day delivery of the service and the development of our Safer Services Model at Milestone.
The Safer Services framework is about more than just physical safety. It focuses on psychological safety and reducing harm in a way that keeps the person at the centre.
Trauma-Informed Triage
Work with the Service Lead to ensure that Milestone operates within the Safer Services model, informing MDT decisions, creating holistic safety and wellbeing plans based on each person’s unique needs, and leading on activity coordination.
Harm Reduction Coordination
Lead on Naloxone training, overdose prevention education, and providing safety plans for people when they move on from Milestone. This includes social prescribing and community mapping.
Safe Transitions
Help remove the “cliff edge” of discharge by coordinating warm handovers between Milestone and community GP or harm reduction services, healthcare providers, and community-based services.
Coordinate SCS Pathways
Ensure the service is connected with all relevant Simon Community Scotland services, including Street Services, Housing First, VHS and Safer Communities, We See You, and StreetReads.
Community Mapping: “The Strengths-Based Approach”
In this role, community mapping isn’t just about making a list of nearby GPs. It’s about identifying the person’s strengths and community and healthcare options and people that offer connection without judgement.
Community Mapping: You will support the team to sit with a person to create a literal or digital map of their “safe zones”. This includes identifying recovery cafes or services, libraries with digital hubs (like SCS’s Get Connected, Gambling Harms or Streetreads), or green spaces that support mental wellbeing.
Service Landscapes: You will map the “warmest” routes to secondary care. For example, which pharmacies in Edinburgh are most supportive of those on Opioid Substitution Treatment (OST)?
Which dental practices specialise in working with people with anxiety? Ensure the people we support are fully included in We See You and our Edinburgh Support Hub and Edinburgh Pathways Services.
Safety Mapping: Under the “Safer Services” model, you will identify high-risk areas to avoid, helping the people we support plan transit routes that don’t pass through areas associated with previous trauma.
Suitable Accommodation: Ensuring the person moves on to a suitable safe space, whatever that means to them.
Expanding the Service Coordinator role to include community mapping, reintegration, and psychosocial activities turns the position from a clinical facilitator into a community connector for the guests at Milestone.
In the Simon Community Scotland context, this means moving beyond just “getting healthy” to “staying healthy by belonging”.
Reintegration: The Warm Handover
Milestone is a temporary stay. Reintegration is the most important phase of the journey.
The Transition Bridge: You will coordinate with partners like Cyrenians or The Access Place to ensure that when a person leaves, their health momentum doesn’t stop.
Social Prescribing: Instead of just a medical prescription, you might “prescribe” a peer-support group or a volunteering opportunity. You will physically accompany a guest to their first session to lower the “barrier of the unknown”.
Digital Inclusion: Utilising SCS’s Get Digital model, you’d ensure that people have the hardware and the data to manage their own health appointments and stay connected to their new community assets post-discharge.
Psychosocial Activities: Building Social Capital
Psychosocial support at Milestone focuses on the idea that recovery is easier when life is full of meaningful
alternatives to harmful activities.
Therapeutic Connection to Nature & Arts: You might lead or coordinate sessions that allow for non-verbal expression of trauma, such as gardening or outdoor activities.
Community and Support Groups: Facilitating groups that focus on the MAT Standards (Medication Assisted Treatment), helping people understand their rights and empowering them to take an active role in their clinical decisions.
Life Skills for Independence: Practical psychosocial work like “Cooking for Health” on a budget or “Sleep Hygiene” workshops. These activities reduce the anxiety of returning to independent living. These will be co-designed and co-created in partnership with the people we support.
Health Outcome Focus: Acute medical stabilisation; BBV screening, attending appointments, transport and advocacy, holistic healthcare planning and safety plans.
Psychosocial/Mapping Focus: Creating a “Safety Map” & building trust.
Health Outcome Focus: Medication adherence; chronic condition management.
Psychosocial/Mapping Focus: Engaging in group activities; identifying community assets.
Health Outcome Focus: GP registration; “Warm” clinical handover. Warm handovers for health and housing services.
Psychosocial/Mapping Focus: First visit to a community hub; digital health setup.
Health Outcome Focus: Reduced A&E presentations.
Psychosocial/Mapping Focus: Enhanced community networks and engagement. Sustained social connection; peer support engagement.
1. Service Leadership & Team Motivation: Provide overall service leadership, motivate the team, make confident decisions under pressure, and drive positive outcomes by consistently living organisational values.
2. Person-Centred & Trauma-Informed Practice: Coordinate a person-centred, trauma-informed, and safer services approach across the team, ensuring holistic harm reduction is embedded at the core of all support.
3. Supervision, Induction & Staff Development: Provide structured individual and group supervision, deliver reflective practice, and lead the induction of new staff to support and empower health improvement workers.
4. Operational Management, Shift Coordination & Rota Management: Oversee day-to-day shift coordination, manage operational logistics, maintain accurate budget and money management, and ensure efficient Rota management.
5. SSSC & Care Inspectorate Compliance, Reporting & HR: Ensure strict adherence to SSSC and Care Inspectorate standards, maintain accurate case records, follow HR processes, and complete weekly, quarterly and annual reporting.
6. Continuous Service Improvement & Co-Design: Drive continuous service improvement by facilitating internal and external co-production and co-design to ensure services adapt to the needs of supported people.
7. Activity Promotion & Community Reintegration: Plan, resource, deliver, and promote psychosocial activities and group work, while building robust community reintegration plans as standard good practice.
8. Health Improvement & Support Planning: Coordinate health improvement support and safety plans and lead key training initiatives aligned with the Safer Services Model.
9. Partnership & Stakeholder Engagement: Work effectively with internal and external partners to maximise resources, streamline wrap-around support, and meet partnership objectives.
10. Psychological Safety & Team Culture: Create and maintain a psychologically informed environment that fosters a collaborative, supportive, and safe workplace culture for both staff and supported people.
11. Ad hoc duties: Determined by the Service Lead and ongoing developments.
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.
Planning & Organising
Create and manage personalised support plans for people, prioritising tasks and managing resources effectively to help them achieve their goals.
Monitor progress against established goals and adjust support plans as needed to ensure the best possible outcomes.
Maintain accurate and detailed records of your contacts using our NetSuite platform throughout your shift.
Resilience
Advance despite adversity, responding to challenging and difficult situations with a calm, professional, and composed approach.
Handle sensitive decisions with compassion and due regard for others, maintaining a positive and proactive attitude.
Motivation
Act with care and compassion, demonstrating a clear commitment to the role and its importance in empowering individuals to live independently.
Bring hope through your words and actions, helping to build trust and change public perception of the causes of rough sleeping.
Problem Solving
Carefully analyse problems, breaking them down into parts to find practical, person-centred solutions.
Innovate and be creative to find solutions that are a perfect fit for someone, irrespective of their background or the problem they are facing.
When someone isn’t at their best, quickly recognise that there may be an underlying issue and find ways to respond with care.
Teamwork
Work with colleagues in a supportive and collaborative way, fostering team togetherness and a positive, problem-solving vibe.
Be a reliable member of the team, participating actively in group meetings and sharing insights to improve our service continuously.
Foster positive relationships with our partners to ensure our support is coordinated and effective.
Communication & Digital Enablement
Communicate effectively with a range of stakeholders, including service users, partners, and other colleagues, adapting your communication style to be clear, empathetic, and respectful.
Encourage the participation and inclusion of the people you support by exploring choices and options with them in an accessible way.
Embrace and champion digital inclusion, helping clients, staff, and volunteers to connect, understand, and use digital tools safely. You will use our GSuite, Chromebook, and smartphone to facilitate this.
Play an active role in our social media strategy by helping to create blogs, videos, and posts to change society’s misconceptions about homelessness.
Training & Qualifications
Essential:
Harm Reduction
Community Development
Excellent communication and digital skills
Presentation skills
An excellent knowledge of Edinburgh services and stakeholders
Desirable:
Evidence of building partnerships
Evidence of fundraising/sales
A knowledge and passion for literature and creative arts
Experience:
Essential:
Setting up processes and procedures within the workplace
Building positive networks and connections
Experience of working in a fast-paced environment which requires quick decision making
Comfortable delivering events and group activities
Desirable:
Experience in writing project plans and reports
Experience in data management tasks
Experience working in a team based in multiple locations
Experience of managing volunteers
Knowledge & Skills
Essential:
Fully committed to Simon Community Scotland’s Mission and Values
Able to approach your role and tasks with an empathetic and non-judgemental attitude
Ability to work with people in a way that takes into consideration their individual and cultural beliefs
Data collection, monitoring, and evaluation
Good communication and people skills – internal and external
Desirable:
Knowledge of promoting events and building an audience
Community engagement with stakeholders and businesses
Creating effective partnerships
Personal
Essential:
Be a positive person who leads by example
Have a willingness to learn and adapt to each situation
Flexible and responsive
Honest, ethical and keen to overcome obstacles
Have the ability to reflect on your practice
Desirable:
Existing relationships with a range of organisations and stakeholders within Edinburgh
To be eligible for this position, we require candidates to either hold British citizenship or have the right to work in the UK. Unfortunately, we are unable to sponsor applications from candidates who do not currently possess the right to work in the UK.
