About Simon Community Scotland

People are at the heart of who we are and what we do. Day-by-day, person-to-person, we tailor what we offer to what people need. We’re here to provide consistent, friendly and informed support so that people can explore options and take ‘the next step’ towards their future. We welcome people with a wide range of skills and experiences to our team – including those who have lived through homelessness. To make a difference we need to work flexibly, with everyday-leadership, humour and a ‘can do’ spirit. We want to make it easy, make it right, and make it happen – not only for the people we support, but also for each other. We care for and support each other regardless of our role, service or location. We want people who share these values to join us and become a part of the Simon Community Scotland team.

Job Summary

The new “Ask and Act” pilot in the Housing (Scotland) Bill introduces a legal duty for public bodies (including police, health services, and social landlords) to ask people about their housing situation when they come into contact with them and to take action if a risk of homelessness is identified. The aim is to shift homelessness support from crisis response to early intervention, giving people more time and support to prevent losing their home. By embedding structured questions, trauma-informed approaches, and clear referral pathways, it ensures that people at risk receive timely, person-centred support. The duty also encourages multi-agency collaboration, better data sharing, and co-ordinated services, ultimately reducing reliance on temporary accommodation and the trauma associated with homelessness. 

Ask and Act leads will play a key role in delivering the Ask and Act duties within the Housing (Scotland) Bill through the Purple Light pilot, within the Creating Safer Communities consortium. 

As part of a small, specialist team, each person will lead on a key pathway: 

1. Justice and Policing 

2. Health and Paramedic

3. Banking and Employability 

4. Community and Partnerships

As Employability and Banking Lead Practitioner you will operate across both the Police/Justice and SAS/Health pathways within the Beyond The Call: Purple Light Ask and Act pilot to support people at risk of homelessness by addressing economic instability. 

The role will involve helping people access bank accounts, manage benefits, secure income support, and engage with employment or training opportunities, creating personalised plans to stabilise their economic situation. Working across both services, you will coordinate centralised referral protocols, maintain shared tracking systems to monitor outcomes, and provide guidance to staff on identifying financial vulnerability putting people at risk of homelessness. 

Using a person-centered, trauma-informed approach, you will build trust with referred people, collaborate with local authorities, third-sector partners, and community services, and use data to inform continuous improvement. By embedding economic support into early intervention, this role reinforces the “Ask and Act” principle, ensuring that identifying risk is followed by practical action to reduce homelessness. 

Working closely with the Service Lead, consortium partners, and people with lived and living experience of homelessness, you will: 

• Help co-create and embed the Housing Conversation Framework (“why, how and when” to ask about housing risk).

• Address financial barriers to health and well-being by helping people manage benefits, open bank accounts, or access income support.

• Develop and deliver training and coaching to SCS staff, peer panel, and partner organisations

• Establish centralised referral and triage protocols so both police and health services can route people to a single point for banking and employability support

• Coordinate referrals, triage and support planning into Purple Light services and wider partners.

• Lead robust data collection, learning and evaluation to evidence impact and inform scaling and national adoption.

This role is crucial in shifting practice from crisis response to early intervention and prevention, ensuring that people identified as being at risk of homelessness receive trauma-informed, person-centred support that wraps care around the whole person. 

Key Responsibilities

Core Responsibilities (all roles) 

1. Ask & Act Pathways 

• Coordinate the day-to-day delivery of Purple Light Ask &Act activity within your specialist area.

• Support the implementation of the Ask & Act referral and triage pathway between PSED, SCS and wider partners.

• Ensure clear procedures for referral, triage, consent and information sharing, in line with data-sharing agreements, UK GDPR and safeguarding standards.

2. Multi-Agency Partnership & Case Work 

• Build strong relationships with Police Scotland, Scottish Ambulance Service, local authority, third sector and community partners relevant to your pathway.

• Participate in multi-agency case discussions, ensuring actions are followed up and people experience seamless support.

• Support warm handovers and joint working, promoting trust and continuity for people at risk of homelessness.

3. Co-Production & Lived Experience 

• Work alongside the Peer Advisory Board / Peer Panel to co-design tools, training and pathways.

• Ensure people with lived and living experience lead, shape and develop the strategy from point of service design to service delivery.

• Ensure people with lived and living experience are supported, and fairly rewarded for their roles in the pilot.

4. Recording, Monitoring & Learning 

• Maintain accurate, timely recording on relevant systems.

• Contribute to the joint monitoring framework, including quantitative and qualitative data.

• Support a continuous improvement approach, feeding learning into service design, training and practice.

5. Governance, Quality & Safeguarding 

• Work within SCS policies, including safeguarding, health and safety, risk management and confidentiality

• Identify and escalate operational issues and risks, contributing to practical solutions through consortium structures.
  
  

Our Values and Approach 

All SCS employees are expected to demonstrate the following values in their work: 

Warmth and Regard 

● Recognising and valuing everyone 

● Treating people with kindness, dignity and respect 

● Acting with compassion 

● Showing warmth and welcome to everyone 

● Taking difficult decisions sensitively and with due regard to others 

● Taking a calm, professional and intelligent approach to stigma

Inclusion and Participation 

● Encouraging the participation and inclusion of people we support 

● Exploring choices and options with people we support or fellow colleagues
● Making things easy for others 

● Embracing technology in delivering your role 

● Supporting clients, staff and volunteers to become digitally included 

Personalised and Creative 

● Innovation and creativity 

● Helping to find solutions that are a good fit for someone, irrespective of who they are or the problem they have 

● When someone isn’t at their best, quickly recognising there’s probably something else. going on, and finding ways to respond with care 

Supportive and Ambitious 

● Helping to bring hope through our words and actions 

● Helping to build trust 

● Being supportive and showing care 

Partnership and Collaboration 

● Fostering positive relationships with our partners 

● Building team togetherness and collaboration 

● Fostering a positive problem-solving vibe 

Leadership and Learning 

● Making things happen 

● Motivating and inspiring others 

● Taking time to reflect on what’s working and what isn’t 

● Taking care of our ‘places and spaces’ so they feel tidy and welcoming
● Asking for help and learning to do things better 
● Playing an active role in our social media strategy

Person Specification

Training and Qualifications:

Essential:
- SVQ 3 in social care or willing to work towards
- Training in trauma informed practice
- Training in safeguarding, equality and diversity, and data protection (GDPR)

Desirable:
- Experience facilitating reflective practice
- Financial literacy qualifications, such as accredited money advice, debt advice, or employability support training

Experience:

Essential:
- Experience of operational leadership in a community based setting
- Experience of working alongside the community to develop and deliver services
- Experience delivering employability, banking, or financial inclusion support to people experiencing or at risk of homelessness
- Providing direct, person-centered support to people experiencing homelessness, trauma, or multiple disadvantages
- Experience with case management systems, safeguarding procedures and maintaining high standards of confidentiality

Desirable:
- Experience co-designing services alongside the community
- Experience of project management including budget management
- Building and maintaining strong relationships with statutory services (ideally including police, social work, health, housing)
- Planning, delivering and evaluating pilot or multi-partner projects
- Experience of conducting workshops or one-to-one sessions around financial skills and employability

Knowledge and Skills:

Essential:
- Understanding of systemic inequalities and how they intersect (e.g. trauma, gender, poverty, racism, disability, migration, care experience)
- Skilled communicator, confident in leading team meetings, debriefs and facilitating shared learning across teams
- Knowledge of the barriers to financial inclusion and employment for people at risk of homelessness
- Ability to think creatively and navigate challenging situations with compassion and care
- Understanding of applying trauma informed principles and approaches into operational models of practice
- Understanding of social security systems, benefit entitlements, and banking processes in Scotland

Desirable:
- Familiarity with SAS operations, patient care pathways, and how ambulance staff interact with at-risk populations
- Understanding the roles of local authorities, health teams, third sector partners, and specialist services

Values and Behaviours:

Essential:
- Passionate about reducing social inequalities and empowering marginalised communities
- Compassionate, relational leadership
- A collaborative team player who can also work independently and make sound decisions
- Open-minded, flexible and able to work in non-traditional settings and hours
- Commitment to inclusion, co-production, and amplifying voices