Gordon has held senior roles in the public and voluntary sectors in areas including community development, managing a local community engagement organisation, and co ordinating the distribution of National Lottery and European funding. He is now active in many third sector mental health organisations in Scotland, has considerable leadership and governance experience and is currently chair of Bipolar Scotland and a public partner with Healthcare Improvement Scotland.
He also carries out paid consultancy work, mainly in peer research, patient engagement, community development and organisational development. Gordon was appointed as a Board member of the Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland in April 2017 and chairs its Audit, Risk and Information Governance Committee. In 2019 he became a member of the Mental Health Strategic Delivery Board, established and chaired by the Minister for Mental Health.