Hospital Chaplain

Job overview

We are looking for an enthusiastic, highly motivated and experienced healthcare chaplain with a track record of providing spiritual, pastoral and religious care (SPaRC) in an NHS healthcare setting. This role will involve supporting the development, delivery and implementation of the Trust’s Spiritual Care Policy.

You will be a Trust resource providing specialist knowledge and expertise on matters relating to spiritual and religious beliefs, pastoral and ethical issues. You will always seek to uphold the Trust values of Excellent, Kind and Together.

This role requires working across the Trust in clinical and non-clinical areas with patients, staff and visitors. It includes responding to referrals and being a proactive presence on the wards. You will provide a flexible, responsive service of spiritual, pastoral, and religious care to patients, visitors and staff whatever their beliefs, culture or lifestyle.

Working as a team; with your Chaplaincy colleagues, alongside internal Trust staff and with external faith and belief communities you will provide high quality SPaRC care.

As part of the 24/7 provision that the Chaplaincy Service provides you will work across a 7 day a week rota providing an on-site chaplaincy presence; (core hours 08:30-16:30) with emergency out of hour on-call; (16:30-08:30) from home.

Main duties of the job

The chaplain supports the development, delivery and implementation of the Trust’s Spiritual Care Policy which provides spiritual, pastoral and religious care to patients, staff and visitors of UHNM Trust.

The Chaplain provides high quality pastoral, spiritual and religious care to service users of all faith and beliefs.

The Chaplain provides specialist knowledge and expertise in matters relating to spiritual and religious beliefs, experiences, practices and ethical issues.

The chaplain contributes to a high quality of bereavement care being provided by the Trust.

The chaplain supports the development of sustainable and creative relationships between their own faith/belief community and the UHNM Trust.

Working for our organisation

We are the specialist centre for major trauma for the North Midlands and North Wales.

All of our employees make a valuable contribution regardless of role here at UHNM and we are proud of our wide range of development packages aimed at ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to fulfil their true potential.

In return we ask all of our employees to make a commitment to the values, co-created by or staff, patients and carers, and that unite us as a Trust.

At University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust we know that investing in, supporting and developing our staff has a direct impact on the quality of care that we deliver. Our employees are as important as our patients and the population that we serve.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

1. Contribute to the effective working of the Spiritual and Pastoral Care team:

• Respond to referral by assessing the pastoral, spiritual and religious needs. Where the assessed needs require a religious response that is different from the Chaplain's, the Chaplain will refer to an appropriate staff Chaplain or a representative from the individual’s faith community or belief group.
• Ensure good communication and collaboration with all members of the Chaplaincy Department. Follow established procedures and policies.
• To share in the provision of 24-hour on-call cover; making decisions using own initiative about spiritual needs in crisis situations; responding to emergency calls in week and weekend night-times while meeting the required response time. This dimension includes responsibility for putting the opening phases of the UHNM Major Incident Plan into action for Spiritual, Pastoral and Religious Care when required.
• Share in the daytime duty rota (8:30am to16:30pm). Receive and respond to referrals from members of the healthcare team. To visit wards and departments on a regular basis during daytime hours. Share in the maintenance of the spaces for prayer and reflection and the provision of resources for worship and spiritual expression.
• Assist in the planning of the work of Chaplaincy Volunteers.
• Participate in projects and operational groups as directed by the Lead Chaplain.
• Prepare and disseminate briefing material, reports and liturgical material as directed by the Lead Chaplain.
• Assist with Chaplaincy service developments, including Major Incident planning and implementation.
• Be an affirming and supportive presence within the Trust.
• Contribute to audit and research within Chaplaincy practice.

1. Provide pastoral and spiritual care:

• Assess spiritual health and wellbeing needs, develop spiritual care plans, and keep written and electronic records.
• Manage referrals and determine a timely response.
• Maintain confidentiality and obtain informed consent.
• Provide or facilitate spiritual and pastoral care sensitive to the cultural, faith and belief realities of the diversity of service users, including identifying language needs and accessing interpreting services.
• Protect individuals from all unwanted visits, including visits from faith community or belief group representatives, and communicate this to third parties as appropriate.
• Maintain effective and consistent links with designated clinical areas.
• Work collaboratively alongside other professionals of all bands.
• Articulate need on behalf of an individual when required.

1. Provide or facilitate religious care:

• Deliver ritual consistent with one’s own faith or belief tradition.
• Devise, co-ordinate and lead ritual to meet needs (e.g., memorial services for staff; bespoke ceremonies for those who have experienced an early pregnancy loss.)
• Perform ritual interventions connected with crisis according to the needs of users and consistent with the permissions and practice of one’s own faith or belief community (e.g., the baptism of seriously ill babies; the sacrament of the sick.)
• Conduct Trust funerals.
• Organise rites and sacraments that cannot be undertaken by the post holder to be administered by a suitable colleague or community faith/belief leader.
• Make referrals to appropriate faith/belief leaders and community ministers of religion at the patient’s request and with their consent.
• Establish effective links with faith/belief leaders in the community.
• Record all assessments and interventions in Trust information systems.
• Assist in maintaining an accessible and high-quality provision of resources for worship and spiritual expression appropriate to the diversity of users of all faiths and none.

1. Provide support for staff:

• Model working relationships that respect the integrity of others. Schedule time for staff support.
• Assess and respond to staff pastoral and spiritual needs (individual or collective.)
• Respect confidence in responding to requests for personal support from members of staff and volunteers.
• Maintain awareness of issues, changes and conditions that may affect staff wellbeing.
• Collaborate with other relevant departments in promoting staff wellbeing.
• Identify other sources of staff support and, with consent, facilitate referral.

1. Providing training and education:

• Identify the learning needs of self and others.
• Contribute to the planning and delivery of learning opportunities.
• Contribute to the selection, training and supervision of Trust Chaplaincy Volunteers.
• Train and oversee trainee chaplains and pastoral care placement students.
• Contribute to Trust and/or Departmental Induction Programme for new staff.
• Present education and training sessions to a variety of internal and external groups as directed by the Lead Chaplain

Person specification

Essential

• In good standing with a faith or belief group as defined by the Network for Pastoral, Spiritual and Religious Care in Health.

Essential

• Appropriately authorised, licensed, or commissioned for the role of healthcare chaplain.
• Bachelor’s Degree level or higher in Theology or Pastoral Care or other relevant discipline.
• Evidence of Continuing Personal Development (CPD).
• Postgraduate certificate or diploma in healthcare chaplaincy or enrolled on this training.
• • At least five years of experience of employment as an NHS healthcare chaplain.

• Registered as a Board-certified chaplain with the UK Board for Healthcare Chaplaincy.

essential

• Working knowledge of faith and belief systems other than one’s own, and the ability to apply this knowledge in a diverse context in a health care setting.
• • Digital and verbal communication skills desirable for effective communication of information within the organisation and with the public.
• • Able to meet the transport demands of the role and respond to emergency on calls with 1 hour response time, including lone working with access to suitable transport.

1. All correspondence will be sent to you via the email address you applied from. Please ensure you check your emails regularly.
2. References - please ensure you provide email addresses for all referees for the last three years of employment.
3. We are committed to equality of opportunity and welcome applications from everyone regardless of ethnicity, disability, gender, age, faith or sexual orientation. Appointment will be based on merit alone.
4. Flexible working will be considered in line with Trust policies
5. New recruits are required to pay for their Disclosure and Barring Service check (and admin fee) prior to starting if the role requires a DBS check.
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University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust (UHNM) has been awarded the Gold Award for proudly supporting those who serve. We actively encourage applications from the Armed Forces community.

We will communicate with you regarding your job application via email. Please be aware that we cannot guarantee the security of any emails sent/received via non encrypted format.

If you would like support completing an application form, please contact the recruitment department on 01782 675533 where one of our trained assistants will be able to help

At UHNM we are fortunate to receive a high volume of applications for many of our roles, on this occasion we would reserve the right to close any advert early, therefore please apply without delay!

If you obtained your qualifications overseas, you will be required to provide an official government translation through ECCTIS (formerly known as NARIC). Please note, this is in addition to any professional registration requirements and not a replacement for your qualifications.

If you are currently in the UK on a visa, you must have at least six months remaining on your visa at the time of your start date to ensure sufficient time for the operational and training process associated with the role. The requirement of at least six months remaining on your visa does not apply to a Skilled Worker Visa, as a new Skilled Worker Visa would be required for a new role.

In line with the change of Immigration rules on 8th January 2026 if you require Sponsorship through the Skilled Worker Visa you must be able to provide B2 English evidence before a Certificate of Sponsorship can be issued.

1. Skilled Worker visas cannot currently be issued to Afghan nationals.
2. Study visas cannot currently be issued to nationals of Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar or Sudan.

As a result, we are unable to progress applications requiring sponsorship under these routes.

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