Lead Chaplain

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Leadership and Management 

To provide leadership, operational management and strategic direction to the Spiritual and Pastoral Care Service in order to deliver excellence as a progressive, proactive and responsive service.

To lead, nurture and encourage a collaborative team focussed on co-operation and co-production, to deliver a professional service, focusing on the spiritual element of holistic care across the Trust.

To manage the recruitment, interviewing, specialist training and annual appraisals of all employed and voluntary members of the Spiritual and Pastoral Care Team.

To provide leadership in and commitment to regular prayer, study and reflective practice within the staff and volunteer team, and to empower and enable them in their own spiritual development and practice.

To be responsible for training within the department for staff and volunteers and also across the Trust to all staff, as part of the Trust’s Learning and Development portfolio.

Maintain and develop relationships with national and regional training providers to ensure that student placements are supported, and the profile of healthcare chaplaincy is promoted.

To work in accordance with the UHN Trust values, policies and procedures, fulfilling statutory and mandatory Trust training requirements and undertaking any necessary training that supports the work of the service.

To be a full registered member of the UK Board of Healthcare Chaplains (UKBHC) and/ or the College of Health Care Chaplains (CHCC).

Planning and Organisation 

To provide financial management for the service and act responsibly as the budget holder.

To co-ordinate a Trust-wide service, including delivery of Service Level Agreements and all spiritual and pastoral care contracts.

To manage the Trust funeral contracts and liaise with the Trust’s Commissioning Service, Medical Examiners, Bereavement Service, Palliative Care Team and all internal and external stakeholders.

Direct patient care 

To be present and available to offer pastoral, spiritual and religious care, and support, regardless of faith background or tradition, to patients, visitors and staff, often making an independent specialist assessment regarding pastoral, spiritual and religious/belief care, particularly at times of crisis, stress, loss, and bereavement.

To be aware of, and sensitive to, the varying religious, cultural, spiritual and pastoral care needs of people and families and to assist staff in responding to these needs.  

To be a skilled communicator and people friendly, to be able to establish and maintain helpful and healthy relationships, sometimes in pastorally challenging, as well as unpredictable, unpleasant and challenging environments.

To lead the service response to traumatic situations, both to patients, families and staff and to provide pastoral counselling, bereavement counselling, trauma risk management and debrief as required.

To be able to adapt to challenging working conditions when required and to work closely and remain compliant with the Trust’s Infection Prevention Control policies and protocols.

To maintain all records and data management in accordance with Information Governance policies and procedures, and to assist in patient project evaluation processes and preparation of all reports as required.

Specialist knowledge and practice

 To provide specialist knowledge of one’s own faith or belief tradition as well as that of other traditions, cultures and faith communities.

To be an informed adviser on ethical issues related to healthcare, especially with regards to birth rites, serious illness, and death and dying.

To maintain an accurate and up to date list of other local or national faith leaders and faith communities who may be able to assist as and when required.

To be responsible for the planning, preparation and (where appropriate) the delivery of faith-based services and other significant festival celebrations in the world faith calendar, respecting the traditions and beliefs of all who work in partnership with the Spiritual and Pastoral Care Service.

To provide such services as required by the wider hospital community and to provide spiritual and pastoral care to the organisation.

To arrange and/or conduct services of naming and blessing of babies who die during pregnancy or around the time of birth and to arrange and/or conduct contract funerals for both babies and adults as required.

To arrange the civil or religious marriages of patients, in extremis, with the Registrar of Births, Marriages and Deaths or the Archbishop’s Faculty Office.

To arrange such Memorial Services and other corporate or public events and services as the Trust requires.

On-call and emergencies 

To co-ordinate and share in the weekday and weekend duties of the service and ensure the duty chaplain rota is maintained and widely known to Switchboard, Duty Directors and all Hospital Managers.

As required by the service, to share in the 24/7 On-Call Out of Hours Service as Trust Duty Chaplain which includes weekend cover as per the rota.  There is a commitment to be ‘on-site’ within 30 - 45 minutes.

To ensure that major incident response and business continuity plans are kept up to date and are well communicated.

Multi-disciplinary practice 

To engage proactively and communicate effectively with colleagues to ensure a multi-disciplinary approach to the provision of spiritual, religious and pastoral care to patients, their families and carers, and to staff, seeking to meet the needs of those of all faiths and philosophies of life.

To be a ‘prophetic voice’ in discussions in multi-disciplinary meetings representing ethical and faith perspectives when appropriate.

To play a full part in discussions where pastoral, spiritual and religious needs of patients might be a component of holistic care-planning.

To be a resource, for all healthcare colleagues, as lead chaplain in this specialist area of work.

Community liaison, participation and representation 

To liaise with community faith leaders and faith community pastoral agencies about the pastoral, spiritual and religious care of patients, visitors and staff and to receive information from such leaders, within the confines of confidentiality.

To be a resource for the Trust for such local and national multi-faith information.

To implement and encourage patient and staff liaison about the work of the service and the Trust’s response to spiritual and religious care issues.