Chaplain

Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust - Department of Spiritual & Pastoral Care

Post: 1 WTE Band 6 Chaplain Full time post. Part time applicants will be considered.

The ecumenical, multi-faith team of Chaplains which covers both campuses of this Hospital Trust currently has a vacancy for a Band 6 Chaplain.

This is a Band 6 role and applicants will need to demonstrate healthcare chaplaincy experience, with an aptitude for sensitive pastoral working in this context.

Applicants will have accreditation/licensing with authority to practice as a religion or belief (including non-religious beliefs) leader/representative and/or pastoral worker.

The role involves weekend working and daytime and overnight on-call.

As a member of the Department of Spiritual and Pastoral Care team, you will assist in the delivery of appropriate and sensitive spiritual, pastoral and religious care. This provision is for patients, staff, and visitors across the Trust. The provision is offered equally for those of any particular faith/belief and those who do not identify with any.

The role requires a person-centred approach that employs active listening skills. This Band 6 role requires experienced and proficient pastoral practitioners. It requires the ability, where required, to facilitate religious rites and sacraments. Chaplains practice in accordance with the Guidelines and Code of conduct of the UK Board of Healthcare Chaplaincy.

Chaplains share in the provision of 24-hour on-call cover; assessing and providing pastoral, spiritual, and religious care needs. Scheduled interactions, crisis situations, and responding to emergency calls are part of the role. It also includes delivering training, supervising students, developing the chaplaincy service within the Trust, and working collaboratively with other healthcare professionals. Frequent involvement in end-of-life care is to be expected, including peri-natal loss and conducting baby funerals.

With over 19,000 staff, we are one of the biggest employers in the city with a central role in supporting the health and wellbeing of our local population. We play a leading role in research, education, and innovation.

Come and join our wonderful team at NUH. We are big believers in diversity and welcome new ideas to help develop our team in order to deliver world-class healthcare to the vast patient populations we serve. With endless personal development opportunities available, at NUH we will endeavour to turn your job into a career!

We particularly welcome applications from people who identify as Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic, or Disabled, as we are striving to be better represented at NUH.

MAIN DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Contribute to the effective working of the Spiritual and Pastoral Care team:
1. Ensure good communication and collaboration with all members of the Spiritual and Pastoral Care Department.
2. Follow established procedures and policies.
3. Opportunity 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 NUH Major Incident Plan into action for Spiritual and Pastoral Care when required.
4. Share in the daytime duty rota.
5. Receive and respond to referrals from members of the healthcare team.
6. Assist in the planning of the work of Spiritual and Pastoral Care students.
7. Participate in particular projects and operational groups as directed by the Spiritual and Pastoral Care Manager.
8. Prepare and disseminate briefing material, reports, and liturgical material as directed by the Spiritual and Pastoral Care Manager.
9. Assist with Spiritual and Pastoral Care service developments, including Major Incident planning and implementation.
10. Contribute to audit and research within Chaplaincy practice.

Provide pastoral and spiritual care:

1. Assess spiritual health and wellbeing needs, develop spiritual care plans, and keep written and electronic records.
2. Manage referrals and determine a timely response.
3. Maintain confidentiality and obtain informed consent.
4. 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.
5. Protect individuals from all unwanted visits, including visits from faith community or belief group representatives, and communicate this to third parties as appropriate.
6. Maintain effective and consistent links with designated clinical areas.
7. Work collaboratively alongside other professionals of all grades.
8. Articulate need on behalf of an individual when required.

Provide or facilitate religious care:

1. Deliver ritual consistent with one’s own faith or belief tradition.
2. Devise, co-ordinate and lead ritual to meet particular needs e.g. memorial services for staff.
3. 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 washing of deceased patients, sacrament of the sick.
4. Conduct funerals.
5. Organise rites and sacraments that cannot be undertaken by the post holder to be administered by a suitable colleague or community faith/belief leader.
6. Make referrals to appropriate faith/belief leaders and community ministers of religion at the patient’s request and with their consent.
7. Establish effective links with faith/belief leaders in the community.
8. Record all assessments and interventions in patient information system.

Provide support for staff:

1. Model working relationships that respect the integrity of others.
2. Schedule time for staff as service users.
3. Assess and respond to staff pastoral and spiritual needs (individual or collective).
4. Respect confidence in responding to requests for personal support from members of staff and placement students.
5. Maintain awareness of issues, changes and conditions that may affect staff wellbeing.
6. Collaborate with other relevant departments in promoting staff wellbeing.
7. Identify other sources of staff support and, with consent, facilitate referral.

Providing training and education:

1. Identify the learning needs of self and others.
2. Contribute to the planning and delivery of learning opportunities.
3. Contribute to the selection, training and supervision of students.
4. Train and oversee trainee chaplains.
5. Contribute to Trust and/or Departmental Induction Programme for new staff.
6. Present education and training sessions to a variety of internal and external groups.

Contribute to the professional development of Spiritual and Pastoral Care:

1. Maintain an up-to-date understanding of the theory and practice of Spiritual and Pastoral Care.
2. Maintain an awareness of research relevant to Spiritual and Pastoral Care.
3. Facilitate, as agreed with the Spiritual and Pastoral Care Manager, the administrative, development, and reflective practice processes of the Department.
4. Assist with audits, service reviews, and research as directed by the Spiritual and Pastoral Care Manager.

Personal and Professional Development:

1. Develop and maintain up-to-date knowledge, understanding and skills relevant to the duties of the job e.g. critical care, pastoral practice.
2. Identify personal learning needs.
3. Participate in the Development Review Process (Appraisal).
4. Maintain agreed personal and professional development.
5. Practice in accordance with the principles of the UK Board of Healthcare Chaplaincy Code of Conduct, Spiritual & Religious Care Capabilities & Competences for Healthcare Chaplain, and Standards for Healthcare Chaplaincy Services.
6. Develop as a reflective practitioner and receive regular supervision.
7. Maintain a personal discipline within the integrity of the post holder’s own faith or belief tradition e.g. meditation.

Contribute to the effective working of the Trust:

1. Follow Trust policies and procedures.
2. Embody Trust values.
3. Undertake mandatory training.
4. Participate in relevant Trust-wide activities.
5. Represent Spiritual and Pastoral Care in healthcare teams (e.g. MDTs) in the Trust.
6. Represent Spiritual and Pastoral Care at relevant functions and events.
7. Create and lead corporate acts which have spiritual significance, e.g. Acts of Remembrance.