Head of Chaplaincy and Spiritual Health Care

at  Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust

We have an exciting opportunity for a permanent Lead Chaplain to coordinate and lead our well established and highly respected Chaplaincy team. We are looking for a compassionate, caring and reliable leader with at least two years demonstrable acute healthcare chaplaincy experience who is in good standing with their faith or belief community.
This role would require excellent leadership and communication skills to be able to work in collaboration with members of staff across our hospital community.
The chaplaincy team provides high quality pastoral, spiritual and religious care to all patients, visitors and staff regardless of their worldview.
The Lead Chaplain will drive change across the organisation, in line with national and local guidance and in response to patient/staff feedback processes.
They will work with multi-disciplinary teams across the Trust including palliative/end of life care and bereavement as well as our staff wellbeing lead.
This role will offer supervision and mentoring to the chaplains, lay staff and chaplaincy volunteers, as well as develop and deliver training and education programmes relating to pastoral and spiritual care for staff.
This role requires a person who is able to provide out of hours on-call provision, has a driving licence, and is able to drive from home to the hospital as required (within 1 hour).
To lead the Chaplaincy and Spiritual Healthcare Team, providing leadership and management for the team of experienced Chaplains from multiple faith backgrounds.
To ensure comprehensive provision of pastoral and spiritual healthcare provision for patients, staff and visitors, working in collaboration with multi-disciplinary teams across the Trust.
To effectively manage the Chaplaincy budget and Charity Fund, ensuring sufficient provision of services and managing contracts.
To plan and conduct the provision of regular and appropriate acts of religious observance, and respond quickly to requests for baptism and marriage where the patient has a life-threatening condition.
To provide expert facilitation and training for staff in relation to pastoral and spiritual care, including debriefing following challenging cases.
To develop the future direction of the Spiritual Health Care department and provision of spiritual and pastoral care across the Trust, including the development of Mindfulness provision.
This post will lead the Spiritual Healthcare Team. It sits within the wider Patient Experience Department. This is a broad department focusing on a range of patient experience issues for the benefits of patients and staff.
The team is part of the Chief Nursing Officer’s Corporate Directorate.
The team are all passionate about supporting the spiritual health care needs of our patients, visitors and staff, and support each other to deliver the best for all these groups..
You will spend the majority of your time based at the Royal Berkshire Hospital.
As Lead Chaplain be responsible for the operational development, oversight and implementation of spiritual, religious and pastoral care provision throughout The Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust within chaplaincy standards and in line with the Trust’s chaplaincy policy and objectives.
To be accountable to the Head of Patient Experience in developing, sharing and implementing the protocols, policies and procedures for the Chaplaincy Team, in accordance with Trust and national professional and practice codes and policies as they apply to healthcare chaplains, as well as sit on Trust Commitees.
Ensure systems are in place for audit, reviewing the implementation of local and national policies and guidelines.
Manage external contracts, respond to complaints and undertake appropriate risk assessment and management for chaplaincy-related activities.
To be accountable to the Head of Patient Experience in identifying the need for and implementing service changes as necessary and in response to emerging service pressures and to ensure that these changes are consistent with healthcare chaplaincy nationally.
Undertake and publish an annual review of Chaplaincy services, an accompanying action plan and prepare reports for managers, Trust committees, Trust Board and Ecclesiastical Authorities as requested.
Facilitate open and inclusive discussions regarding the future direction of chaplaincy, working with the Head of Patient Experience in the development of a Spiritual Care Strategic Framework.
Responsible for ensuring effective collaboration with the Trust’s healthcare and multi-disciplinary teams in the development of care plans for patients, highlighting the significance of spiritual care in health and wellbeing across the Trust, as well as visiting patients, carers, relatives and staff regularly and, when requested, caring for the seriously ill, the dying and the bereaved in consultation with medical and nursing staff.
Effectively manage the chaplaincy budget, ensuring appropriate provision of Spiritual Healthcare services, including 24/7 on-call provision, while maintaining robust and accurate financial records, as well as managing the Chaplaincy Charity Fund, including raising additional funds and identifying appropriate uses for it.
Maintain records of all patients visited, services taken, sacramental and religious rites performed, and emergency calls dealt with, including response times, especially in terms of developing local relationships, and fostering understanding of the relationship between health, religion and spirituality.
Maintain ways of meeting the religious needs of RBFT patients and staff, including liaising with representatives of regional and nation-wide religious groups and communities and remain up to date on key historical and contemporary issues in spiritual healthcare, integrating these into the current work and future direction of the chaplaincy.
To conduct or plan the provision of regular and appropriate acts of religious observance and ensure that the spaces and resources required for these observances are appropriately managed.
To respond quickly to requests for baptism and marriage where the patient has a life-threatening condition and, when necessary, work with the local Superintendent Registrar.
To lead in the provision of Chaplaincy response to Major Incidents, according to the Trust Major Incident Plan, ensuring relevant training for all Chaplaincy Team Members.
Manage patient care/clinical responsibilities while adhering to the Code of Professional Conduct as laid down by the College of Healthcare Chaplains.
Maintain professional and courteous working relationships with staff, respecting the equality and diversity of each person, while upholding the Trust’s values and behaving in a manner fitting with the responsible position of the post holder, maintaining the public confidence.

To provide professional leadership and line management of the chaplaincy team, including recruiting, inducting, supervising, and training new members of the team, as well as providing effective management of Chaplaincy team direct reports such as appraisals, monitoring training managing sickness, performance and conduct issues.
Management oversight of the recruitment, training, resourcing and support of volunteers, such as our Compassionate Companions, providing opportunities for development and reflective practice.
To lead on the provision of support and supervision for staff working towards higher-level practice in spiritual, religious and pastoral care.
To advise on, design and to provide expert facilitation and training for staff in relation to pastoral and spiritual care, including debriefing following challenging cases, managing spiritual distress, presenting education and training events within specialist or higher education programmes, and delivering specialised supervision, training and education for other professionals to promote good practice in spiritual care.
To oversee the development and delivery of the Trust’s mindfulness provision, working in partnership with our psychology and wellbeing teams.
Be responsible for the provision of information and resources regarding the specific spiritual, religious and pastoral needs of people of all worldviews, promoting good practice in spiritual care across the Trust.
Provide expert consultation and advice to other staff on the management of spiritual care needs of their patients and act as an informed resource in complex ethical, theological, pastoral and spiritual care encounters with individuals and the institution.
Responsible for the establishing and maintaining of links with local faith and belief groups in the community with the aim of both, increasing their awareness and understanding of spiritual healthcare.
This job description is not exhaustive and will be subject to periodic review in association with the post-holder