We are looking for an experienced and compassionate Chaplain to join us to provide spiritual, pastoral, and religious care across our Trust.
This rewarding role will offer inclusive support to individuals across a range of mental health and community health settings. You will use skilled pastoral care to support patients, relatives and colleagues experiencing illness, distress, uncertainty, bereavement, or significant life challenges, helping to ensure spiritual needs are recognised as part of a holistic package of care.
The role will involve working with people across inpatient wards, community services and secure or forensic mental health settings. You will need to be confident supporting individuals with complex needs, including those who may be detained under the Mental Health Act, while maintaining compassion, professional boundaries, and a non-judgemental approach. You will demonstrate excellent listening skills, the ability to problem-solve, work proactively, and show leadership, whilst contributing to service development.
The role covers a wide geographical area, offering variety and the opportunity to make lasting change where no two days are likely to be the same. If you would like to discuss the role, please reach out to our chaplaincy email address on the advert.
Please note, references must include one from an acknowledged religious or spiritual leader.
- To engage with the spiritual needs of the Service Users and staff across the Trust
- To be a full, professional and participating member of the Chaplaincy team
- To use active listening and pastoral skills when providing spiritual care
- To assist any individual to make contact with their spiritual or faith community as they request and offer support to them and their community as appropriate
- To facilitate and deliver appropriate, compassionate, generic spiritual care, as required to patients and visitors of all faiths, beliefs and none, respecting, supporting and valuing the diversity of all
- To initiate and undertake relevant educational events to raise awareness of End of Life Care needs/issues in relation to faith and belief
- To support bereaved families and staff
- To promote and foster good ecumenical and inter-faith working relationships within the Chaplaincy
- To deliver general pastoral care to HIOWH staff
- To promote the role of the Chaplaincy service within the Divisions and Trust wide
- To work collaboratively within the Chaplaincy team and MDT settings.
- To support voluntary Chaplaincy within your locality and across the Trust
- To support relevant events and commemorations as required
- To abide by local and national healthcare chaplaincy professional standards and best practice guidelines.
- To engage with staff who have been exposed to critical incidents, providing support and care.
- To work flexibly across multiple sites when required in accordance with the interests of the service.
Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust provides joined-up mental and physical healthcare for around two million people across our communities. With over 13,000 staff working in the community and local hospitals, we deliver care at every stage of life, helping people live their best and healthiest lives.
Our mental health services include community-based support and early intervention in psychosis (EIP) for both adults and young people, alongside a network of specialist inpatient wards covering forensic, learning disability, eating disorder and older person's care.
We deliver extensive physical health services too, from urgent community response teams helping frail and older patients remain safely at home, to hospitals at home teams providing acute-level care in familiar surroundings. Our neurological services offer rehabilitation and treatment for conditions including Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson's Disease, Motor Neurone Disease, Head Injury, Cerebral Palsy and Stroke. Across Hampshire, our community hospitals provide inpatient rehabilitation as a step down from acute care, and our dedicated teams also staff Treetops Sexual Assault Referral Centre in Portsmouth, offering expert, compassionate support.
Everything we do is underpinned by our CARE values of compassion, accountability, respect and excellence
Further information about the Trust and this role can be found on the Job Description and Person Specification document attached. It is important to us that we ensure our recruitment processes are accessible and inclusive to everyone - if as a potential candidate you are concerned a person specification may prevent or restrict your application for employment as a result of unintentional barriers on the grounds of your sex, race, age, sexual orientation, religion/belief or disability please initially contact the Trust's Recruitment team - detailed in the advert. The Trust will seek to resolve this issue wherever possible.
We are happy to talk Flexible Working - all requests for flexible working options can be discussed as part of the interview process.
- Recognised vocational training or equivalent experience or specialism beneficial to chaplaincy provision
- Counselling training
- Critical Incident Support training.
- Willingness to undergo faith specific training if considered necessary
- Significant experience of working as an NHS healthcare chaplain or equivalent specialist skills, providing staff teaching on spiritual care, delivering spiritual, pastoral and religious care and support to those of all faiths and no faith.
- Knowledge of bereavement theory and significant experience of supporting the dying and bereaved
- This is an area which requires the practice of significant pastoral care skills. For example, ministry, social work, counselling, caring for the sick, vulnerable and those requiring spiritual care at the end of life.
- Leading, teaching, facilitating group work.
- Counselling skills supported by appropriate training.
- Experience of working in a secure setting or with MOJ background.
- Evidence of chaplaincy related training courses attended.
- Demonstrates clarity and breadth in use of verbal and written communications in relation to patient group.
- Smart and professional appearance, in line with Trust Uniform policy.
- Compassionate, warm, approachable personality.
- Motivated.
- Upholds and promotes behaviour such as honesty, kindness, caring for others, integrity.
- Be emotionally, mentally and spiritually resilient and able to handle pressure/stress.
- Able to be self- supporting but know when to ask for help when needed.
- Good self-direction, also ability to take direction as well as give direction.
- Non-judgmental and open.
- Sensitive to others.
- Enthusiasm for personal and professional development.
- Car/Motorcycle rider/driver, with full driving license.
- Travel and work at, or between, sites necessary for patient visits/ community work/ specialist support/ training and team meetings.
- Evidence of a healthy work/life balance, to bring depth and richness to the Trust through wider interests and ideas.
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
