Spiritual Wellbeing Practitioner

Job overview

At NHFT we hold the view that spiritual care begins with encouraging human contact in compassionate relationships. This entails creating safe and secure spaces for people to talk about the things that matter most to them, to explore what give their lives meaning and purpose in life. The service is highly regarded and its development with diverse and culturally aware practitioners continues to be a priority for the organisation.

Our Spiritual Wellbeing Practitioners/Chaplains work in partnership with multidisciplinary healthcare colleagues to care for the spiritual and religious needs of patients, carers and staff across the Trust. The role is to cover two hospices in the county (Cynthia Spencer Hospice and Cransley Hospice) and requires being a visible and supportive presence, working proactively to provide a listening ear for patients, carers, and staff.

At NHFT, we operate a model of chaplaincy where our Spiritual Wellbeing practitioners work inclusively to journey alongside people of all faith communities, belief systems and none. Sensitivity to a range of presenting needs and being person-centered is key. This role therefore requires passion and enthusiasm for working in this way.

Main duties of the job

• Continually update knowledge of culture, diversity, spiritual and religious care, current policy, and research evidence relevant to spiritual care services. Use this to promote and develop safe, effective, and inclusive practice with multidisciplinary colleagues to support people of all backgrounds
• Provide spiritual wellbeing training and education to  staff
• Actively participate in Trust level groups, meetings and forums, as well as wider spiritual wellbeing activities
• Hold and lead communal spaces with appropriate role authority in the context of issues and events that require bringing people together for connection, recognition and action (e.g. memorial services and incident planning for unexpected events)
• Work alongside the Service Manager and Volunteer Manager to select, train and supervise Spiritual Wellbeing volunteers and Honorary Chaplains
• Maintain and develop external connections with a range of faith leaders and community support groups to better support the needs of our culturally diverse patients, service users, carers and staff
• Given the frequent exposure to distressing or emotional situations, engagement in regular reflective practice and supervision is an essential aspect of the role to support personal wellbeing as well as for informing professional practice
• The post involves occasional outdoor work

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

For further information on the advertised role, please refer to the job description located under the Supporting Documents heading. The full person specification can be accessed under the ‘About You’ Section of the document