Team Chaplain (Church of England)

Job overview

Team Chaplain (Church of England)

15 hours per week (2 days a week for 3 out of 4 weeks. The fourth week would be 1 working day and weekend cover)

Permanent

Salary: £38,682 - £46,580 per annum pro rata

Closing Date: 27th February 2026

Interview Date: TBC

**This post may close early due to high numbers of applications, so you are advised to apply promptly. **

All correspondence for this vacancy will be sent by email; please check your account regularly including your Junk and SPAM areas.

A great and friendly place to work, so bring your passion, commitment and expertise and enjoy the opportunities to make a difference every day.

We welcome applications from the Armed Forces Community – get in touch to find out more

#JoinTeamEliot

To be part of the multi-faith and belief team of Chaplains; a service and profession working within the George Eliot Hospital NHS Trust. The team is focused on ensuring that all people in the care of GEH, however self-defined in terms of beliefs, have the opportunity to access spiritual/existential, pastoral, religious, and or ritual person-centred care and support when they need it (NHS Guidelines 2023).

Main duties of the job

We are looking to appoint a permanent part-time (0.4 wte) Team Chaplain (Church of England) with at least 3 years spiritual/existential, pastoral, and religious/ritual leadership, or relevant experience to meet the needs of our diverse service.

• You must be able to work flexibly and creatively to deliver effective pastoral, spiritual, existential, religious and ritual care within an acute Trust that is investing in its Chaplaincy service.
• You will also be part of the Trust Chaplaincy 24/7 on-call provision via a rota system.
• You will have an in-depth knowledge of spiritual and pastoral care as well as an understanding and knowledge of other major faith, belief and spirituality expressions and traditions outside of your own. Though you carry your own tradition, you will be a part of an inclusive Chaplaincy team that supports the whole Trust.
• All Chaplains work inclusively within the Team. The Chaplains work closely with a variety of departments and staff within the Trust.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• Be a person of integrity within their own faith/belief/spirituality tradition. If planning to practice as part of their belief or spirituality tradition, to be able to provide endorsement of their capacity to practice.
• Be a person committed to personal reflection and continued learning in their faith/belief/spirituality tradition and field of work.
• Be an informed, visible, and active presence in the hospital, visiting patients and staff in wards and departments frequently; ensuring that the spiritual/existential, pastoral, religious and/or ritual needs of all patients, staff and relatives are met through a person-centred framework.
• Be readily available to relatives and patients, particularly those who are bereaved or struggling with diagnosis, and those who are close to the end of life, to ensure that sensitive, efficient, and appropriate spiritual care is always given.
• Ensure that suitable religious or non-religious services, rites, and ceremonies (e.g., naming ceremonies, baptism/dedication of extremely ill babies, washing of deceased patients, administering sacraments) are made available to all who require them, at any stage of life, without discrimination and in consultation with ward staff and the patient’s belief community as appropriate.
• To facilitate, when requested, visits to patients by representatives of their own belief tradition/s.
• To work with the maternity and neonatal teams to offer support to parents and families experiencing baby loss at any stage of gestation, or the care of extremely ill babies.
• Plan, organise, and conduct adult contract funerals, baby funerals (at any stage of gestation), as well as thanksgiving, memorial, and other services as required, always respecting the belief tradition and needs of others, in a manner authentic to the Chaplain.
• Plan, organise and conduct services of worship or spaces that hold non-religious significance, in accordance with their own belief tradition.

10.Ensure that the multi-faith/belief chapel and waiting areas are properly maintained and accessible to all.

• Autonomously and diligently offer general and specific encouragement to staff, offering time and space for supportive listening and counsel when sought.
• Autonomously contribute to education programs within the Trust to enhance understanding of spiritual, existential, cultural, and religious/ritual needs of patients and staff.

13.Identify opportunities to collaboratively improve the Chaplaincy service to provide the best patient and staff care within the resources available.

14.Work with the rest of the Chaplaincy team in a spirit of unity, as well as the wider Trust to make the hospital a place of equality for people of all faiths, beliefs, spiritualities and none.

15.To be a part of the Chaplaincy response within the Trust’s major incident plans and response.

To ensure that Chaplaincy volunteers are trained and supervised the team Chaplain will be required to assist, facilitate, or take a lead in:

16.Supervising and supporting members of the Chaplaincy Pastoral Volunteer team and in appointing and training prospective members.

17.Helping to facilitate training, teaching and reflective practice sessions as required. To ensure safety, accountability and continuity of care, the team Chaplain will be required to:

18.Keep adequate records of all services and activity, in order to contribute to the evaluation and audit of the work of the Chaplaincy team as a whole.

19.Participate in the 24/7 emergency on-call rota to provide Chaplaincy support to any who require it. When on-call, the Chaplain must be able to be able to respond to calls, which includes being onsite on site and telephone advice. When a request relates to another religion or belief group the on-call Chaplain will seek to access appropriate support from the list of available support within the Chaplaincy office.

20.Participate in the Chaplaincy rota, which includes weekend working and on-call.

21.Be subject to annual Appraisal by the Lead Chaplain.

22.Undertake regular measurement, data collection and evaluation of Chaplaincy work and current practices using evidence-based practice projects, audit, and outcome measures, either individually or with the team.

23.Work within the current NHS Chaplaincy Guidelines, UKBHC Code of Conduct and any other relevant policy or guidance from Public Health England, and NHS and United Kingdom Board of Healthcare Chaplaincy.

24.Have awareness of current development within the field of healthcare Chaplaincy, the NHS and local healthcare.

25.Be a fully participant member of the Chaplaincy team, making a priority of team meetings and reflective practice, and seeking to maintain high morale and sound team relationships.

• Monitoring one’s own quality of practice as appropriate and engage in continuing professional development.

27.Receive regular pastoral supervision from an approved supervisor to reflect on practice (self-sought/provided).

28.Be responsible for one’s own spiritual development and the maintenance of a healthy work/life balance.

29.Undertake any other tasks as required by the Team Leader in accordance with the grade and nature of the post, as required.

30.Deputise for the Team Leader as required.

31.Participate in providing short term cover for colleagues during periods of annual leave or sickness.

Special Requirements

Chaplains, representative of specific religions or belief viewpoints, are appointed to reflect the belief and cultural demography of the George Eliot patient and staff community. Each Chaplain has responsibility for ensuring that the spiritual and religious needs of people of their own religious/belief tradition are met, while equally, also having a duty of care to people of any or no religion.

Non-Catholic/Church of England/Free Church Christian Chaplain: Special responsibilities

• Organise, publicise, prepare, and preside (or arrange presidency) at services of Holy Communion/ecumenical services in the hospital; and find ways to provide prayer or meditation possibilities through the week, to ensure that the spiritual and pastoral needs of all patients and staff are met.
• Be a point of reference for members of local churches, parishes, and individuals, to enable sensitive, efficient and appropriate care to be given at all times.
• Work with the Lead Chaplain to maintain a list of local Christian representatives who are willing and able to be contacted for support or advice for Christian patients when the Christian Chaplain is not available, in accordance with all criteria for volunteers within the Trust.

For a full comprehensive list of main responsibilities and duties, please kindly refer to job description and personal specification attached.