Job summary
We are looking for an innovative, experienced, highly motivated person to work as full time Deputy Head of Chaplaincy, predominately based on the Colchester Hospital site, but available to work across other Trust sites across East Suffolk and North Essex when necessary.
You will work closely with the Head of Chaplaincy to ensure the provision of high quality pastoral, spiritual and religious care to ESNEFT patients, visitors, volunteers and staff of all faiths and beliefs.
You will have a high degree of self-awareness and a real aptitude for sensitively coming alongside all those who use and provide our Trust services. You will be a reflective chaplaincy practitioner who constantly strives to improve your own practice and that of the chaplaincy team.
You will be able to work collaboratively as part of a team of Trust chaplains, bank chaplains, honorary faith and belief group chaplains, and chaplaincy volunteers. You will be able to encourage and develop those under your leadership. You will deputise for the Head of Chaplaincy in their absence.
You will relate well to the wider Trust and community, building and maintaining excellent working relationships with Trust colleagues, multi-disciplinary healthcare teams and community partners.
You will share in maintaining a 24/7 on-call service and weekend working.
Endorsement from your faith community or belief group is essential.
Main duties of the job
- To provide visible leadership for the provision of high-quality pastoral, spiritual and religious care to patients, carers, relatives, visitors, volunteers and staff. You will ensure all care is sensitive to their needs, culture, background, faith and belief, including where people do not think of themselves as being religious.
- To co-ordinate and participate in the rota for 24 hour on-call cover. You will address the urgent pastoral, spiritual and religious needs of patients, relatives and staff and be flexible in dealing with an unpredictable work pattern due to unexpected requests.
- To provide leadership, line management, and development of the Chaplaincy Team on the Colchester Hospital site. You will also ensure the visible pastoral presence of the chaplains at Colchester, Clacton and Harwich hospitals.
- To co-ordinate and enable team-working. You will work within a multi-faith, multi-belief, ecumenical chaplaincy team of both ordained and lay people, including chaplaincy volunteers.
About us
We are ESNEFT and we provide hospital and community health services to almost one million people across east Suffolk and north Essex. Our dedicated staff deliver care from acute hospitals in Colchester and Ipswich, community hospitals, surgeries, community clinics and in patients' own homes.
We are one of the largest NHS organisations in England, employing more than 12,000 staff.
We pride ourselves on supporting our staff. We offer a wide range of training and development opportunities, as well as flexible working options.
Along with supporting you to achieve your career goals we offer a generous pension scheme, unsocial hours payments (where applicable), 27 days annual leave on commencement (pro rata) and access to a range of NHS discounts. Our Staff Health and Wellbeing programme offer a variety of services.
Our philosophy is that Time Matters to everyone. Across the Trust, we concentrate on improving the things we do and removing those which cause time delays for our staff and patients.
We are investing in our commitment to Time Matters with a partnership with leading electronic patient record (EPR) supplier Epic. This digital transformation will bring what's widely regarded as the world's best EPR system to ESNEFT, transforming life in hospital for staff and patients.
If you are passionate about patient care and want to develop your skills and knowledge, then we want to hear from you.
Find out about living and working here - www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkPu7HphU8A
Job description
Job responsibilities
For full details of the responsibilities and duties of this role please see the attached job description.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Educated to Masters level in healthcare chaplaincy, or equivalent learning experience in theology or other area relevant to healthcare chaplaincy
- Ordained, licensed or endorsed and in current good standing with own faith or belief community.
Desirable
- Further studies relating to chaplaincy, counselling, pastoral care, pastoral supervision, mentoring or spiritual direction.
- UKBHC Registered Chaplain
- Debrief trained e.g. Psychological First Aid
- Trained Mental Health First Aider
Experience
Essential
- Significant proven experience in a full-time healthcare chaplaincy post.
- Substantial experience of providing pastoral, spiritual and religious care.
- Experience of supporting individuals through difficult and/or distressing circumstances.
- Experience of working with multi-faith or belief groups and ecumenical teams.
- Specialised healthcare chaplaincy experience (e.g. mental health, end of life care, care of older people etc.)
- Experience of providing chaplaincy advice within a Trust and externally.
Desirable
- Experience in creating and delivering training programmes.
- Experience in leading, managing, and motivating people.
- Previous experience of working with multi-disciplinary teams.
- Experience of managing and training chaplaincy volunteers.
- Experience of supervising students on placement.
- Experience of undertaking research, service evaluation, and audit.
Knowledge
Essential
- Knowledge and understanding of national policies and procedures relevant to the provision of an acute healthcare chaplaincy service, including knowledge of the NHS, its structures and services.
- Understanding of the dynamics of large NHS organisations, and the opportunities and challenges experienced by chaplaincy services in such healthcare settings.
- Extensive knowledge and insight into pastoral, spiritual and religious care and the work of healthcare chaplaincy.
- In depth knowledge of own faith/belief group teaching, traditions and practices; and the ability to apply this knowledge in a healthcare context - particularly in relation to birth, death and illness.
- Working knowledge of faith and belief systems, rituals and practices other than one's own; and the ability to apply this knowledge working in a secular multi-cultural, multi-faith and belief context.
- Specialist knowledge relating to the provision of pastoral, spiritual and religious care i.e. mental health, end of life, bereavement.
Desirable
- Knowledge of how to line manage one or more members of staff and undertake their development, including through the use of HR policies.
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
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.
Employer details
Employer name
East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust
Address
Colchester General Hospital
Colchester
CO4 5JL