Healthcare Chaplain - The Kingfisher, Blackberry Hill, Bristol
Job Description
Job summary
Are you passionate about delivering high-quality spiritual and pastoral care within a dynamic mental health , learning disability and autism setting? We are seeking a dedicated and compassionate Healthcare Chaplain to join our team at The kingfisher This role offers a unique opportunity to provide meaningful support to patients, carers, and staff in an environment where care and understanding are at the heart of what we do.
As a key member of our multidisciplinary team, you will play a vital role in offering pastoral, spiritual, ethical, and religious support. You will work across inpatient units and the wider community, ensuring that holistic, person-centred care is accessible to all. Representing a faith group, denomination, or philosophical tradition, you will provide compassionate support to individuals of all faiths and none, while also responding to specific religious or spiritual needs as they arise.
This is a rare and exciting opportunity to contribute to the development of a new specialist service that aims to set the standard for excellence in acute inpatient mental health care for individuals with learning disabilities and autism. By joining Avon and Wiltshire Partnership (AWP), you will become part of a forward-thinking team committed to designing and delivering a care model that supports people to achieve meaningful recovery and live their best lives.
Main duties of the job
As a Healthcare Chaplain, you will:
Provide spiritual and pastoral care tailored to the needs of service users, staff, and carers within an acute mental health and learning disability setting.
Work within an inpatient unit and community environments, including service user's homes ensuring accessible and inclusive care.
Collaborate with the Trusts multi-faith and belief chaplaincy team to deliver holistic support.
Demonstrate sensitivity and respect for individuals from diverse faiths, beliefs, and cultural traditions.
If you would like further information we would be very pleased to have a conversation with you in person or virtually, prior to you submitting your application. Please contact: gareth.lovell@nhs.net
About us
We are AWP (Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust): a diverse organisation with over 5,000 dedicated staff providing inpatient and community-based mental health care.
We provide services from a range of locations to approximately 1.8 million people living in Bath and North East Somerset (B&NES), Bristol, North Somerset, South Gloucestershire, Swindon, across the county of Wiltshire and in parts of Dorset.
Our outstanding people promote mental health and wellbeing. The expertise and resources within AWP are dedicated to a person-centred approach for those who use our services and for all employees. We recognise that happy and fulfilled employees give better care.
AWP is committed to support and create a positive research and evidence-based environment and culture, which can have a beneficial impact on everyone who works for the organisation and the care we provide to those who use our services.
At AWP we actively encourage applicants from all backgrounds; we are particularly keen to encourage applications from people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, those with disabilities and from the LGBTQ+ community. We want people to bring their unique blend of experiences, backgrounds, perspectives and knowledge to AWP, as diversity makes us stronger.
Job responsibilities
Provide comprehensive spiritual, pastoral, and religious care to service users, staff, and carers.
Deliver personalised emotional and spiritual support based on individual needs.
Respond promptly to emergency requests in coordination with healthcare teams.
Conduct prayers, religious services, and meaningful rituals consistent with your faith or philosophical tradition.
Adhere to NHS Chaplaincy guidelines under the leadership of the Chaplaincy Team Leader.
Work collaboratively with healthcare teams to incorporate spiritual care into patient care plans.
Participate actively in Chaplaincy Team Meetings and regular supervision sessions.
Ensure the availability of appropriate resources for religious or spiritual support.
Educate healthcare staff about your faith or philosophical tradition to enhance the quality of care provided.
Maintain accurate records to support effective and coordinated care delivery.
Follow all policies and procedures to uphold safety standards for yourself and others.
Serve as a knowledgeable resource on your faith community, offering local and national guidance as needed.
Please refer to the full Job Description and Person specification attached to this advert which will provide further information on this role
Person Specification
Education and Qualification
Essential
- Bachelor's Degree (or equivalent work or life experience) with demonstrable learning in a relevant field such as counselling, pastoral care, psychology, psychotherapy, religious studies or theology.
- Endorsement to practice as a healthcare chaplain by a recognised/established sponsoring faith community or belief group
- Evidence of annual continued professional development relevant to healthcare chaplaincy to UKBHC standards
Desirable
- Postgrad qualification (or equivalent life of work experience or working towards) with demonstrable outcomes of learning relevant to healthcare chaplaincy
- It is not compulsory for Chaplains to be registered with UKBHC but the Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care recommends choosing them from an Accredited Register
- Qualification (or working towards) in pastoral supervision (such as those recommended by APSE), coaching management, or leadership.
Experience and Knowledge
Essential
- Approximately 1600 hours of professionally supervised clinical practice as a designated healthcare chaplain.
- Demonstrable knowledge of tenants of own faith/belief tradition.
- Knowledge of and engagement of faith/belief traditions beyond your own.
- Offer spiritual care beyond own faith/ belief boundaries with evidence of commitment to an inclusive approach to chaplaincy
- Evidence of reflecting critically on the practice and experience of providing pastoral care. Evidence of fining or searching for meaning through exploration of spiritual issues encountered in sickness, mental health, dying, death and bereavement.
- Evidence of the ability to manage time, prioritising workload including a commitment to continuity of service provision.
- Engagement with safeguarding, information governance, audit, service evaluation or research
Desirable
- Evidence that the candidate proactively practices CPD. Knowledge of current research in spirituality in healthcare.
- Experience of supervising volunteers or healthcare pastoral assistants/care workers.
- Training in research, audit and service evaluation.
Skills and Abilities
Essential
- Evidence of working collaboratley, contributing to team and sustaining positive working relationships with colleagues.
- Evidence of establishing and sustaining relationships in pastorally complex and challenging environments demonstrating empathy and compassion while taking personal responsibility and initiative.
- Evidence of fluent and effective communication in speech and writing
Desirable
- Deliver training at a variety of levels.
- Adapt ritual (which can come from a wide variety of sources), in an appropriate style to context in clinical environments
Other Requirements
Essential
- Ability to create and lead ritual or other spiritual process in a way that is sensitive to the pastoral context and faith/belief needs of those present
- A professional Chaplaincy identity rooted in one's own religious/spiritual/pastoral heritage that integrates professional values and behaviors skills and specialist knowledge (vocational canon).
- Enhanced use of self in chaplaincy practice including emotional availability, cultural humility, appropriate self-disclosure, positive use of power and authority, and clear and responsible boundaries.
- A high degree of personal stability and resilience to cope with significance stress on a sustained basis.
- Ability to apply theoretical knowledge of ethical issues relating to health care.
Desirable
- Cultural competence and religious literacy in diverse religious, spiritual and pastoral traditions
- Ability to lead reflective practice.
- Act as an informed theological/philosophical and ethical resource in complex pastoral and clinical situations.
- Demonstrable evidence of self-care to enhance resilience or manage stress. E.g. Meditation, prayer, exercise, journaling, hydration, reflective supervision.
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
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