Head of Chaplaincy & Spiritual Care Services.
East Lancashire Hospitals NHS TrustAt East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust our vision is to be widely recognised for providing safe, personal and effective care. We currently provide high quality services and treat over 600,000 people across East Lancashire and the surrounding area. We employ over 9,500 staff, many of whom are internationally renowned and have won awards for their work.
Job overview
To provide strategic leadership and operational management of the Chaplaincy and Spiritual Care Service across the Trust, ensuring high-quality, inclusive pastoral, spiritual, and religious care for patients, families, carers, and staff, in line with NHS England Chaplaincy Guidelines (2023) and UKBHC standards
Advert
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Leadership & Governance
- Lead and manage the multi-faith chaplaincy team, honorary chaplains, and volunteers.
- Develop, implement, and evaluate the Trust’s Spiritual Care Strategy.
- Ensure compliance with Equality Act 2010 and UKBHC Code of Conduct.
- Manage departmental budget and charitable funds.
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Service Delivery
- Provide pastoral, spiritual, and religious care to patients, staff, and families.
- Ensure 24/7 on-call provision for urgent spiritual care needs.
- Organise and lead acts of worship, memorial services, and sacraments as required.
- Respond to referrals from clinical teams and deliver specialist spiritual care programs.
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Staff Wellbeing & Education
- Offer staff support, debriefing, and reflective practice sessions.
- Deliver training on spiritual care for clinical and non-clinical staff.
- Support suicide prevention and trauma response initiatives.
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Partnership & Engagement
- Liaise with local faith and belief communities.
- Promote inclusive access for all religions and beliefs, including non-religious pastoral care.
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Quality & Assurance
- Monitor service performance using UKBHC audit tools.
- Report to Quality & Patient Experience Committees.
- Maintain information governance compliance for chaplaincy records.
Working for our organisation
At East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust (ELHT), we care for over 600,000 people across five hospital sites and community services. Our vision is to provide safe, personal, and effective care every time. We are proud of our inclusive culture and commitment to staff wellbeing and development.
We are seeking an experienced and compassionate Head of Chaplaincy & Spiritual Care Services to lead and develop our multi-faith chaplaincy team. This is a senior leadership role responsible for ensuring high-quality, inclusive spiritual, religious, and pastoral care for patients, families, and staff across the Trust.
You will:
- Provide strategic leadership and operational management of the Chaplaincy & Spiritual Care Service.
- Ensure compliance with NHS England Chaplaincy Guidelines and UKBHC standards.
- Deliver staff wellbeing initiatives, including reflective practice and critical incident support.
- Build strong partnerships with local faith and belief communities.
- Lead service development, workforce planning, and governance reporting.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
-
Leadership & Governance
- Lead and manage the multi-faith chaplaincy team, honorary chaplains, and volunteers.
- Develop, implement, and evaluate the Trust’s Spiritual Care Strategy.
- Ensure compliance with Equality Act 2010 and UKBHC Code of Conduct.
- Manage departmental budget and charitable funds.
-
Service Delivery
- Provide pastoral, spiritual, and religious care to patients, staff, and families.
- Ensure 24/7 on-call provision for urgent spiritual care needs.
- Organise and lead acts of worship, memorial services, and sacraments as required.
- Respond to referrals from clinical teams and deliver specialist spiritual care programs.
-
Staff Wellbeing & Education
- Offer staff support, debriefing, and reflective practice sessions.
- Deliver training on spiritual care for clinical and non-clinical staff.
- Support suicide prevention and trauma response initiatives.
-
Partnership & Engagement
- Liaise with local faith and belief communities.
- Promote inclusive access for all religions and beliefs, including non-religious pastoral care.
-
Quality & Assurance
- Monitor service performance using UKBHC audit tools.
- Report to Quality & Patient Experience Committees.
- Maintain information governance compliance for chaplaincy records.
Dear Potential Applicant,
It is important you are made aware of the following as regards your application to East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust
- Please note that the salary advertised is for full time hours. If this post is less than 37.5 hours per week, the salary will be pro-rata. For posts on Agenda for Change pay-scales, new entrants to the NHS will normally commence on the first pay point of the relevant band.
- This vacancy may close before the closing date if the recruiting manager deems sufficient applications have been received. Therefore it is advised to complete your application as early as possible to avoid disappointment.
- Please ensure you check the email account from which you apply regularly as we will use this to contact you regarding your application.
- Please note that shortlisting is completed anonymously with candidates being assessed against the essential criteria for the post. Therefore only applicants, who can clearly demonstrate how they meet our person specification criteria in their application, will be short-listed.
Disclosure and Barring Scheme (DBS)
If the role you are applying for is identified as either controlled or regulated activity as defined in in the Safeguarding vulnerable Groups Act (2006) any offer of employment is provisional upon a satisfactory DBS check being obtained.
The healthcare sector is exempted from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.
In line with other NHS organisations in the North West Region, the Trust is now passing the charge for undertaking a DBS check on to candidates in the event they are successfully appointed into the post for which they have applied. Candidates can choose whether to pay this over 1-3 months as a deduction from the monthly salary. However, if you are applying for a post as a BANK worker, the payment must be made in full at the time of employment checks. By applying for this vacancy you are agreeing to this undertaking in the event you are successfully appointed.
The cost of an Enhanced Disclosure will be £55.38 and for a Standard Disclosure will be £27.38.
This cost is not applicable for a Volunteer post
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The Trust is an equal opportunities employer, committed to improving the working lives of our staff and operates a 'Zero Tolerance' policy to aggression, violence, bullying and harassment. In addition, our aim is to help protect children and vulnerable adults by providing a first-class service to the recruitment of people into positions of trust.
We aim to employ a workforce that reflects the diverse communities we serve.
We welcome applications from everyone irrespective of ethnic origin, gender, age, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, marital status, disability or social background.
We especially welcome applications from members of our black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities, as we have identified that ELHT has an under-representation of BAME employees. Appointments will be made on merit.
Applicants who have a disability and meet the essential criteria for the job will be interviewed if you indicate you wish to be considered under the Guaranteed Interview Scheme.
If you require a reasonable adjustment at any stage of the recruitment process please make the recruitment services team aware as soon as possible. By telephone 01254 732075 or email [email protected] or write to Employment Services, Parkview Offices, Haslingden Road, Blackburn, BB2 3HH