Band 5 – Staff Support Chaplain, Corporate Nursing
Main area Chaplaincy Grade Band 5 Contract Permanent Hours Full time Flexible working 37.5 hours per week Job ref 360-E-11581 Salary £33,677 – £40,996 pa inc. HCA Salary period Yearly Closing 23/07/2026 23:59
Department name West Herts – General Staffing Site Cross Site Town Watford
Job Overview
We are looking for a compassionate and experienced Staff Support Chaplain to join our Spiritual and Pastoral Care team, with a primary focus on supporting the wellbeing of staff across West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.
The Spiritual and Pastoral Care department provides inclusive pastoral, spiritual, ethical and religious support to patients, staff, visitors and placement students.
As the Staff‑Facing Chaplain, you will play a key role in leading and developing the chaplaincy staff support service while working collaboratively with a diverse multi‑faith and belief chaplaincy team, religious visitors, placement students and Chaplaincy volunteers. You may also act as the faith lead for your own faith community where required, while providing inclusive chaplaincy support to people of all faiths and none.
The postholder will offer confidential, non‑judgemental emotional, spiritual and pastoral support to staff, providing a compassionate listening ear during times of personal difficulty, workplace stress, ethical challenge and following traumatic or critical incidents. You will help promote staff wellbeing and resilience by responding sensitively to individual and team needs, arranging appropriate support, and providing ongoing pastoral care where required.
You will be required to work shifts covering 9:00am to 5:00pm Monday to Friday, with weekend and Out of Hours On Call on a rota basis. Full details will be discussed at interview.
Main duties of the job
- Provide confidential pastoral, spiritual and emotional support to individual staff members and teams, offering compassionate listening, guidance and accompaniment during personal, professional, ethical and workplace challenges.
- Respond to critical incidents, traumatic events and other situations affecting staff, providing immediate pastoral support and coordinating appropriate follow‑up where required.
- Develop and deliver initiatives that promote staff wellbeing, resilience and reflective practice, including remembrance events, wellbeing activities, spiritual support and faith‑based provision where appropriate.
- Plan and lead acts of worship, memorial services and other ceremonies for staff, and provide religious rites and pastoral care in accordance with your faith tradition and the diverse needs of the Trust.
- Support staff experiencing bereavement by providing pastoral care, spiritual support and guidance around remembrance and memorial services.
Working hours
This is a full‑time position, working 37.5 hours per week, primarily during normal business hours, Monday to Friday. Flexibility is required to meet the needs of the service, including responding to critical incidents and supporting staff outside normal working hours when necessary.
The postholder will participate in the Trust’s out‑of‑hours on‑call chaplaincy rota on a shared basis, providing emergency pastoral and spiritual support as required. Occasional evening, weekend and public holiday working will therefore be expected in line with service requirements.
Person specification
Education and qualifications
- A degree or recognised theological qualification, pastoral care, or related fields.
- Faith Leadership: Ordained or accredited as a leader in a recognised faith community.
- Authorisation/ licence to minister from an accountable agency/organisation in the UK to operate in Healthcare Chaplaincy settings.
- Healthcare Chaplaincy Certification or working towards certification.
Knowledge
- To work independently in a high‑pressure situation.
- To lead services of worship in differing situations.
- To face up to the challenges that health presents and liaise comfortably with other disciplines at all levels.
- To work collaboratively across denominational boundaries and have an interest in multi faith issues.
- Understanding of contemporary health care philosophy and environment.
- To advise staff, patients and carers on spiritual and multicultural issues, especially but not uniquely those relating to own denomination or faith/belief community.
- To co‑operate with medical, nursing and management staff in departmental and multidisciplinary meetings and to assist with discussions on the spiritual care of patients as required.
- To provide support and supervision to members of multi‑disciplinary teams engaged in spiritual needs assessment and referral.
- Ability to participate in Health Care Ethics debate.
Experience
- Interfaith Capability: Ability to support people of all faiths and none.
- Proven experience in pastoral care, counselling, or chaplaincy.
- Pastoral Care of people including bereavement issues (including children) or care of terminally ill people.
- Care of people bereaved through miscarriage, still birth and neo‑natal death.
- Ability to communicate and work with staff, patients and visitors in sensitive, distressing and traumatic situations.
- Ordained with a minimum of three years’ experience of pastoral ministry.
- Experience of working in a multidisciplinary environment.
- Care and support of staff under pressure.
- Experience relevant to Healthcare Chaplaincy.
- Able to administer the Sacraments.
- To be aware of/ discern various stress levels in Hospital Staff / Colleagues.
- To have an experience of counselling, pastoral and/ or bereavement care.
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