Trust Chaplain

Go back Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust

The closing date is 05 March 2026

The Trust Chaplain will be responsible for the delivery of a comprehensive, integrated chaplaincy service that provides high-quality religious, pastoral, and spiritual care to patients, relatives, staff, and visitors. This role ensures that chaplaincy remains an essential component of holistic, person-centred care across the organisation.

A key aspect of the role is to raise the profile of the chaplaincy service by maintaining a visible and accessible presence within wards and departments, and by promoting the importance of spiritual wellbeing and holistic care within a healthcare setting.

The Trust Chaplain will work collaboratively with colleagues, including the Lead Chaplain and Deputy Lead Chaplain, to ensure consistent and effective chaplaincy provision across all sites.

The role requires participation in the 24/7 on‑call rota and a commitment to maintaining service continuity during periods of leave or sickness, ensuring that urgent spiritual and pastoral needs are met at all times.

Support the effective functioning of the chaplaincy team, promote high-quality spiritual care, and maintain strong communication across the Trust. Contribute to Trust‑wide groups, policies, projects, and documents, and represent Chaplaincy at internal and external events.

Work collaboratively with clinical areas to deliver holistic, person‑centred support. Assess spiritual wellbeing, prioritise referrals, and provide timely pastoral, spiritual, religious, and cultural care, including end‑of‑life interventions. Lead or support funerals, memorials, and remembrance services.

Participate in the 24/7 on‑call rota, respond promptly to emergencies, make autonomous decisions in crisis situations, and contribute to the Trust's major incident response.

Provide pastoral support to staff following challenging events and undertake collaborative working to promote wellbeing.

Maintain strong links with local faith and belief communities to ensure equitable access to appropriate spiritual and religious support for patients and staff.

Keep accurate electronic records, contribute to audits, service reviews, and research, prepare reports and service material, and help maintain multi‑faith areas and chaplaincy spaces.

Deliver high‑quality training on spiritual care to students, staff, volunteers, and local faith communities, and support the supervision of students and volunteers.

Our ambition is to deliver excellent local and specialist services, to improve the health and well being of our patients, and provide a vibrant place for staff to develop, innovate and build careers.

We aim to make the most of our skills and experiences so we can become the best we can be. As one organisation we will recruit the finest and retain more specialist staff due to more employment opportunities across our Trust.

Are you looking for an exciting Trust Chaplain role using your unique qualities, then we want to hear from you.

For full details about this varied and rewarding role, please see attached job description.

We look forward to your application.

• Degree or equivalent in a relevant subject, e.g. Pastoral studies, Counselling, religious studies, theology, social work
• Membership to Chaplaincy boards and groups
• Knowledge of current research in spiritual care and well-being
• Have access to own car or vehicle and clean licence

• Significant experience of spiritual care giving in NHS healthcare setting

• Friendly, person centred approach. Highly developed empathetic communication and interpersonal skills.

• Out of hours work and on call during the evening and weekends and attending the site within one hour of being called.

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.

Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust

£38,682 a year

Per Annum (Pro Rata for Part Time)