Chaplain

Main area Spiritual and Pastoral Care Grade NHS AfC: Band 6 Contract Permanent Hours Part time - 30 hours per week (Plus share of on call rota out of hours) Job ref 214-CSTO-8291388

Site King's Mill Hospital Town Sutton in Ashfield Salary £39,959 - £48,117 per annum pro rata Salary period Yearly Closing 22/10/2026 23:59

Thank you for your interest in this role, we would be delighted to welcome you to Sherwood Forest Hospitals.

Sherwood is nationally recognised as being an excellent place to work and deliver care. We are rightly proud of the 5,500 colleagues who work here and know that happy colleagues deliver better care.

Our teams work in a supportive, inclusive environment, which nurtures wellbeing and has opportunities for development and progression. We do not just care for our patients, we also care for you.

At Sherwood Forest Hospitals, we are committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace. As such, we particularly welcome applications from people who identify as Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic, or Disabled. We believe that a diverse team better represents the communities we serve and brings a wealth of perspectives and experiences to our work.

Job overview

Are you passionate about providing compassionate, inclusive care to patients, families, and staff? Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is seeking a dedicated Chaplain to join our Department of Spiritual and Pastoral Care.

As a Chaplain, you will offer pastoral, spiritual and religious support across the Trust, responding to referrals, visiting wards and departments regularly, and participating in a 24/7 on-call rota for urgent and emergency care. You will play a vital role in bereavement care, including delivering the Trust’s contract funeral service for families experiencing pregnancy or baby loss, child bereavement, or for adults without next of kin.

You’ll act as a specialist resource on spiritual, religious, pastoral and ethical matters, working closely with internal colleagues and external faith and belief communities to ensure high-quality, inclusive care.

If you are committed to supporting people through some of life’s most challenging moments and have the experience to offer sensitive, professional guidance, we would love to hear from you.

Main duties of the job

To understand the role in more detail, please refer to the attached job description and person specification.

Working for our organisation

We are an award-winning NHS Foundation Trust working alongside health and social care colleagues across the county to provide acute and community healthcare services to more than 420,000 people across Mansfield, Ashfield, Newark and Sherwood, and parts of Derbyshire and Lincolnshire.

We put the patient at the heart of everything that we do and it is our aim to make sure that every patient is treated as we would want a member of our own family to be treated. At the same time, we expect our staff to be caring, kind and courteous to each other and to look out for each other. We believe that we are truly a clinically-led organisation.

We are proud that our Trust colleagues have voted us the best acute Trust to work for in the East Midlands for seven years running in the National NHS Staff Survey, while the Care Quality Commission has rated our Trust as ‘outstanding’ for care and our King’s Mill Hospital as the only ‘outstanding’ NHS-run hospital in the East Midlands.

Not all of our roles are eligible for visa sponsorship. To find out which roles are eligible, please refer to the shortage occupation list found here:

Home Office guidance has changed as of 9th April. Anyone that requires switching visa type may not be eligible for sponsorship even if the role is on the shortage occupation list.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

To understand the role in more detail, please refer to the attached job description and person specification.

This is a part-time role for 30 hours (4 days) per week plus inclusion on the out of hours on call rota. Days worked to be agreed. The post is based at King's Mill Hospital but covers all 3 hospital sites within the Trust.

Person specification

Skills and Knowledge Requirements

• Theological or equivalent study and training appropriate to your faith or belief community
• In depth knowledge of own faith or belief group teaching, tradition and practices, and an ability to apply this knowledge in a health care context – particularly in relation to birth, death and illness
• Working knowledge of faith and belief systems other than one’s own, and the ability to apply this knowledge working in a secular multi-cultural, multifaith and belief context
• Demonstrable knowledge and a commitment to working in an ecumenical, multi-faith or belief, and multi-cultural way, with an openness to the views and doubts of others
• Able to work under pressure and prioritise and adapt to changing circumstances
• Able to work as part of a team and autonomously
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, including the ability to listen well
• Able to provide or facilitate the provision of sacraments/rites and spiritual needs appropriate to the patient’s own faith/belief
• Proficient in the use of IT to enable electronic recording of patient notes and appropriate sharing of information and the production of orders of service
• Administrative Skills
• Demonstrable experience and skills in delivering effective training and education relating to pastoral and spiritual care

Qualifications

• Authorised or Licenced and recognised by your faith or belief community as a representative appropriate to operate as a Healthcare Chaplain
• PG Qualification in Healthcare Chaplaincy
• Membership of the UKBHC as a registered chaplain or able to apply for this

Further Training

• Qualification in an area which requires the practice of significant pastoral care skills. For example, counselling, certificate of ministry, ordination/ministerial, qualification caring for the sick or vulnerable

Experience

• Significant previous experience in providing spiritual and pastoral care in a range of contexts
• Experience of supporting the dying and bereaved
• Experience of responding in a pastoral care crisis
• Previous experience of managing staff. Experience of crisis work e.g. traumatic injury, death or major incident.
• Able to facilitate services such as memorials or worship services in a wide variety of settings.
• Understanding of current issues in the NHS
• Experience of collaborative working in a multi-faith/belief setting.
• Have proven experience in pastoral, spiritual, religious care in complex, emotional or distressing situations in a healthcare setting.
• Experience of training and supervising volunteers
• Demonstrable experience and skills in delivering effective training and education relating to pastoral and spiritual care.

Contractual Requirements

• Availability for on call rota working anti-social hours out of hours, weekends and on bank holidays
• Car driver and with a vehicle insured for business use
• Live within an area which allows a 1 hour response time
• Able to work flexibly to support service provision

Not all of our roles are eligible for visa sponsorship. To find out which roles are eligible, please refer to the shortage occupation list found here:

Home Office guidance has changed. Anyone that requires switching visa type may not be eligible for sponsorship even if the role is on the shortage occupation list.

We as a Trust support the use of AI and other tools to support your application. However, all personal statements and behavioural examples must be truthful and factually accurate. Your application should reflect your own personal/professional experiences and qualifications to ensure authenticity and credibility.

For the avoidance of doubt, plagiarism includes presenting the ideas or experiences of others or content generated by artificial intelligence as your own. We review all applications carefully to ensure that the information provided in your supporting statement aligns with your qualifications, work history and the duties undertaken within those roles. Your experience will also be explored further during the interview process.

If you would like this information in an alternative format or in a different language please contact us on 01623 622515 ext 3271.

Please note that we no longer accept handwritten/paper applicationsand that the email address given on your application will be used for all correspondence regarding this post.
We reserve the right to close a vacancy before the closing date if a sufficient number of applications have been received. Priority for vacancies at the Trust will be given to existing employees of Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust whose roles are currently at risk of redundancy due to organisational change. If a high number of applications are received, a longlisting exercise will be conducted prior to shortlisting.

Only applications received on or before the closing date will be considered for short listing. This is to ensure that the Trust meets its commitment to Equality of Opportunity.

In submitting an application, you authorise Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust to confirm any current and previous NHS Service details and you agree to the Trust obtaining and transferring personal date held about you, including Occupational Health data (inoculations and screening tests). This data will be shared using the NHS Electronic Staff Record (ESR) and third party systems via an automated process and will only be used for the purposes of maintaining your employment record.

Please note if you are successful in obtaining this position and the post involves regulated activity you will be required to undertake a Disclosure & Barring Service check. The Trust will pay for the check initially and then the money will then be deducted from your first salary once you've commenced employment. The current price of a check is £26.40 for a standard check and £54.40 for an enhanced. If you are asked to complete a DBS check and have a previous identity that you do not wish to be disclosed to your employer and/or on your DBS certificate, you should call or email the dedicated sensitive applications team before submitting your application. The team is experienced in dealing with sensitive cases and will advise you of the process and what you need to do.

Please note any genuine job offer letters will only be received if you have applied, interviewed, and received a verbal offer from the appointing manager for a vacancy within Sherwood Forest Hospitals. If you receive a job offer and you are not sure of its authenticity, please report it to the following email sfh-tr.recruitmentqueries@nhs.net

Employer certification / accreditation badges

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

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