This Specialist Chaplain post leads the Bereavement Care Follow-Up service in the Chaplaincy Department at Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. The work centres on professional and operational leadership, service standards and protocols, audit and evaluation, and training fellow chaplains alongside clinical colleagues. What sets it apart is the on-call rota and a wider role across chaplaincy, drawing on NHS pastoral experience. Visa sponsorship is not available.
What the job involves
- Provide professional leadership for the Bereavement Care Follow-Up service, promoting good practice and its ongoing development
- Provide operational leadership so that bereaved families receive compassionate, appropriate and consistent support
- Oversee delivery of the service through professional guidance, advice, training and education, and the promotion of standards
- Develop and implement service standards, protocols and working practices, and carry out service evaluation and audit
- Support and equip fellow chaplains to contribute to bereavement care follow-up
- Promote integration of the service within Cambridge University Hospitals, building clear roles and working relationships with colleagues across departments
- Work collaboratively with multidisciplinary teams to provide coordinated, compassionate care for bereaved families
- Advocate for the voices and experiences of bereaved families within the organisation
- Take part in regular reflective practice to support professional development and service quality
- Work in line with the policies, protocols and practices of the Chaplaincy Department
- Contribute flexibly and responsively to the wider delivery of the Chaplaincy service
- Take part in the Chaplaincy on-call rota
Qualifications
- Ordained or accredited lay minister with a CTBI-recognised church, or equivalent for their faith or belief group
- Degree-level theology and a relevant post-graduate qualification
Registration & licences
- Registered Chaplain with CPCPC, or willing to work towards it
Experience
- Supporting families in grief within a structured pastoral care framework
- Significant experience of pastoral, spiritual and religious care, including sacramental ministry, to a diverse population, responding creatively to the needs of patients, relatives, staff and volunteers
- Leading pastoral, spiritual and religious care in an NHS setting
- Writing and leading funeral services for adults, children and babies
- Leading NHS service through governance, policies, process improvement and stakeholder engagement
Skills & knowledge
- Knowledge of audit, service evaluation and/or research, and developing and delivering specialist NHS education to enhance the service
- Informed knowledge of bereavement theory, complex grief and guiding the appropriate care of the bereaved
- In-depth knowledge of pastoral, spiritual, religious, cultural and ethical aspects of NHS care, able to advise confidently within CUH and Royal Papworth Hospital
- Ability to work autonomously and within multidisciplinary teams, with advanced communication and prioritisation of own and others' workload
- Ability to lead formal liturgies, write and deliver bespoke liturgies for complex pastoral contexts, and lead service assessment and change
- Ability to enthuse and motivate others, develop others' competency, act decisively in critical situations and cope with changing demands
Checks & eligibility
- Right to work for at least 6 months from the proposed start date
Other
- Self-awareness and behaviour in line with the Trust values of Together, Safe, Kind and Excellent, and participation in the on-call rota
Nice to have
- Teaching qualification
- Management qualification
- Reflective pastoral supervision or counselling qualification
- Writing and reviewing policies and procedures
- NHS experience
What’s offered
- Development opportunities
- Flexible working arrangements, including part-time, job-share, term-time and flexible start and finish times
- On-site leisure facilities and day nurseries
- Reduced-cost Stagecoach bus travel to the hospital site
- Free Park and Ride between Babraham Road and Trumpington, and free route to Cambridge train station
- Subsidised on-site parking for eligible staff
- Reduced-cost hot food available 24/7, and a staff pod break space with free tea and coffee
- Shopping concourse on campus
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Contact Details:
The Methodist Church in Britain Recruitment Team
