Trust Chaplain, Band 6
Band 6
Main area Spiritual Care / Chaplaincy Grade Band 6C ontract Permanent Hours Full time – 37.5 hours per week (plus on-call duties 1:3) Job ref 318-25-T0 705
Site Gloucestershire Royal Hospital Town Gloucester Salary£38,682 – £46,580 (pa pro rata if part-time)Salary period Yearly Closing 27/11/2025 23:59 Interview date 10/12/2025
At Gloucestershire Hospitals, our people are at the heart of everything we do. As the largest employer in the county, we’re proud to provide outstanding acute, elective, and specialist services to over 650,000 people across our county. Whether you’re just beginning your NHS journey or taking the next step in your career, this is an exciting time to join us. We’re investing in innovation, research, and transformation, with over 100 active clinical studies and major developments underway across our two district hospitals.
You can expect a welcoming and supportive culture and you’ll be supported by passionate colleagues who care deeply about teamwork, development, and delivering exceptional care. We offer structured development programmes, mentoring, and leadership opportunities to help you grow in your career. Gloucestershire has the perfect mix of culture, countryside, and community. With excellent schools, transport links, and access to award-winning green spaces, it’s a great place to live and work.
We value the diversity of our workforce and are committed to creating an environment where everyone feels they belong.
Be part of Gloucestershire Hospitals, explore your future with us today.
Job overview
An opportunity has arisen to join the spiritual care team at Gloucestershire Hospitals. Based mainly at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital the post-holder will lead a large multi-faith volunteer team delivering high-quality spiritual, pastoral and religious care to over 600 inpatients as well as staff and carers. You will be part of a paid team of 3.4 FTE chaplains working across the Trust to deliver a 24/7 service. As well as supporting staff and patients at times of need you will be an advocate for spiritual care, liaise with faith leaders in the community and lead teaching sessions for staff and volunteers.
Additional working pattern details: Plus on-call duties 1:3
The proposed interview date is: 10th December
Main duties of the job
You will lead the spiritual care team at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital on a daily basis, including Sunday working, providing direction, support and accountability to the volunteer team. Within the department you will share responsibility for ensuring the provision of spiritual, pastoral and religious care across all trust sites including appropriate rites, ceremonies and events to support both staff and patients. You will be part of the 24/7 trust-wide on-call rota and expected to be on-site in response to out-of-hours calls within one hour. There will be opportunities to lead strategic projects to improve and develop the delivery of spiritual care to the hospitals.
Working for our organisation
We take pride in placing people at the centre of everything we do, working together as a united team. Driven by a shared ambition to continually grow, develop, and learn, we recognise and value every contribution. By combining our experience and skills, we not only support our vibrant, diverse communities, but also support one another.
With a team of over 9,000 employees, we are proud to be the largest employer in Gloucestershire and rank among the top 10 largest Trusts in the South West region. By joining our Trust, you will benefit from an excellent package that includes exclusive benefits, flexible working opportunities and the chance to gain valuable experience in one of our innovative hospitals. As well as generous annual leave allowance, access to the excellent NHS pension scheme, competitive bank rates, discounts at local shops and restaurants, access to two on-site nurseries, discounted public transport, reward and recognition and a range of health and wellbeing initiatives to support you.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Key Result Areas:
– To lead the Gloucester team with care and imagination.
– To provide spiritual care to those with or without formal religious faith.
– To support patients and their carers , especially at end of life
– To support families affected by baby-loss and miscarriage
– Provision of Christian rites and facilitation of religious practices for those of other faiths
– Devise and deliver events of a spiritual nature eg to support staff after colleague bereavement
– Providing training and teaching to other staff
– To be part of the 24/7 out of hours rota
– To instigate and lead projects across the Trust to improve spiritual care
– To be part of Trust-wide teams eg, Ethics Group, End of Life Group.
Essential Attributes:
– Educated to degree level
– In good standing with a member church of Churches Together
– Experience of working in a chaplaincy setting
– Good presentation and teaching skills
– Able to work with other faiths and with those of no faith
Desirable Attributes:
– Registration with UK Board of Healthcare chaplaincy
– Experience of working with volunteers
Please note: In accordance with the equality act 2010 there is a genuine occupational requirement that the post holder is a practicing Christian.
Person specification
Qualifications, Knowledge and Experience
Essential criteria
- A member in good standing of a member church of Churches Together in England.
- A degree or equivalent qualification in a relevant subject, along with evidence of theological education and continuing personal and professional development.
- Excellent interpersonal skills, able to communicate well with a range of people about challenging, distressing or sensitive matters in distressing situations.
- Good presentation, training and teaching skills with an ability to engage others.
- Ability to enable others from any faith and none to recognise and address their spiritual needs in line with their own culture, background, values and beliefs.
- The preparation and leading of public and private worship, rites, ceremonies and rituals, sensitive to the hospital and individual pastoral context.
- Can provide clear theological and pastoral perspectives on a wide range of issues including those of an ethical or social nature.
- Competent to use computer-based systems for record keeping, etc. alongside good administrative and organisational skills.
- Experience of working in a chaplaincy setting.
- Can take the initiative and work on own whilst leading a team and remaining accountable to others.
- An excellent team player committed to team working and the development of other people.
- Demonstrable skills in personal and time management, keeping to deadlines and able to work flexibly with the need for rapid adaptability.
- Evidence of sustaining own spirituality and spiritual life and ongoing engagement with a faith community.
Desirable criteria
- Qualifications, training, skills or experience in ‘end of life’ care, pastoral theology, healthcare chaplaincy or counselling.
- Registration with UK Board of Healthcare Chaplaincy.
- Experience of healthcare chaplaincy including delivery of ‘end of life’ care.
- Working with and leading volunteers, including professional development, nurture and setting and maintaining expected standards.
We reserve the right to expire vacancies prior to the advertised closing date once a sufficient number of applications have been received.
You will only be contacted by the Recruitment Team via email if you are shortlisted for this post. Please ensure therefore that you check your e-mail account regularly.
If you require sponsorship for a visa to work in the UK, to avoid disappointment, please check to ensure you are eligible under the UKVI points based system
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Applicant requirements
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.
Documents to download
- Job Description and Person Specification (PDF, 264.4KB)
- Why work for us – rewards and benefits (PDF, 3.7MB)
Further details / informal visits contact
John Thompson Job title Lead – ten.s1763400041hn@011763400041nospm1763400041oht.n1763400041hoj1763400041 Telephone number 0300 422 6200