Chaplain Managing Chaplain JD424 v11

Ministry of Justice; Usk; Hybrid; GBP 65,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

Ministry of Justice in the United Kingdom seeks a senior Chaplaincy leader to manage a multi-faith team, ensure compassionate care for prisoners and staff, and deliver policy-aligned chaplaincy services. You will oversee training, reporting and stakeholder engagement while promoting inclusivity and safeguarding.

The role offers hybrid working arrangements within the UK, requiring endorsement by the Faith and Belief Adviser and strong leadership across traditions.

Qualifications

• Must be endorsed by the HMPPS Faith and Belief Adviser.
• Experience leading chaplaincy teams and delivering care across traditions.
• Ability to manage complaints, investigations and reports within policy.
• Able to train, mentor and support chaplains and volunteers.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage a multi-faith chaplaincy team with accessible services.
• Ensure policy delivery and timely correspondence across the team.
• Provide pastoral care, worship and meditation for own tradition and others.
• Develop relationships with support and volunteer groups; liaison duties.
• Collaborate with Safer Custody and resettlement efforts and data reporting.

Skills

Leadership

Stakeholder management

Budget management

People management

Education

Faith/belief leadership qualification

Job description

This is a non-operational job with line management responsibilities for leading and managing a multi-faith and belief chaplaincy team. Although a managerial role rather than being faith or belief specific, post holders must be endorsed by the respective HMPPS Faith and Belief Adviser. The job holder will provide for the religious and pastoral care of prisoners and staff in their own faith or belief tradition, and appropriate pastoral care for all irrespective of faith/belief tradition or of none. The job holder will work with colleagues to ensure the delivery of PSI 05/2016 Faith and Pastoral Care for Prisoners or its successor policy framework document and also the broader work of chaplaincy in delivering faith and non-faith based courses. The job holder will contribute to the process by which the Governor and Head of Chaplaincy/Profession at headquarters are assured that these policies are being delivered. Responsible for leading on developing relationships with various support and volunteer groups and, where appropriate, act as Official Prison Visitor Liaison Officer. Takes responsibility for one's own spiritual health and development, allowing time for private prayer/reflection, study and retreat. Team and Personal Management

• Responsible for leading and managing a multi-faith and belief chaplaincy team, ensuring chaplains are available and accessible to prisoners, the effective administration of chaplaincy, including prisoner lists for events, records updated etc and promotes HMPPS policy in all activities and behaviours; e.g. diversity, decency, safety and reducing re-offending agendas.
• Responsible for ensuring prisoners' complaints (including those involving litigation claims) relevant to the Chaplaincy team, have been dealt with in accordance with policy. Carries out investigations and administration in relation to incidents of potential discrimination and reports on findings.
• Ensure chaplains and volunteers are receiving necessary training, development opportunities, mentoring and personal support including after incidents as well as for volunteers and nurturing them in their contribution.
• Accountable for the performance of the Chaplaincy team and the staff within it. Manages the achievement of qualitative and quantitative standards within the function, verifying and signing off documentation as appropriate. Analyse and act upon data relevant to Chaplaincy. Attends relevant boards/meetings and actively contribute either as chair or team member, produces relevant reports as required and ensures all correspondence is replied to within agreed timescales.
• Pastoral Care & Worship/Meditation
• Provide pastoral care and seek to ensure spiritual welfare of prisoners and all staff, including acquiring and distributing appropriate faith/belief literature, supplies and materials. With responsibility for arranging and leading worship/meditation for own faith/belief community, plan, organise hospital visits, weddings, funerals, memorial services, where appropriate. Assist with offenders on release into the community, those serving community sentences or other HMPPS funded community initiatives by agreement.
• Provide expert faith/belief advice within establishment and be responsible for supporting it in ensuring faith/belief groups observe their religious holy days and festivals and for planning and leading workshops and prayer/faith specific meetings.
• Responsible for ensuring and delivering awareness programmes for prisoners, including bereavement programmes and lifer programmes, as applicable, and local faith/belief awareness training for staff.
• Stakeholder Relationships & Management
• Work closely with Safer Custody to ensure issues such as deaths in custody procedures, Assessment Care in Custody Teamwork (ACCT) and Violence Reduction are delivered in-line with HMPPS standards. Ensuring, and contributing to, supporting prisoners in dealing with bereavement by liaising with families/prisoners and other third parties; e.g. hospitals, Coroners' offices.
• Responsible for ensuring the involvement of the Chaplaincy team in resettlement issues as appropriate and engage and build contacts with own faith/belief community towards aiding the resettlement of prisoners and for the contact strategy with outside faith/belief-based agencies to help with the resettlement of prisoners.
• Resource & Financial Management
• Contribute to the establishment's overall achievement of standards and be accountable for the performance and delivery of targets relating to the budget and People Plan. Responsible for leading the development of local policy, procedures and practice and the implementation of national policy for chaplaincy services. Ensures that current Chaplaincy practice is in line with policy (both national and local). Contributes to the development and delivery of the medium-to-long term strategic and business plan for the establishment, with overall responsibility for implementation within their function. Ensure all risk assessments are undertaken and staff are made aware of their personal responsibility towards health and safety compliance.
• Responsible for ensuring relevant actions arising from Standard Audit, Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP) Action Plans, Quality, Assurance and Development (QuAD) reports, Managing Quality of Prison Life (MQPL) surveys including local self-audit action plans and Resettlement strategies are delivered.
• Behaviours
• Communicating and Influencing
• Managing a Quality Service
• Making Effective Decisions
• Leadership
• Working Together
• Essential Experience Must complete specific training to hold the qualifications required for area of specialism outlined on the relevant job description.
• Must complete specific training to hold the qualifications required for area of specialism outlined on the relevant job description.
• Faith/Belief Eligibility Requirements (January 2022) See full list on Group Profile
• Anglican Ordained Bishop, Priest, Deacon, Religious Brother/Sister, Church Army Evangelist, Reader (as set out in Canon E4 of the Canons of the Church of England or direct equivalent in other Anglican provinces)
• Bahai
• Buddhist
• Christian Chaplain - Ordained Priest or Free Church equivalent
• Christian Ordained Deacon Religious Brother Sister Lay Person
• Christian Science
• Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
• Free Church Non Ordained Deacon or Lay Person
• Free Church Ordained
• Hindu
• Humanist
• Jain
• Jehovah's Witness
• Jewish
• Muslim
• Orthodox
• Pagan
• Quaker
• Rastafari
• Sikh
• Spiritualist
• Zoroastrian, The MoJ offers Hybrid Working arrangements where business need allows. This is an informal, non-contractual form of flexible working that blends working from your base location, different MoJ sites and / or from home (please be aware that this role can only be worked in the UK and not overseas). Some roles will not be suitable for Hybrid Working. Similarly, Hybrid Working will not suit everyone's circumstances. Arrangements will be discussed and agreed with the successful candidate(s) and subject to regular review.

For nationally advertised roles, the successful candidate(s) will be appointed to a MoJ office location, which may include their nearest Justice Collaboration Centre or Justice Satellite Office. This will be discussed and agreed on the completion of pre-employment checks. Some of MoJ's terms and conditions of service are changing as part of Civil Service reform. The changes will apply to staff joining MoJ who are new to the Civil Service. Staff joining MoJ from other civil service employers will transfer onto the new MoJ terms if they are already on 'modernised' terms in their current post or onto 'unmodernised' MoJ terms if they are on 'unmodernised' terms at their current post. Details will be available if an offer is made. Standard full time working hours are 37