Chaplain - Managing Chaplain - Non Operational

Ministry of Justice; Evesham; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

A government department in the United Kingdom is seeking a Chaplaincy Manager to lead a multi-faith and belief team. This managerial role involves ensuring the provision of pastoral care to prisoners and staff while overseeing the implementation of religious and spiritual initiatives. The ideal candidate must have a formal qualification in theology, excellent communication skills, and the ability to manage teams effectively. The post includes security checks and a probationary period for external applicants.

Qualifications

• Must be suitably qualified and have a formal recognised qualification in theology or religious study.
• An ability to fulfil all spoken aspects of the role with confidence through English.
• Security checks required: DBS Standard Counter Terrorism Check.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage a multi-faith and belief chaplaincy team.
• Provide pastoral care and ensure spiritual welfare of prisoners and staff.
• Ensure relevant actions arising from quality assurance reports are delivered.

Skills

Communicating and Influencing

Managing a Quality Service

Making Effective Decisions

Leadership

Working Together

Education

Formal recognised qualification in theology or religious study

Job description

Overview

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.

Responsibilities

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

Qualifications

• Must be suitably qualified and have a formal recognised qualification in theology or religious study and be experienced such that the job holder will have received formal endorsements (where relevant) from the faith/belief community to which they belong.
• Behaviours: Communicating and Influencing; Managing a Quality Service; Making Effective Decisions; Leadership; Working Together.
• An ability to fulfil all spoken aspects of the role with confidence through the medium of English or (where specified in Wales) Welsh.
• Security checks required: DBS Standard Counter Terrorism Check (CTC).

Application and EEO

All candidates are subject to security and identity checks prior to taking up post. All external candidates are subject to 6 months probation. Internal candidates are subject to probation if they have not already served a probationary period within HMPPS. All staff are required to declare whether they are a member of a group or organisation which the HMPPS considers to be racist. We are an equal opportunity employer. The MoJ is committed to providing everyone with an opportunity to demonstrate their skills, talent and abilities, by making adjustments throughout all elements of the recruitment process and in the workplace. If you need additional help completing the application form, please contact the TBS Recruitment Enquiries Team.

Applications are invited from suitable qualified staff.

If you are a current NPS employee, this vacancy may be available on a loan basis for up to 2 years.