Spiritual Care Lead

St Peter & St James Hospice; Lewes; On-site; GBP 28,000 - 33,000; Part time

Job summary

A caring hospice organization in Lewes seeks a Spiritual Care Lead to support patients and families spiritually. Responsibilities include collaborating with volunteers and developing spiritual care strategies. Ideal candidates have experience in pastoral care, a strong understanding of diverse beliefs, and excellent communication skills. This part-time role offers a salary of £28,957 to £32,182 per annum.

Benefits

Opportunities for training and professional development

A supportive and inclusive work environment

Qualifications

• Proven experience in a pastoral or spiritual care role within healthcare.
• Understanding of diverse faiths and practices related to life and death.
• Strong organisational and prioritisation skills.

Responsibilities

• Provide spiritual and pastoral support to patients and families.
• Coordinate internal and external resources for support.
• Develop strategies to strengthen spiritual support services.

Skills

Spiritual care experience

Excellent communication skills

Ability to inspire volunteers

Collaboration

Understanding diverse faiths

Education

Diploma in Theology & Pastoral Care

Tools

TPP SystmOne

Job description

Are you passionateabout providing compassionate, inclusive spiritual care and support to patientsand their families at a deeply meaningful time in their lives?

We are seeking a dedicated Spiritual Care Lead to join ourhospice team to provide and develop pastoral and spiritual care for patientsand their families across the hospice.

Location:StPeter & St James Hospice, North Common Road, North Chailey, BN8 4EDContract:Permanent, Part-Time(30 hours per week over 4 days)Salary:£28,957 - £32,182 perannum(£36,196 - £40,277 full-time equivalent)Closing Date:18thOctober 2025 (Early applications encouraged as we will be shortlisting andinterviewing as applications are received)

Main duties of the job

As Spiritual Care Lead, you will -

Provide spiritual and pastoral support to patients and families, whether they hold religious beliefs or none.

Coordinate internal and external resources, including volunteers, local clergy, faith leaders, and community organisations.

Maintain a broad and respectful understanding of diverse faiths and spiritual perspectives.

Work collaboratively with the multidisciplinary team to uphold the highest standards of patient care.

Develop and implement strategies to strengthen spiritual support services within palliative care.

Contribute to the growth and development of the wider Supportive Care team, ensuring services reflect best practice and meet the diverse needs of those we care for.

What Were Looking For -

Experience in pastoral or spiritual care, ideally within a healthcare or hospice setting.

A deep understanding of diverse spiritual and religious beliefs.

Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.

The ability to lead, support, and inspire volunteers.

A collaborative approach and commitment to holistic, person-centred care.

About us

Why Join Us?

• Be part of a values-driven organisation that puts compassion, integrity, and excellence at the heart of everything we do.
• Make a meaningful impact in the lives of patients and their loved ones.
• Opportunities for training and professional development in a supportive and inclusive working environment.

If youre ready to bring your skills and passion to a role that will truly make a difference, wed love to hear from you. We will be shortlisting and interviewing as applications are received, so early applications are encouraged.

For an informal chat about the role, please contactPippa Jones, Head of Supportive [e-mail].

Please see the full job description and person specification for the role at the bottom of the page.

Job responsibilities

Role Purpose

To have overall responsibility for the pastoral and spiritual care of patients and families across the hospice, supporting those with religious beliefs as well as those with none.

To ensure these needs are met by coordinating resources within the hospice and through local clergy, faith leaders, and community organisations, while maintaining a comprehensive knowledge of different faiths and spiritual perspectives.

To work as part of the multidisciplinary team to uphold the highest standards of patient care, and to assist in developing and implementing strategies that strengthen spiritual support services within palliative care. To contribute to the growth of the wider Supportive Care team, ensuring services reflect best practice and meet the diverse needs of those receiving care.

Primary Duties and Key Responsibilities

Provide spiritual support to patients and families in the hospice, face to face, by telephone or online, meeting the spiritual needs of individuals with different faiths or no faith.

Work with volunteers to create a warm and friendly welcome and connection to the hospice, supporting people to feel at ease and settled at what can be a difficult time.

Be responsible for the administration and preparation of Remembrance Services and provide, where required, Christmas and Reflection Services, recognising differing religious and non-religious events.

Be involved in the planning and delivery of the annual service for bereaved individuals, both physically and online, in collaboration with the Fundraising Team.

Develop new opportunities for service delivery of spiritual care, for example, discussion groups, spiritual care groups, prayer groups, Thought for the Day, and utilising online platforms.

Maintain an up-to-date emergency cover list of on-call pastoral care providers.

Liaise with the Volunteer Development Manager to assist with recruiting volunteers into the service, including defining volunteer roles and being an active part of the interviewing and onboarding, and induction process.

Abide by any relevant Professional Guidelines applicable to pastoral and spiritual care and ensure that any spiritual care volunteers follow the appropriate codes of conduct.

Supervise and support Spiritual Care volunteers, to ensure a high standard of spiritual care is provided across all settings.

Participate in the delivery of training and education to staff, volunteers, and external delegates in relation to spiritual issues in palliative care to promote a wider understanding and awareness of the concepts of spirituality.

Attend both hospice planning and MDT meetings as required to represent Supportive Care Services and provide advice and guidance.

Develop close links with other diverse pastoral care teams to promote and share good practice.

Provide appropriate opportunities for commemoration of those who have died.

Ensure appropriate information governance, data collection, and record keeping supporting a high-quality service to patients and their families.

Maintain any relevant policies and documentation applicable to the role.

Manage and ensure the availability of appropriate spiritual and reflective spaces within the hospice.

Person Specification

Experience

• Proven experience in a pastoral or spiritual care role within healthcare or equivalent.
• Knowledge and understanding of the main world faiths, beliefs, and practices regarding illness, life, dying, and death.
• Comprehensive understanding of spirituality, including assessing spiritual, secular, and religious needs, with awareness of ethical and safe practice.
• Communication, counselling and bereavement skills with the ability to engage appropriately with a wide range of people.
• Ability to work responsively to spiritual needs, coordinate a Spiritual Care service, and support volunteers.
• Strong organisational and prioritisation skills.
• Competent IT skills, including experience using TPP SystmOne or similar client record systems.
• Experience of leading and managing a team of volunteers to deliver services.
• Experience of working in a palliative care setting working with grief and loss and an understanding of the nature and scope of bereavement issues.
• Ability to plan, deliver, and evaluate training and activities effectively.
• Knowledge and experience of organising and arranging funerals.

Personal Qualities

• Commitment to collaborative and team working, with excellent liaison skills.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a multi-professional team
• Flexible and adaptable to change.
• Inclusive approach to patients, carers, bereaved, staff, and volunteers.
• Ability to work collaboratively across non-denominational and multi-faith boundaries, with an active interest in multi-faith issues.
• Creativity in responding to needs within the working environment and available resources.

Qualifications

• Current UK driving licence with use of own transport.
• Qualification in a relevant subject: e.g. Diploma in Theology & Pastoral Care.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

£28,957 to £32,182 a year(£36,196 - £40,277 per annum, full-time equivalent)