Job Description (JD)
Band 7
Group Profile - Senior Chaplain (SC)
Job Description - SC: Managing Chaplain
Document Ref.
OR-JES-424-JD-B7: SC: Managing Chaplain v10.0
Document Type
Management
Version
11.0
Classification
Official
Date of Issue
06 November 2023
Status
Baselined
Produced by
Job Evaluation Assurance and Support Team
Authorised by
Reward Team
JD Evidence
OR-JES-424-JD-B7 : SC : Managing Chaplain v11.0
Job Description
Job Title
SC: Managing Chaplain
Group Profile
Managing Chaplain
Organisation Level
Functional Management
Band
7
Overview of the job
This is a management job which provides leadership and facilitates/enables religious
and pastoral care to prisoners and staff within an establishment.
Summary
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.
Responsibilities,
The job holder will be required to carry out the following responsibilities, activities
Activities and Duties
and duties:
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
OR-JES-424-JD-B7 : SC : Managing Chaplain v11.0
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.
The duties/responsibilities listed above describe the post as it is at present and is not
intended to be exhaustive. The job holder is expected to accept reasonable
alterations and additional tasks of a similar level that may be necessary. Significant
adjustments may require re-examination under the Job Evaluation Scheme and shall
be discussed in the first instance with the job holder.
An ability to fulfil all spoken aspects of the role with confidence through the medium
of English or (where specified in Wales) Welsh.
OR-JES-424-JD-B7 : SC : Managing Chaplain v11.0
Behaviours
• Communicating and Influencing
• Managing a Quality Service
• Making Effective Decisions
• Leadership
• Working Together
Strengths
It is advised strengths are chosen locally, recommended 4-8.
Essential Experience
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
• Roman Catholic Ordained Priest Deacon Brother Sister Lay Person
• Roman Catholic Ordained Priest
• Sikh
• Spiritualist
• Zoroastrian
Will have proven experience and skills in pastoral care and pastoral leadership,
including crisis events.
Technical
• Must complete specific training to hold the qualifications required for area of
Requirements
specialism outlined on the relevant job description.
• 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.
Ability
Minimum Eligibility
• All candidates are subject to security and identity checks prior to taking up post.
• All external candidates are subject to six 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 HMPPS consider to be racist.
OR-JES-424-JD-B7 : SC : Managing Chaplain v11.0
Hours of Work
37 hour working week.
(Unsocial Hours)
Allowances
Required Hours Allowance will be confirmed by the Recruiting Manager and only paid
where applicable.
Required Hours Allowance: this role requires working regular unsocial hours and a
payment at the current approved organisation rate will be made in addition to your
basic pay to recognise this. Unsocial hours are those hours outside 0700 - 1900hrs
Monday to Friday and include working evenings, nights, weekends and Bank/Public
holidays.
OR-JES-424-JD-B7 : SC : Managing Chaplain v11.0