Job summary
The CUH Chaplaincy team is looking for a pastoral practitioner to join our Team, providing pastoral, spiritual and religious care to patients, their carers and staff. Working flexibly as part of the wider Chaplaincy team you will utilise your pastoral experience, to help people respond to the challenges they are experiencing through drawing upon their faith and beliefs.
Successful candidates will bring with them an ability to empathise for others, pastoral skills to safely explore with them their needs and the competency to support them religiously and spirituality.
You will be working as part of a supportive team, that is dedicated to meeting the needs of those we serve and ensuring the Chaplaincy Service continues to provide the best spiritual care for the Hospital. Therefore, we are looking for someone with strong team working skills, a positive collaborative approach to complex problems, proven pastoral skills and whom operates out of their own depth of practice in their faith/beliefs.
Our commitment to you is to your ongoing development and a pattern of reflective practice, pastoral supervision and training.
Main duties of the job
- To assess the spiritual and religious needs of patients, visitors and staff and seek to meet those needs or refer on.
- To work within the protocols and practices of the chaplaincy department
- To participate in regular reflective practice.
- Responds to complex spiritual and religious needs in patients visitors and staff associated with their specialist area of expertise.
- Work flexibly within the Chaplaincy team to meet the needs of those we serve
- Participates pro-rata in the on call rota that provides 24/7 service
- Participate in multidisciplinary team working in support of patients, NOK and staff.
- Awareness of research, service evaluation and audit.
- Awareness of service evaluation, audits and research projects
- Participate in the provision of education and training across the hospital and within higher education
- Provides professional support and advocacy across the organisation
- Proactively contributes to multi-disciplinary teams
About us
Our Trust
Cambridge University Hospitals (CUH) NHS Foundation Trust comprises Addenbrooke's Hospital and the Rosie Hospital in Cambridge. With over 13,000 staff and over 1100 beds the priorities of the Trust focus on a quality service which is all about people - patients, staff and partners. Recognised as providing 'outstanding' care to our patients and rated 'Good' overall by the Care Quality Commissioner, is testament to the skill and dedication of the people who work here. CUH's values - Together - Safe, Kind, Excellent - are at the heart of patient care, defining the way all staff work and behave. The Trust provides accessible high-quality healthcare for the local people of Cambridge, together with specialist services, dealing with rare or complex conditions for a regional, national and international population.
CUH is committed to promoting a diverse and inclusive community - a place where we can all be ourselves. We value our differences and fully advocate and support an inclusive working environment where every individual can fulfil their potential. We want to ensure our people are truly representative of all the communities that we serve. We welcome applications for all positions in the organisation irrespective of people's age, disability, ethnicity, race, nationality, gender identity, sex, sexual orientation, religion or belief, marriage and civil partnership status, or pregnancy and maternity status or social economic background.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Please see the attached Applicant Information Pack (combined Job Description and Person Specification) for key duties and responsibilities.
This vacancy will close at midnight on 26th November 2025
Interviews are due to be held on 8th December 2025
Benefits to you
At Cambridge University Hospitals, we want to do all we can to support good working days. We offer development opportunities and a wide range of benefits, including on-site leisure facilities, shopping concourse and day nurseries. Our good work programme currently includes providing reduced cost Stagecoach bus travel to and from Cambridge University Hospital site. Park and Ride bus journeys between Babraham Road and Trumpington sites are free, as is the route to and from Cambridge train station and our hospitals. We also subsidise the cost of parking on site for eligible staff.
On CUH campus, hot food is available 24/7 and at a reduced cost for colleagues. Recently we launched the first of our staff pod break spaces. Located in the Deakin Centre, we have a purpose-created colleague-only caf, with free tea and coffee, a break space and private outside area for colleagues to rest, refuel and recharge. Just one of the ways we are working hard to support good working days at CUH.
CUH is committed to assisting employees in achieving a good work-life balance irrespective of role or personal circumstances. Flexible arrangements may include, but are not limited to, part-time working, job-share, term-time working and flexible start and finish times.
Please note if you would like to discuss the required hours of this role further, you should approach the contact given. In some cases, alternative working hours will be considered.
We welcome applications from the Armed Forces.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Please see the attached Applicant Information Pack (combined Job Description and Person Specification) for key duties and responsibilities.
This vacancy will close at midnight on 26th November 2025
Interviews are due to be held on 8th December 2025
Benefits to you
At Cambridge University Hospitals, we want to do all we can to support good working days. We offer development opportunities and a wide range of benefits, including on-site leisure facilities, shopping concourse and day nurseries. Our good work programme currently includes providing reduced cost Stagecoach bus travel to and from Cambridge University Hospital site. Park and Ride bus journeys between Babraham Road and Trumpington sites are free, as is the route to and from Cambridge train station and our hospitals. We also subsidise the cost of parking on site for eligible staff.
On CUH campus, hot food is available 24/7 and at a reduced cost for colleagues. Recently we launched the first of our staff pod break spaces. Located in the Deakin Centre, we have a purpose-created colleague-only caf, with free tea and coffee, a break space and private outside area for colleagues to rest, refuel and recharge. Just one of the ways we are working hard to support good working days at CUH.
CUH is committed to assisting employees in achieving a good work-life balance irrespective of role or personal circumstances. Flexible arrangements may include, but are not limited to, part-time working, job-share, term-time working and flexible start and finish times.
Please note if you would like to discuss the required hours of this role further, you should approach the contact given. In some cases, alternative working hours will be considered.
We welcome applications from the Armed Forces.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Authorisation to practice as a healthcare chaplain by a sponsoring faith community or belief group.
- To have some post-basic qualification pertinent to the role chaplaincy /pastoral care
Experience & Knowledge
Essential
- Experience of providing spiritual and pastoral care to a diverse population
- Experience of working with people of different faiths, those with a life limiting illness and the bereaved
- Ability to respond creatively to the pastoral, religious, spiritual needs of patients, relatives, staff & volunteers, experience of pastoral and spiritual counselling
Desirable
- Experience of health care, whether part time or whole time
- Experience of chaplaincy care in Paediatric, Maternity and Neo Natal Care areas
Skills
Essential
- Ability to work within a multidisciplinary team
- Lead informal worship in a variety of contexts as appropriate to faith/belief
- Excellent communication skills
- Prioritisation of workload
- Good time management
- Ability to enthuse and motivate others
- Ability to act independently and be decisive in critical situations
- Ability to cope with new and changing demands
- Some evidence of personal growth or faith
Desirable
- Developed understanding of health healing and wholeness
Additional Requirements
Essential
- The ability to understand and behave at all times, towards patients, visitors and colleagues according to the Trust values of safe, kind, excellent.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Authorisation to practice as a healthcare chaplain by a sponsoring faith community or belief group.
- To have some post-basic qualification pertinent to the role chaplaincy /pastoral care
Experience & Knowledge
Essential
- Experience of providing spiritual and pastoral care to a diverse population
- Experience of working with people of different faiths, those with a life limiting illness and the bereaved
- Ability to respond creatively to the pastoral, religious, spiritual needs of patients, relatives, staff & volunteers, experience of pastoral and spiritual counselling
Desirable
- Experience of health care, whether part time or whole time
- Experience of chaplaincy care in Paediatric, Maternity and Neo Natal Care areas
Skills
Essential
- Ability to work within a multidisciplinary team
- Lead informal worship in a variety of contexts as appropriate to faith/belief
- Excellent communication skills
- Prioritisation of workload
- Good time management
- Ability to enthuse and motivate others
- Ability to act independently and be decisive in critical situations
- Ability to cope with new and changing demands
- Some evidence of personal growth or faith
Desirable
- Developed understanding of health healing and wholeness
Additional Requirements
Essential
- The ability to understand and behave at all times, towards patients, visitors and colleagues according to the Trust values of safe, kind, excellent.
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.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
Additional information
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.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
Employer details
Employer name
Cambridge University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Address
Addenbrookes Hospital-Division Corporate
Hills Rd
Cambridge
CB2 0QQ
Employer's website
https://www.cuh.nhs.uk (Opens in a new tab)