Chaplain (RC Priest)

The Prison Chaplain (RC Priest) carries out their duties in co-operation with members of an ecumenical and inter-faith chaplaincy team. Together they are responsible for the provision of chaplaincy services to all persons in custody at HMP Perth.  

There are three important areas of work, these are:   

• Religious Care is offered to all those wishing to practice their faith and includes leading regular services of prayers, Mass, worship, celebration of the sacraments, studies of religious texts, and faith-based groups.  

• Pastoral Care is provided, usually individually, to everyone and particularly those in most need – the bereaved and the distressed, those who are at risk of harm to self, and those most vulnerable including new admissions.   

• Spiritual Care accompanies and supports people of all faiths and none on their journey to discover purpose and meaning in life and to develop the resources to live a fulfilled life.   

As part of your application, you will be required to provide a response to a question on each of these key areas.   

The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) Strategy Framework on Spiritual and Pastoral Care, Religion and Belief, is the foundational document for the delivery of chaplaincy across the SPS and the practice of prison chaplains should reflect this. This may be found at:  

Chaplaincy Framework  

Further reading and information on Scottish Criminal Justice System and Chaplaincy can be found here:  

https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/strategy-plan/2022/02/vision-justice-scotland/documents/vision-justice-scotland-2022/vision-justice-scotland-2022/govscot%3Adocument/vision-justice-scotland-2022.pdf  

Civil Service Values

All Civil Servants, and therefore anyone employed by the Scottish Prison Service, must be able to fully comply with the requirements of the Civil Service Code. Everyone is expected to carry out their role with dedication and uphold the core values of the Civil Service: Honesty, Integrity, Objectivity and Impartiality.

• Integrity: putting the obligations of public service above your own personal interests.
• Honesty: being truthful and open.
• Objectivity: basing your advice and decisions on rigorous analysis of the evidence.
• Impartiality: acting solely according to the merits of the case and serving equally well Governments of different political persuasions.

The Civil Service Commission

Our recruitment is conducted in line with the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles and external competitions are regulated by the Civil Service Commission. While the legal requirement to follow these Principles applies specifically to external appointments, the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) recognises these standards as best practice. Accordingly, SPS fully adopts these principles as the foundation for all recruitment activity, including internal recruitment and selection processes.

External competitions: if you believe that the requirement for selection for appointment on merit based on fair and open competition has not been met, you have the right to raise a complaint. Further information on the Commission’s complaints procedure is available at: https://www.civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/.