Supervisory Chaplain

Chaplain Position

The incumbent serves as Chaplain professional performing supervisory and senior clinical assignments for the VHA. The incumbent provides comprehensive religious, spiritual, and pastoral care to all persons that are commensurate with the needs, desires, and voluntary consent of the Veteran, caregiver, or staff. The incumbent addresses the spiritual component of health and wellness in every patient care setting to ensure that pastoral care is fully integrated into all aspects of chaplain services.

Duties include:

• Providing thorough guidance and advice to Chaplain Service management staff, other Chaplains, and other stakeholders.
• Providing supervision for the chaplaincy program of a major faith ministry which is highly integrated into VHA's Chaplain program.
• Managing and supervising the full spectrum of chaplaincy service operations. Supervising non-supervisory and supervisory professional staff at the GS-12 level or below.
• Managing a moderately complex to very complex chaplain service program with identified specialty chaplains working in (Hospice and Palliative Care, Suicide Prevention, Mental Health Residential and Outpatient programs, Substance Use Disorder Clinics, Cancer Treatment Clinics, Women's Health Clinics, Spinal Cord Injury Clinics, etc.
• Performing supervisory and non-supervisory assignments consisting of significant scope, complexity, difficulty, and variety.
• Supervising the professional practice of all facility chaplains and providing chaplaincy services and programming.
• Managing and overseeing all religious and spiritual care and providing counsel to facility leadership concerning religious expression.
• Developing local policy, productivity, and clinical practice standards.
• Overseeing pastoral ministry, including intensive pastoral counseling, close integral working relationships with other staff disciplines, and active community liaison.
• Serving as an active participant and a key administrative staff member of the organization with VHA's leadership.
• Developing one or more subprograms (training, research, community relationships, or religious education if in relationship to the intensive overall treatment program), to advance the religious program and the mission of the medical facility.
• Working in difficult environmental settings that require considerably more than a working knowledge of the behavioral sciences; and understands and effectively addresses highly sensitive issues.
• Providing supervision with full responsibility for assignment of work, performance evaluations, selection of staff, recommendation of awards, advancements, and disciplinary actions.
• Interviewing candidates for positions in the unit; and recommending appointment, promotion, or reassignment to such positions.
• Providing emotional support and counseling using empathy and strong interpersonal skills to effectively connect with people of all ages.
• Providing thorough spiritual leadership, offering prayers and providing overall religious services for Veteran patients, patient families, staff, and community.
• Conducting regular rounds of hospital wards where patients are critically ill. Ministers to newly admitted, pre- and post-operative patients, the critically ill, and the families of concerned Veteran patients.
• Maintaining records and appropriately documenting chaplaincy care services in the Electronic Health Record Management (EHRM) system/Computerized Patient Record System (CPRS) through either service approved template or Subjective, Objective, Assessment, and Plan (SOAP) note format.
• Providing pastoral counseling on medical and ethical matters, including moral injury, problems of conscience, family or marital difficulties, terminal diagnoses, or crises.
• Conducting and arranging for religious worship services in chapels and at other locations for patients that are unable to attend regular chapel services.
• All other duties as assigned.

Work Schedule: 7:30 am to 4:00 pm

Compressed/Flexible: Not authorized.

Telework: Available.

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Functional Statement #: 06554F

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized.

Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized.