Chaplain

Summary

The incumbent serves as a Chaplain professional for the New Mexico VAMC. The incumbent provides 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 service.

Learn more about this agency

Duties

Help

Duties include, but are not limited to:

• Serves as a primary resource, spiritual advisor and point of contact for the spiritual needs of patients, caregivers, and staff.
• Conducts religious services and worship, pastoral ministry, and administration of Chaplain services.
• Addresses the religious, spiritual, moral, and ethical problems of patients and staff.
• Provides advance care planning education, information, and counsel for patients and their families.
• Uses knowledge of different faiths to perform various religious rituals, lead prayers, and answer spiritual questions.
• Provides appropriate education and training to other healthcare staff and trainees to screen for spiritual and religious needs and the importance of appropriate referrals to chaplains for complex spiritual distress.
• Maintains cooperative relationships with Medical Center personnel and individuals and groups in the community including local clubs, church groups, special agencies, business organizations and other stakeholders.
• Maintains contacts with staff members of the other professional disciplines of the institution, usually for exchange of information relative to the background and current condition of the patient.
• Maintains contacts with the family and/or local clergy, church groups and interested community organizations to sustain the necessary links with the outside community.
• Completes various Chaplain related administrative assignments, projects and reports.
• Maintains records, supplies, and religious equipment for the assigned program; and tracks and maintains the program's budget.
• Collaborates with healthcare teams to create and update treatment plans to address spiritual distress, grief, and loss as existential concerns to enhance holistic care.
• Maintains and uses a good knowledge and understanding of other religions or denominations.
• Uses skills developing pastoral care programs that are measurable, outcome-driven and evidenced-based within the department guidelines.
• Uses skills supporting the development of staff resiliency and developing programs for staff development and wellness by providing spiritual and emotional support.

Work Schedule : Tuesday - Saturday, 9:00am -5:30pm

Telework : Not available

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Functional Statement # : 000000

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives : Not authorized

Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized

PCS Appraised Value Offer (AVO): Not authorized

Requirements

Help

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
• Subject to background/security investigation.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements ( Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Must pass pre-employment physical examination.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
• Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.
• Must posses a valid driver's license.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1 or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met.

Basic Requirements :

• United States Citizenship : Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
• Education . Applicants must possess a Master of Divinity degree or equivalent educational qualifications as evidenced by a graduate-level theological degree from a college, university or theological school accredited by a member of the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) or Association of Theological Schools (ATS) and recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
• Ecclesiastical Endorsement . In accordance with 38 C.F.R. § 17.655, ecclesiastical endorsement is a condition of employment as a VA chaplain. An individual must possess and maintain a full and active ecclesiastical endorsement to be employed as a VA chaplain. Applicants must have an ecclesiastical endorsement, dated within the past 12 months. Ecclesiastical endorsements must be from the official national endorsing authority of the applicant's/employee's faith group or denomination. Ecclesiastical endorsement is a written official statement, by the official national endorsing body of the faith group or denomination, certifying that the applicant is in good standing with the applicant's faith group or denomination; and stating that the individual is, in the opinion of the endorsing body, qualified to perform the full range of ministry required in the VA pluralistic setting. Loss of endorsement will result in removal from the GS-0060 Chaplain series and may result in termination of employment.
• Board Certification . Applicants must be a Board-Certified Chaplain certified by BCCI ® or a U.S. certifying body that has a reciprocity agreement with BCCI ®. Board Certification that requires 4 units of CPE is qualifying.
• Loss of Credential . Management officials, in collaboration with HR Office staff must immediately relieve employees who fail to maintain any of the required certifications (board certification, ecclesiastical endorsement, or when applicable a specialty certification) of the duties and responsibilities associated with this occupation which may also result in separation from employment.
• Foreign Education. To be creditable, education completed outside the U.S. must be submitted to a current affiliate agency of the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES) at and be deemed at least equivalent to that gained in a conventional U.S. program.
• English Language Proficiency . Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f)

May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria).

Grade Determination :

Chaplain, GS-12

In addition to meeting the basic requirements, to qualify at the GS-12 level you must possess at least one (1) year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-11).

Specialty Certification : Specialty certification is demonstrated advanced practice and/or specialization in chaplaincy beyond the board certification. You must possess a Specialty Certification from a professional chaplain certifying body that is directly related to the position being filled. The list of Board Certifying Chaplain Organizations and Specialty Certifying Organization is located here:

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs) : In addition to the experience and specialty certification requirements above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs:

• Ability to apply relevant theories and methodologies to their ministry specialty.
• Ability to integrate specialized psychological and sociological theory with an advanced approach to spiritual care.
• Skill to seek out primary research and research literature that informs the ministry specialty and one's spiritual care practice.
• Skill in developing and implementing methods for measuring effectiveness of chaplain practice and services in the specialty area, utilizing outcome evaluations to improve treatment services and to design system changes.
• Ability to mediate conflict, hold various emotions and diffuse moral distress among staff and complex crisis situations.
• Ability to provide specialized consultation, teaching and mentoring to colleagues and students on advanced spiritual care interventions in the service delivery area.
• Ability to apply advanced clinical knowledge to write policies, procedures and/or practice guidelines pertaining to the service delivery area.

Preferred Experience: Possess the faculties to administer sacraments, including the Eucharist/Mass, the Sacrament of Penance (Confession), and the Anointing of the Sick.

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12.

Physical Requirements: This position requires the Chaplain to meaningfully engage with Veteran patients and family members by walking and moving within the healthcare setting or with the incumbent using an assistive device. The Chaplain is required to speak, hear (hearing aid permitted) and work closely with others.

Education

Transcripts must be submitted with your application if basing all or part of your qualifications on education.

Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit:

Additional information

Receiving Service Credit for Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed.

During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions.

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status.

VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply. The health-related positions in VA are covered by Title 38, and are not covered by the Schedule A excepted appointment authority.

If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.

Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

Help

A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

Review our benefits

Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.