Supervisory Chaplain

Supervisory Chaplain

Department: Department of Veterans Affairs

Location(s): Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania

Salary Range: $74678 - $97087 Per Year

Job Summary: The Supervisory Chaplain (Chief, Chaplain Service) reports directly to the Associate Director of Patient Care Services at the WB VAMC. This position is responsible for managing, directing, and supervising the provision and integration of spiritual and pastoral care to Veterans and beneficiaries in the full range of specialized areas of medical care at WB VAMC. The incumbent assures quality spiritual presence: honoring Veteran's choices and preferences, facilitating conversation and hope.

Major Duties:

• The incumbent is responsible for the effective leadership of assigned staff in developing; integrating arid carrying out the Wilkes-Barre VA Medical Center programs of religious, spiritual, and pastoral care for persons of all faith groups according to VHA Directives and station policy. The incumbent assures that all patients have opportunities for free exercise of religion and that they are protected from all forms of proselytizing. The incumbent assures that clinical chaplains provide spiritual assessment and care as part of interdisciplinary teams and answer consults throughout the system in the full range of specialized areas of medical care. The Chief is responsible for continued program development, innovation, and the integration of spiritual and pastoral care best practices throughout the diversified organizational elements of the medical center. The incumbent provides technical and administrative supervision to all Chaplain staff that support the Chaplain Service. The incumbent oversees the daily operation of the service, ensures that agency policies, priorities and protocols are being followed; develops performance standards; and evaluates work performance of subordinates; monitors and repairs workload documentation, prepares memorandums, position descriptions, administrative reports, budget hearings, proposals, best practices, on-call schedules, assignments, clinical tools, religious and memorial services. Represents the service at hospital staff conferences, acts as liaison between chaplain staff and other disciplines, collaborates with other disciplines for integrated business planning, represents or designates a chaplain to serve on appropriate hospital and VISN committees, such as, but not limited to: Spiritual and Pastoral Services, Integrated Ethics, Patient Care Services, Executive Leadership Board, Mental Health Executive Council, and Customer Service. Provides counsel and pastoral support to relatives of patients in difficult and trying situations to alleviate their anxieties, winning the effective cooperation of these relatives with the treatment regimen of the medical center, and help them deal with grief and loss. The Chaplain responds to emergencies or crises when pastoral presence and care is appropriate. When requested by patients, the Chaplain provides counsel on medical ethical issues, such as durable power of attorney and advance directives, in the context of the patient's faith background. The incumbent contributes to the formulation and accomplishment of spiritual and pastoral care objectives and activities by cooperating closely with colleagues in an ecumenical/interfaith, team approach to assignments. All chaplains will demonstrate sensitivity to the religious needs and requirements of each other and each individual person. The Chaplain will develop, organize and conduct a well-rounded program of religious ministry for Veteran patients and family members that fully integrate into the overall treatment program of the medical center. The incumbent participates actively on interdisciplinary teams/groups and committees to assure that the religious and spiritual dimensions of health and wellness are addressed in all aspects of the medical center's holistic patient care. Performs other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: 8:00am to 4:30pm, Monday thru Friday Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Supervisory Chaplain/PD08062F Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Qualifications: 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.Foreign Education. To be creditable, theological or related education completed outside the U.S. must be submitted to a current affiliate agency of the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES). Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE). Applicants must have completed four units of CPE from a CPE center that is accredited by an organization 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. The National Chaplain Service maintains a list of approved endorsing organizations that can be found here: https://www.patientcare.va.gov/chaplain/Employment_Information_and_Resources.asp Board Certification. Applicants must be a Board Certified Chaplain certified by the Board of Chaplaincy Certification Inc. (BCCI) ® or nationally recognized certification body that utilizes the BCCI ® Common Qualifications and Competencies for Professional Chaplaincy or a certifying organization that has a reciprocity agreement with BCCI ®. English Language Proficiency. Chaplains must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f). Exception. Non-certified applicants who otherwise meet the eligibility requirements may be given a temporary appointment under the authority of 38 U.S.C. § 7405(c)(2) for a period not to exceed two years. This exception only applies at the entry level. For the journey level and above, the candidate must have board certification. At the time of appointment, the supervisor in collaboration with Human Resources, will provide the uncertified chaplain with the written requirements for obtaining certification, the date by which the certification must by acquired, and the consequences for not becoming certified by the deadline. The written notice must be provided prior to the entrance on duty date. Failure to become certified within two years from date of appointment will result in removal from the GS-0060 Chaplain series and may result in termination of employment. Temporary graduate chaplain appointments may not be extended beyond 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). 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 Determinations: Supervisory Chaplain, GS-12 Experience. At this level, the candidate must possess one year of creditable experience equivalent to the GS-11 grade level that is directly related to the position to be filled. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills and Abilities. In addition to the experience or education above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs: Knowledge of administrative, personnel, resource management and strategic planning for chaplaincy and chaplain pastoral education programs. Ability to provide the full range of supervisory duties which include responsibility for assignment of work, performance evaluations, selection of staff and recommendation of awards, advancements and disciplinary actions. Skill in interpersonal relationships including conflict resolution and ability to work collaboratively with managers from other departments. Ability to develop local policy, productivity and clinical practice standards. Ability to align local chaplaincy services and programming with the strategic goals and objectives of all levels of the agency, department or organization. Ability to ensure compliance with chaplaincy practice, policy and accreditation standards across the continuum of health care. Skill in providing consultation to facility leadership, managers and other staff on all religious expression and spiritual care. Assignment. For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, complexity (difficulty) and variety and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time. The supervisory chaplain at this level typically has responsibility for management of a small to moderately complex chaplain service. The supervisory chaplain is responsible for the professional practice of all facility chaplains and provision of chaplaincy services and programming. The supervisory chaplain provides supervision to professional and non-professional staff at the GS-12 or below. The supervisory chaplain has full responsibility for managing and supervising all aspects of chaplaincy service operations including clinical practice, program management, education, human resource management and supervision of the service. The supervisory chaplain is responsible for oversight and management of all religious and spiritual care and provides counsel to facility leadership concerning religious expression. The supervisory chaplain may supervise nonsupervisory and supervisory personnel and is responsible for chaplaincy practice including all administrative functions of the department, such as budget management, development of policy and clinical practice standards, development and oversight of service programming, establishing and ensuring performance and productivity metrics and outcomes, planning and organizational development, ensuring compliance with agency and accreditation requirements and setting the strategic direction of the service. The supervisory chaplain ensures the right of free exercise of religion and protects against proselytizing. The supervisory chaplain maintains chapel space and oversees distribution of space, inventory, and resources needed for the provision of spiritual care, education, and programming. The supervisory chaplain assesses spiritual and religious needs of the organization and ensures the religious needs of patients are met through partnerships with community religious leaders and organizations, and community, state and Federal agencies. ALL INTERNAL EMPLOYEES MUST SUBMIT A RECENT SF-50 FOR CONSIDERATION! References: VA Handbook 5005/135 PART II Appendix G67. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-12 level. Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Service.

How to Apply: All applicants are encouraged to apply online. To apply for this position, you must complete the questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on 05/12/2026 to receive consideration. To preview the questionnaire click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12942569. To begin, click Apply Online to create a USA JOBS account or log in to your existing account. Follow the prompts to select your USA JOBS resume and/or other supporting documents and complete the occupational questionnaire. Click Submit My Answers to submit your application package. NOTE: It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date. Beginning September 27, 2025, Federal agencies will only accept resumes up to two pages in length to comply with the Merit Hiring Plan. Resumes longer than two pages will result in ineligibility for further consideration for the position. USAJOBS will not allow you to upload or build resumes longer than two pages, and you will need to update the resumes in your profile before applying for a job. Resumes should include information relevant to the knowledge, skills, abilities, and competencies of the position to which you are applying. VA is unable to make assumptions about qualifications if not clearly listed. Resumes must be legible so they can be reviewed for eligibility, minimum qualifications and other position requirements listed in the job announcement. Your resume must be 5MB or less. We recommend saving and uploading your resume as a PDF to maintain formatting and number of pages. We also accept GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, TXT, PDF, ODT or Word (DOC or DOCX). We do not accept PDF portfolio files. We recommend using a sans-serif font size like Lato, if available. Other widely available options are Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, Open San Source Sans Pro, Roboto or Noro Sans. Make your page margins 0.5 inches. Consider using 14-point size font for titles and 10-point for the main text in your resume. The resume builder can help you create a resume using these recommendations and uses the information in your USAJOBS profile to help you get started. Helpful Hints for Creating a Two-Page Resume: Prioritize most relevant and recent experience Use concise, results focused language Align language from the job announcement Focus on demonstrating skills and competencies Remove outdated or unrelated experience Use the USAJOBS resume builder Additional guidance on this new requirement and resume building tools can be found at: https://help.usajobs.gov/faq/application/documents/resume/page-limit https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/hiring-information/merit-hiring-plan-resources/applicant-guidance-on-the-two-page-resume-limit/ Special Employment Consideration: VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply, including those eligible for hiring under 5 CFR 213.3102(u), Schedule A, Appointment of persons with disabilities [i.e., intellectual disabilities, severe physical disabilities, or psychiatric disabilities], and/or Disabled veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more. Contact the Agency Contact for information on how to apply under this appointment authority via the Selective Placement Coordinator. The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced Federal/VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well-qualified: applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in most of the required competencies of the job. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/. 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.

Application Deadline: 2026-05-12