Clarification from the agency

This vacancy announcement is opened to current, permanent Department of Veterans Affairs employees only. Federal employees must submit their most recent, non-award SF 50 from their eOPF. NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this occupational series. For more information, refer to Required Documents below.

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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.

• Serves as a Chaplain professional providing comprehensive, religious ministry services to Veteran patients according to their specific needs and desires.
• Provides extended and intensive pastoral counseling as an integral part of the treatment program with patients facing complex, ethical, moral, and spiritual issues.
• Ensures program effectiveness and modification of service pattern, which includes research and leadership of clinical teams.
• Serves as a Chaplain representative and a fully recognized member of an interdisciplinary treatment team (IDT).
• Serves as a primary Chaplain resource, spiritual advisor, and liaison for the spiritual needs of patients, caregivers, and staff.
• Leads various complex and sensitive projects, task groups, and assignments to obtain pertinent high-level information needed for Chaplain Service management officials.
• Engages as a spiritual leader, a compassionate listener, and counselor, especially during times of crisis.
• Uses sound guidance and advice to lead prayer and religious services.
• Provides pastoral ministry to patients with respect to the patient's faith group.
• Serves as professional clinical Chaplain in specialty clinics.
• Engages in group consultative discussions or conferences with these professionals to provide Chaplain related input to collaborate on the evaluation and review of the patient's progress.
• Provides pastoral counseling on medical and ethical matters, including moral injury, problems of conscience, family or marital difficulties, justice or confinement matters, terminal diagnoses, or crises.
• Develops measurable, outcome-driven, and evidence-based pastoral care; and creates staff development and wellness programs.
• 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.
• Provides guidance and religious instruction to individuals and groups.
• Interacts and maintains cooperative relationships with Medical Center personnel, family, local clergy, individuals, and groups in the community.
• Engages community resources to meet the religious needs of patients that cannot be met by chaplain staff.
• Uses significant religious expression groups such as veteran choirs and such aids as devotional literature, films, and bedside broadcasts.
• Provides routine personal visits, special visits, and new patient interviews based on requests and referrals/consults.
• Conducts spiritual assessments to identify patients' strengths and needs.
• Provides crisis intervention and stabilization as required. .
• Communicates effectively, both in writing and verbally, with persons of varied backgrounds.
• Performs a variety of complex intervention methods, including individual and group interventions to address the emotional and spiritual needs of patients and families.
• Assists Suicide Prevention Program in the management of patients enrolled at the facility that are identified as high risk for suicide, including conducting risk assessment, safety plans, initiating health and welfare checks, and reviewing high-risk status.
• Contacts Veterans who are flagged high risk and are non-compliant attendance to scheduled mental health and/or substance abuse appointments.
• Follow up on all calls made to tie Suicide Prevention Crisis line from Veteran's who receive care though the West Palm Beach VA
• Provides group and individual spiritual interventions to Veterans in support of suicide prevention efforts.
• As Suicide Prevention team member provides staff and patient education regarding suicide prevention, including but not limited to Operation SAVE, REACH VET, Suicide Prevention Awareness, outreach events, educational activities.
• Independently may conduct psychosocial assessments and develops treatment plans in collaboration with the Veteran/family member(s) and the interdisciplinary treatment team.
• Provides crisis intervention services, identifies the cause as well as the presenting complaint, coordinates family conferences and serves as liaison to family members.
• Facilitates moral injury groups or spirituality groups.
• Spearhead the postvention efforts and a member of the Postvention Team
• Respond to Veterans crisis calls that are experiencing Suicide Ideation or flagged High Risk for suicide that have spiritual needs.
• Member of the Critical Incident Response team.
• Provide services on the Inpatient Psychiatry Unit and Medical Floors flagged High Risk for Suicide.
• Spends minimally 70% of time in patient care.

Work Schedule: Monday through Friday from 8:00 am to 4:30 pm.
Functional Statement #: 41784F
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

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 (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). 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.

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: 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) (https://www.chea.org/) or Association of Theological Schools (ATS) (https://www.ats.edu/) and recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
  • Applicants who do not possess a Master of Divinity degree or equivalent educational degree may meet this requirement with an approved educational equivalency review from a nationally recognized board certification body for chaplains is acceptable such as the Board of Chaplaincy Certification Inc. (BCCI) or a 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.
• 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. https://acpe.edu/
• ENDORSEMENT: Applicants must possess a full and active ecclesiastical endorsement, dated within the past 12 months. A complete list of Ecclesiastical Organizations that the Department of Veterans Affairs recognizes as Ecclesiastical Endorsing Organizations is available here: https://www.patientcare.va.gov/chaplain/Ecclesiastical_Endorsement.asp (Note: Current VA Chaplains do not need to get updated endorsements after they are hired.)
• CERTIFICATION: Applicants must be a Board-Certified Chaplain by the Board of Chaplaincy Certifications 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. https://www.apchaplains.org/bcci-site/

Note: Current Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Chaplains who were employed in the position as of September 24, 2020 that were grandfathered are considered to have met the positive education, CPE, and certification requirements.

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).

Grandfathering Provision.

All chaplains employed in VHA, in this occupational series, performing the duties as described in the qualification standard on the effective date of this qualification standard, are considered to have met all the qualification requirements for the grade held, including positive education and certification that are part of the basic requirements of the occupation. For employees who do not meet all the basic requirements of this standard, but met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed to the position, the following provisions apply:

(1) Chaplains who do not meet the basic requirements for education and certification may be reassigned, promoted up to and including the full performance level, or demoted within the occupation, but may not be promoted beyond the full performance level or placed in supervisory or managerial positions.
(2) Chaplains appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended, or be reappointed on a temporary or permanent basis, until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard.
(3) Chaplains initially grandfathered into this occupation, who subsequently obtain education and/or certification that meets all the basic requirements of this qualification standard, must maintain the required credentials as a condition of employment in the occupation.
(4) Chaplains who were retained in this occupation, under this provision, and subsequently leave the occupation, lose protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of reentry to the occupation.

Grade Determinations:

Chaplain, GS-12
(a) Experience. The candidate must have one year of creditable experience equivalent to the journey level (GS-11) that is directly related to the position to be filled.

(b) Specialty Certification. Specialty certification is demonstrated advanced practice and/or specialization in chaplaincy beyond the board certification and is required for the GS-12 grade level. Specialty certification from a professional chaplain certifying body that is directly related to the assignment is qualifying for a senior chaplain assignment.

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs:

1. Ability to apply relevant theories and methodologies to their ministry specialty.
2. Ability to integrate specialized psychological and sociological theory with an advanced approach to spiritual care.
3. Skill to seek out primary research and research literature that informs the ministry specialty and one's spiritual care practice.
4. 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.
5. Ability to mediate conflict, hold various emotions and diffuse moral distress among staff and complex crisis situations.
6. Ability to provide specialized consultation, teaching and mentoring to colleagues and students on advanced spiritual care interventions in the service delivery area.
7. Ability to apply advanced clinical knowledge to write policies, procedures and/or practice guidelines pertaining to the service delivery area.

Preferred Experience: It is preferred that applicants have experience in suicide prevention.

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 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.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Your application, resume, C.V., and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect consideration for employment.

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate's abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position.

It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.