Clarification from the agency

Open to Current Permanent Employees of the VA Caribbean Healthcare System and Current Permanent VA employees . NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position. For more information, refer to Required Documents below. Veterans' Preference is not applicable to VA employees or employees of other Federal agencies.

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Major duties but are not limited to :

• Serves as the Supervisory Chaplain providing advanced, clinically-integrated spiritual care, delivering comprehensive religious, spiritual, and pastoral services that address Veterans' individualized needs, desires, and voluntary consent across all care settings. Ensures spiritual care is fully integrated into treatment plans, interdisciplinary discussions, and whole-health approaches
• Provides thorough guidance and advice to Chaplain Service management staff, other Chaplains, and other stakeholders.
• Provides supervision for the chaplaincy program of a major faith ministry which is highly integrated into VHA's Chaplain program. Manages and supervises the full spectrum of chaplaincy service operations. Supervises non-supervisory and supervisory professional staff at the GS-12 level or below.
• Manages 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.
• Perform supervisory and non-supervisory assignments consisting of significant scope, complexity, difficulty, and variety. Supervises the professional practice of all facility chaplains and provides chaplaincy services and programming.
• Manages and oversees all religious and spiritual care and provides counsel to facility leadership concerning religious expression. Develops local policy, productivity, and clinical practice standards.
• Serves as the Supervisory Chaplain expert participant with other specialists as a fully recognized member of an interdisciplinary treatment team (IDT).
• Engages with other program heads and the VHA facility's administrator in decision making conferences concerning policies, practices, and regulations affecting the care and treatment program of the facility.
• Carries out full program responsibility with professional independence, while subject to only administrative controls from immediate supervisor. Supervises subordinate chaplains and/or visiting assistants.
• Develops 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.
• Works in difficult environmental settings that require considerably more than a working knowledge of the behavioral sciences; and understands and effectively addresses highly sensitive ethical, moral, emotional, and spiritual issues among Veterans, families, and staff.
• Plans work to be accomplished by subordinates, establishes and adjusts short-term priorities, and prepares schedules for completion of work. Assign work to subordinates based on priorities, selective consideration of the difficulty and requirements of assignments, and the capabilities of employees.
• Supervises all administrative functions of the department, such as clinical practice, program management, education, human resource management, budget management, development of policy, and clinical practice standards.

Work Schedule: Monday to Friday 8:00am-4:30pm
Telework: Not Available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 60996F
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

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 identification 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: 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.
  • NOTE: For applicants who do not possess a Master of Divinity degree or equivalent educational degree, an approved educational equivalency review from a nationally recognized board certification body for chaplains is acceptable.
• 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/Ecclesiastical_Endorsement.asp .
• Board Certification: 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. The National Chaplain Service maintains a list of approved certifications found on the National VA Chaplain Service SharePoint.
  • Association of Certified Christian Chaplains - https://certifiedchaplains.org/
  • Association of Professional Chaplains®(APC®) - www.professionalchaplains.org
  • National Association of Catholic Chaplains (NACC) - www.nacc.org
  • Neshama Association of Jewish Chaplains (NAJC) - www.najc.org
  • National Association of Veterans Affairs Chaplains (NAVAC) - https://www.navac.net/
  • Spiritual Care Association - https://www.spiritualcareassociation.org/
  • Note: Provisional or Associate or other status as a candidate for board certification does not meet the board certification requirement for the FPL GS-11 or above
• 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 https://www.naces.org/members 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).

Grade Determinations: Supervisory Chaplain, GS-13. Experience. One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade.

• Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs). In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs:
• Knowledge of administrative, personnel, and 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 chaplaincy services and programming with the strategic goals and objectives of the facility, VISN, and VHA.
• 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.

Selective Placement Factor (SPF) for locations in Puerto Rico- This position includes skill, knowledge, ability or other worker characteristic basic to -and essential for- satisfactory performance of the job. Selective Placement Factors are a prerequisite to appointment and represent minimum requirements for a position. Applicants who do not meet it are ineligible for further consideration. Evidence of the Selective Placement Factor must be reflected in your resume. The SPF for this position is: In addition to the English Language Proficiency, you must also be proficient in basic written and spoken Spanish in order to perform the duties of this position.

Preferred Experience: Previous experience working with Veterans and VHA Policies and Directives.

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.


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.

Area of Consideration-Eligible applicants will be reviewed and referred to in the following order:
1. Facility employees
2. All other VHA employees

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.