This Staff Chaplain position is located at the VA Boston Healthcare System, West Roxbury VA Medical Center, Massachusetts. The position is full-time at 40-hours per week.

Duties

The incumbent serves as a Chaplain professional for the Veterans Health Administration. 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. Duties include, but are not limited to:

Requirements

Qualifications

BASIC REQUIREMENTS. To qualify for appointment as a chaplain, applicants meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement: a. Citizenship. Citizen of the United States (U.S.) b. 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. c. 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. d. 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 e. 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. Exception. Non-certified applicants who otherwise meet the eligibility requirements may begiven 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 two years and may not be converted to a new temporary appointment in this occupation. f. Loss of Endorsement or Certification. Chaplains must maintain ecclesiastical endorsement and board certification. Loss of endorsement or board certification will result in removal from the GS-0060 Chaplain occupation and may result in termination of employment. g. English Language Proficiency. Chaplains must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. 7403(f). GRADE REQUIREMENTS. In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates: Chaplain, GS-9 Grade Level: (a) Experience. None beyond the basic requirements. (b) Assignment. At the GS-9 entry level, chaplains serve in a career development position practicing under close supervision of a supervisor or qualified individual who reviews and ensures the employee meets competency requirements. (c) Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to meeting the basic experience requirements, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs: i. Knowledge of spiritual assessments to identify patient strengths and needs and documenting services provided. ii. Ability to use the information of the spiritual assessment to create care plans in all dimensions of pastoral care. iii. Ability to provide crisis intervention and stabilization. iv. Skill in healthcare team collaboration to create and update treatment plans to address spiritual issues. v. Ability to ensure free exercise of religion for patients and staff. vi. Knowledge of individual and group interventions to address spiritual and emotional needs of patients and families; providing referrals for continuity of spiritual care. vii. Skill in the coordination of religious services respecting the faith tradition of individual patients. viii. Ability to communicate verbally and in writing with persons of varied backgrounds. Chaplain, GS-11 Full Performance Grade Level: (a) Experience. At this level, the candidate must have one year of creditable experience equivalent to the GS-9 level that is directly related to the position to be filled. (b) Assignment. At the GS-11 journey level, the chaplain independently serves as a primary resource and point of contact for the spiritual needs of patients, caregivers and staff. The chaplain provides advance care planning education, information, and counsel for patients and their families. The chaplain provides guidance and/or support for patients to express values through processes such as life review, oral history, and end of life preparation and documentation. The chaplain develops pastoral care programs that are measurable, outcome-driven, and evidence-based in coordination with the department guidelines. The chaplain provides pastoral counseling on medical and ethical matters, including but not limited to, moral injury, problems of conscience, family or marital difficulties, justice or confinement matters, terminal diagnoses, or crisis. (c) Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills and Abilities. In addition to meeting the KSAs for the GS-9 grade level, the candidate must meet the experience above and demonstrate the following KSAs: i. Knowledge of advance care planning to educate, inform, and counsel patients and families. ii. Skill in guiding patients in verbalizing and expressing values through life review, oral history, and end of life preparation and documentation. iii. Ability to develop pastoral care programs that are measurable, outcome-driven and evidenced based within the department guidelines. iv. Skill in counseling on medical and ethical issues, terminal diagnoses or crises, moral injury, problems of conscience, family or marital difficulties and justice or confinement matters. v. Ability to support the development of staff resiliency and develop programs for staff development and wellness by providing spiritual and emotional support. vi. Ability to educate and equip healthcare staff and trainees screening for spiritual and religious needs of patients and the importance of appropriate referrals to chaplains for complex spiritual distress. vii. Knowledge of community needs to coordinate with community organizations to provide comprehensive spiritual care, utilizing outside community resources to meet the religious needs of patients that cannot be met by chaplain staff.

Education

IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are 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: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. 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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

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) listed at https://www.naces.org/members.

Contacts

• Address VA Boston Healthcare System 940 Belmont Street Brockton, MA 02301 US
• Name: Mark Throckmorton
• Email: [email protected]