The incumbent serves as a Chaplain professional performing clinical assignments for the VHA. 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. 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 chaplain services.
Learn more about this agency
U.S. Citizens, Nationals or those who owe allegiance to the U.S.
NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position. For more information, refer to Required Documents below.
Serves as a Chaplain professional providing comprehensive, religious ministry services to Veteran patients according to their specific needs and desires. Carries out a ministry which is highly integrated into VHA's Chaplain program. Provides thorough guidance and advice to Chaplain Service management staff, other Chaplains, and other stakeholders.
May serve at a facility in a clinical setting, or a small healthcare system, satellite outpatient clinic, other federal agency, or Community Based Out-patient Clinic (CBOC) where there is limited access to onsite supervision.
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.
Practices typically in a specialized clinic/program area, that may include intensive and extended pastoral counseling as an integral part of the treatment program, with patients facing complex moral, ethical, or spiritual problems.
Serves as a Chaplain representative and a fully recognized member of an interdisciplinary treatment team (IDT). Advises and collaborates with other members of the IDT to provide comprehensive healthcare services to Veterans.
Works with a full understanding of Chaplains' relationships to the objectives of VHA to successfully integrate the work of the medical facility's staff. Collaborates with and advises the other members of the IDT in the provision of comprehensive healthcare services to Veterans.
Maintains effective rapport with physicians, medical officers, psychologists, nurses, therapists, social workers, or others involved with the IDT. Ensures equity of access, service, and benefits to Veterans and provides the highest quality of care. Provides leadership, direction, orientation, coaching, in-service training, staff development, and continuing education programs.
Serves as a primary Chaplain resource, spiritual advisor, and liaison for the spiritual needs of patients, caregivers, and staff. Conducts comprehensive religious services and worship, pastoral ministry, and administration of Chaplain services.
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. Provides emotional support and counseling using empathy and strong interpersonal skills to effectively connect with people of all ages.
Ensures various complex assignments are carried out in a pluralistic environment, which encompasses sensitivity to the religious needs of many separate religious denominations and faith groups.
Provides thorough spiritual leadership, offers prayers, and provides overall religious services for Veteran patients, patient families, staff, and community. Conducts rituals before groups of people, which requires effective leadership and public speaking skills. Uses sound guidance and advice to lead prayer and religious services.
Addresses the religious, spiritual, moral, and ethical problems of patients and staff. Provides effective counseling services to patients and staff. Conducts regular rounds of hospital wards where patients are critically ill.
Ministers to newly admitted, pre- and post-operative patients, the critically ill, and the families of concerned Veteran patients. Provides advance care planning education, information, and counsel for patients and their families.
Provides pastoral ministry to patients with respect to the patient's faith group, including conscientious attention during emergencies and crises. Builds strong interpersonal relationships with patients and ensures all patients are provided opportunities for the free exercise of religion. Ascertains Veterans are protected from proselytizing and coercing from any source.
Serves as professional clinical Chaplain in specialty clinics such as Inpatient/Outpatient Mental Health, Inpatient/Outpatient Substance Use Disorder Clinics, Hospice, and Palliative Care, Grief and Bereavement Clinics, Women's Health Clinics, Cancer Treatment Centers, Spinal Cord/Polytrauma units, Pain clinics, Infectious Disease Clinics, Whole Health Clinics/Programs, etc.
Work Schedule: 8:00 AM-4:30 PM Monday-Friday
Functional Statement #: 61563O
- You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
- Designated and/or random drug testing may be required
- Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
- You may be required to serve a probationary period
- Subject to a background/security investigation
- Must be proficient in written and spoken English
- Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process
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.
- English Language Proficiency: Chaplains must be proficient in spoken and written English as required by 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), and 7407(d) of the VA Handbook 5005.
- Ecclesiastical Endorsement: Candidates must have ecclesiastical endorsement, dated within the past 12 months, from the official national endorsing authority of their faith group or denomination. For the purpose of this standard, 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 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.
- Education:Candidates must possess the Master of Divinity degree, normally based upon completion of 3 years of graduate study, or possess equivalent educational qualifications. Equivalent educational qualifications means possession of a bachelor's degree of at least 120 semester hours plus successful completion of 70 semester hours of graduate study which included or was supplemented by all of the following: 20 semester hours of pastoral ministry (examples: homiletics, preaching, ministry, pastoral counseling, supervised ministry and/or practice); 20 semester hours in any combination of theology, ethics, and philosophy of religion; 10 semester hours in religious history or world religions; and 20 semester hours in the study of sacred or religious writings, including the study of languages in which sacred or religious writings are written.
NOTE: Education achieved prior to the issuance of this standard that included the post-baccalaureate Bachelor of Divinity or Bachelor of Sacred Theology Degrees is generally considered substitutable for the Master of Divinity Degree.
Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE): Candidates must have completed at least two units of CPE as defined by the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education (ACPE) or the National Association of Catholic Chaplains (NACC) or have equivalent training. Equivalent training is not less than 800 hours of supervised ministry in a health-care setting, such as a hospital or nursing home, which incorporated both ministry formation and pastoral care skills development. Combinations of CPE and appropriate supervised ministry which total 800 hours meet this CPE requirement.
GS-12: Chaplain
Experience. One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade.
In addition to meeting the requirements above, must have 1 year of progressively responsible specialized professional experience equivalent in complexity and responsibility to the GS-11 level. This experience must have demonstrated the following Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs):
(a) Ability to apply relevant theories and methodologies to their ministry specialty.
(b) Ability to integrate specialized psychological and sociological theory with an advanced approach to spiritual care.
(c) Skill to seek out primary research and research literature that informs the ministry specialty and one's spiritual care practice.
(d) 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. (
e) Ability to mediate conflict, hold various emotions and diffuse moral distress among staff and complex crisis situations.
(f) Ability to provide specialized consultation, teaching and mentoring to colleagues and students on advanced spiritual care interventions in the service delivery area
(g) Ability to apply advanced clinical knowledge to write policies, procedures and/or practice guidelines pertaining to the service delivery area.
Reference: VA Handbook 5005 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:
Applicants must be physically and mentally able to efficiently perform the essential functions of the position without hazard to themselves or others. Depending on the essential duties of a specific position, usable vision, color vision, hearing, or speech may be required. However, in most cases, a specific physical condition or impairment will not automatically disqualify an applicant for appointment. The loss or impairment of a specific function may be compensated for by the satisfactory use of a prosthesis or mechanical aid.
Work Environment:
Work is primarily performed indoors where there is adequate air supply, lighting, heating and/or cooling. Work may involve exposure to infection and possible contagious diseases. Standard precautions and isolation techniques will be employed as indicated. There is occasion where response to physical and/or verbal abuse by patients requires knowledge gained from ongoing violence in the workplace training.
All persons currently employed as permanent GS-060 VA Chaplains on the effective date of this standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the position held. They may be promoted, demoted, or reassigned within the GS-060 occupational series because they are considered to have met those qualification requirements. Any employee initially retained in this manner who leaves this job series loses this protected status and must meet the full requirements of this standard in effect at the time of reentry.
IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application.
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: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html.
This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.
It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.
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.
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.
If you are unable to apply online view the following link for information regarding an Alternate Application.
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.
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.
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.
To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package which includes:
Special Note for Applications: To complete your application, please use the following link https://vacareers.va.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/Resume.docx to download the standard Clinical Resume Document. This one-page document does not need to be modified and must be uploaded into the two-page restricted 'Resume' document upload field.
Your full resume/CV may be uploaded without page limitation into the 'Other' document upload field.
The following documents are accepted, and may be required if applicable to your eligibility and/or qualifications for this position. Please ensure you have included all documents required for your application, such as a copy of your transcript (if using education to qualify), SF-50's (current/former Federal employees), etc.
- Cover Letter
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DD-214/ Statement of Service
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Disability Letter (Schedule A)
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Disability Letter (VA)
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License
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Other (1)
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PCS Orders
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Performance Appraisal
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Professional Certification
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Resume
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Separation Notice (RIF)
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SF-15
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SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
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Transcript
Veterans' Preference: When applying for Federal Jobs, eligible Veterans should claim preference for 5pt (TP), 10pt (CP/CPS/XP), or for Sole Survivor Preference (SSP) in the questionnaire. You must provide a legible copy of your DD214(s) which shows dates and character of service (honorable, general, etc.). If you are currently serving on active duty and expect to be released or discharged within 120 days you must submit documentation related to your active duty service which reflects the dates of service, character of service (honorable, general, etc.), and dates of impending separation. Additionally, disabled veterans and others eligible for 10-point preference (such as widows or mothers of eligible Veterans) must also submit an SF-15 "Application for 10 Point Veteran Preference" with required proof as stated on the form. Documentation is required to award preference. For more information on Veterans' Preference, please visit Feds Hire Vets - Veterans - Job Seekers - Veterans' Preference.
Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.
All applicants are encouraged to apply online. To apply for this position, you must complete the full 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 08/31/2026 to receive consideration. To preview the questionnaire click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13042847.
- To begin, click Apply Online to create a USAJOBS 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.
VISN 19 HR Contact Center
Address
Montana VA Health Care System
3687 Veterans Drive
Fort Harrison, MT 59636
US
Once your online application is submitted you will receive a confirmation notification by email. After we receive application packages (including all required documents) and the vacancy announcement closes, we will review applications to ensure qualification and eligibility requirements are met. After the review is complete, a referral certificate(s) is issued and applicants will be notified of their status by email. Referred applicants will be notified as such and may be contacted directly by the hiring office for an interview. All referred applicants receive a final notification once a selection decision has been made.
You may check the status of your application at any time by logging into your USA Jobs account and clicking on Applications. Information regarding your application status can be found in the USAJobs Help Center.
NOTE: Participation in the seasonal influenza program is a condition of employment and a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP). It is a requirement that all HCP to receive annual seasonal influenza vaccination or obtain an exemption for medical or religious reasons. Wearing a face mask is required when an exemption to the influenza vaccination has been granted. HCP in violation of this directive may face disciplinary action up to and including removal from federal service. HCP are individuals who, during the influenza season, work in VHA locations or who come into contact with VA patients or other HCP as part of their duties. VHA locations include, but are not limited to, VA hospitals and associated clinics, community living centers (CLCs), community-based outpatient clinics (CBOCs), domiciliary units, Vet centers and VA-leased medical facilities. HCP include all VA licensed and unlicensed, clinical and administrative, remote and onsite, paid and without compensation, full- and part-time employees, intermittent employees, fee basis employees, VA contractors, researchers, volunteers and health professions trainees (HPTs) who are expected to perform any or all of their work at these facilities. HPTs may be paid or unpaid and include residents, interns, fellows and students. HCP also includes VHA personnel providing home-based care to Veterans and drivers and other personnel whose duties put them in contact with patients outside VA medical facilities.
Accepting applications
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
No matching locations found.
Work site options
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Salary
$89,508 - $116,362 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 12
Learn more about pay scale and grade
Pay scale and grade determines the salary of the job.
Travel Required
50% or less - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Appointment type
Permanent
Occupations and job series
Federal service type
This job is in the Excepted Service
Represented by a union
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Jobs require a background check and some require a security clearance. The type depends on the job.
Background check type
- Credentialing
- Suitability/Fitness
Financial disclosure required
No
Some jobs require financial disclosure to identify conflicts of interests.
Announcement number
CBSU-13042847-26-RR
