Duties

Summary

Come Join Our Team of Chaplains who provide a complete range of spiritual care ministries to Veterans and their families. Such ministry encompasses all aspects of pastoral care, assuring that the religious, spiritual, moral and ethical issues faced by Veterans are addressed as part of the holistic care provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs. Chaplains work in an interfaith environment as members of a pluralistic chaplaincy.
Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

The Chaplain has full responsibility for providing a complete religious ministry to Roman Catholic Veteran patients and their families. The Chaplain assesses religious, spiritual, moral, and ethical problems and plans and provides appropriate ministration, including individual in-depth pastoral ministry to Veteran patients and their families.

• Conduct spiritual assessments.
• Providing in-depth pastoral counseling to individual Veteran and family members and demonstrating sensitivity to the religious needs and requirements of each other and each individual Veteran.
• Arranging needed special services, including rites and sacraments and providing bereavement support when needed.
• Conducting weekly regularly scheduled services.
• Preparing and delivering sermons or formal worship services.
• Providing ward services for those individuals who are unable to attend regularly scheduled services.
• Provide marriage and family pastoral counseling to Veterans and relationship partner.
• Conducting periodic needs assessments of assigned populations served by the facility.
• Developing programs of spiritual care that include spiritual assessment, direct pastoral care, and program evaluation components.
• Selecting religious materials that will be used therapeutically for assigned Veteran populations in collaboration of Chief Chaplain and Chaplain Department staff.
• Coordinating religious club meetings, religious awareness groups, and interfaith meetings as called for by population served.
• Evaluating the need for volunteer assistance in the religious program and to exercise appropriate supervision of volunteers utilized in the program under the direction of the Chief of Chaplain Service.
• Serving as a mentor/preceptor for new chaplains, chaplain residents, and chaplain students.
• Providing counsel on medical ethical issues, such as Advance Directives, in the context of the Veteran's religious faith perspective.
• Communicating effectively with persons of diverse races, cultures, religions, nationalities, ages, and persons having varying types and degrees of disability to understand and address their specific needs.
• Providing support and encouragement to primary family members and friends to be present and supportive as they are able in response to regular and emergent needs of the Veteran.
• Participating 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 Veteran care.
• Advancing positive community relations through the development of relationships with local pastors, church groups and community organizations.
• Seeking other clinical staff chaplains or clergy person in the community for religious/pastoral care service that he or she cannot provide.
• Documenting care in electronic medical records and protecting sensitive information from loss, disclosure, or alteration.

Work schedule:
Monday - Friday, 8:00 am to 4:30 pm. May Provide emergency on-call night, holiday and weekend patient care coverage.

Compressed/Flexible Schedule: At the discretion of the service
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Travel Required

Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
None

Requirements

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
• You may be required to serve a probationary period
• Subject to background/security investigation
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English
• Ecclesiastical Endorsement
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 09/19/2019.

To qualify for this position at the GS-12 pay scale:
In addition to meeting the requirements for GS-11, one (1) year of progressively responsible specialized professional experience equivalent in complexity and responsibility to the GS-11 level. A minimum of three years of ministry experience. At least two years of this experience must have followed completion of the Master of Divinity or equivalent education. Experience during graduate education may count for up to one year of the three years of required experience. One year of the experience must have demonstrated all of the following:

A. Ability to serve as consultant or expert to a multidisciplinary treatment team.
B. In-depth knowledge of related professional fields, particularly in the behavioral sciences.
C. Understanding of, and ability to respond to, the particular concerns and issues pertaining to treatment of veterans.
D. Knowledge of the structure, regulations, practices, and programs of health care delivery systems.
E. Ability to interpret and apply a body of rules, regulations, policies, and procedures in professional practice.
F. Ability to develop and maintain liaisons with a variety of outside organizations.

*Completion of a doctoral degree directly related to pastoral ministry may be substituted for one year of this experience, unless the doctoral degree is used to satisfy the "equivalent education" as described above. Part time experience is prorated in comparison to 40 hours per week to determine its length.

Ecclesiastical Endorsement:
An ecclesiastical endorsement, dated within 12 months prior to the closing date of the announcement, from the official national endorsing authority of your faith group. An ecclesiastical endorsement is the written official statement by the endorsing body certifying that you are in good standing with the faith group and that you, in the opinion of the endorsing body, are qualified to provide the full range of ministry required in the VA's pluralistic setting . Only endorsements specifically for VA Chaplaincy are accepted. Note: Endorsements for military chaplaincy, for other Federal Chaplaincies, for Chaplain Cognate Groups, and endorsements to whom it may concern are not acceptable.

If your faith group is not on the list it must submit a Request to Designate an Ecclesiastical Endorsing Official to the National VA Chaplain Center on or before the closing date of this announcement. The request form, VHA Form 10-0389, is at the following web address: https://www.va.gov/vaforms/medical/pdf/vha-10-0379-fill.pdf Page 1 of the form gives instructions about documents that must accompany the request. The faith group must submit a document from the Internal Revenue Service showing that IRS has determined that the group/organization is tax-exempt as a religious organization under IRS Code 501(c)(3). The request form and supporting documents may be submitted by fax, email, or regular mail to:

National VA Chaplain Center
100 Emancipation Drive, Building 33
Hampton, VA 23667
Attention: National Chaplain Center
FAX: 757-728-3179
EMAIL: Chapvaco@med.va.gov

Do not submit application documents to the above address.
Do not submit the Request to Designate an Endorsing Official with your personal application documents.

Experience:
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; religious; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work can help 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.

Note:
A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE.

Education

Transcripts must be submitted with your application (student copies are acceptable.) Transcripts must indicate the degree(s) awarded and the date(s). A copy of the certificate or diploma must be submitted if no completion date is indicated on the transcript. Transcripts must show the name of the institution.

PLEASE NOTE:
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 (particularly positions with a positive education requirement). Therefore, applicants must report only attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Applicants can verify accreditation at the following website: http://www.ed.gov/admins/finaid/accred/index.html .

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.

Substitution of Education for Experience:
Successful completion of a doctoral degree which is directly related to pastoral ministry, at an accredited college or university, may be substituted for 1 of the 2 years of required experience (unless the doctoral degree is being used to satisfy the minimum educational requirement).

Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE):
In addition to the education requirement, 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. The requirement for CPE may be waived for part time GS-11 positions, of not more than 416 hours per annum, which involve liturgical

SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR FOREIGN EDUCATION:
Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the above requirements. You must show proof that the education credentials have been submitted to a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign educational credentials and that such education has been deemed to be at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S. education programs; or an accredited U.S. state university reports the other institution as one whose transcript is given full value, or full value is given in subject areas applicable to the curricula at the state university. It is your responsibility to provide such evidence when applying.All education claimed by applicants will be verified by the appointing agency accordingly. 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.

Additional information

Placement Policy:
The posting of this announcement does not obligate management to fill a vacancy or vacancies by promotion. The position may be filled by reassignment, change to lower grade, transfer, appointment, or reinstatement. Management may use any one or any combination of these methods to fill the position.

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

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

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 .

How You Will Be Evaluated

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

All applicants who meet the minimum qualification requirements will be evaluated by the Board of Excepted Service Examiners to determine the degree to which the documents provided demonstrate that the applicant has the following competencies:

• Assessing patients' spiritual needs and planning care in various care settings
• Communicating health care information to individuals, groups, patients, treatment teams
• Acquiring new pertinent knowledge and skills through on-going professional self-development
• Organizing work, setting goals, measuring and documenting outcomes
• Providing information and assistance to internal and external stakeholders including patients, families, staff members, community organizations, Veterans organizations
• Providing pastoral care in a hospital setting to patients, relatives and significant others in accordance with standards of cognate groups such as the Association of Professional Chaplains, the Joint Commission
• Assuring that patients have opportunity for free exercise of religion and preventing proselytizing from any source
• Utilizing information technology including documenting care in electronic medical records
  Advising interdisciplinary teams about patient needs and incorporating spiritual care into holistic health care
• Providing care and advice on difficult and complex issues in accordance with principles and practices of clinical and moral ethics
• Performing sacraments, rituals, ordinances, and worship service as appropriate to meet the needs of patients of the faith group by which the individual is endorsed
• Dealing effectively with diversity. Providing culturally competent care
• Taking initiative to seek methods to improve care and to lead workgroups, committees, and teams

Applicants will be given a numerical score between 70 and 100. The numerical score is based on the totality of relevant competencies. It is not determined by summing scores on each competency. Those Veterans who are entitled to preference will get either 5 or 10 points added. Applicants will be referred to the medical center for final consideration in score order. The medical center must select from among the highest three applicants.

Applicants who have completed a Clinical Pastoral Education residency (4 units of CPE) or fellowship in a Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center within the past year; and who meet the minimum qualification requirements, may be referred to the selecting official for consideration without a numerical rating. This is called "non-competitive consideration." Applicants with eligibility for Veteran preference will be referred first from lists of applicants eligible for non-competitive consideration.

Narrative responses are not required at this time. If you are referred for consideration, you may be asked to submit additional job related information, which may include, but not limited to; responses to the knowledge, skills and abilities; completion of a work sample, and/or contact for an interview.Your resume and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating or consideration for employment.

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Other

Drug test required
No

Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk

Trust determination process
Suitability/Fitness

Required Documents

To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package which includes:

1. Your resume: List all positions held whether paid or unpaid. You must indicate whether each position held was full-time or part-time. For part-time jobs indicate the average number of hours you worked per week.
2. Assessment Questionnaire: You must complete online through www.usajobs.gov
3. Ecclesiastical Endorsement: Dated within the past 12 months signed by the designated endorsing official of the faith group.
4. Clinical Pastoral Education or equivalent training: Certificates/evaluations or Letter of Equivalency for CPE from the National VA Chaplain Center must be uploaded in the application materials showing completion of Clinical Pastoral Education. Only documented units of Clinical Pastoral Education completed in programs accredited by the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education (ACPE) or the National Association of Catholic Chaplains (NACC) automatically count toward the CPE requirement.
5. College transcript(s): Copies are acceptable. Transcripts must indicate the degree awarded, if any, and the date awarded or conferred. A copy of the certificate or diploma must be submitted, if no completion date is indicated on the transcript. Transcripts must show the name of the institution. If you have a Master of Divinity Degree you do not need to submit undergraduate transcripts. Evidence of M.Div. or Letter of Equivalency for M.Div. from the National VA Chaplain Center must be uploaded in the application materials.
6. Document(s)/certification(s): Copies of Clinical Fellow, Pre-Clinical Fellow, Diplomate, Pastoral Psychotherapist or equivalent pastoral counseling certification.

Required documents if you are a Veteran claiming either 5-points or 10-points Veteran's preference:

• • DD-214 or other appropriate documentation to show dates of service and character of discharge;
  • Veterans Affairs or Department of Defense civil service preference letter, if claiming 10 pints Veteran's preference. You may download your civil service preference letter at https://www.ebenefits.va.gv/ebenefits-portal/ebenefits.portal ;
  • Form SF-15, you may download from https://www.opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/SF15.pdf .

For more information on Veteran's preference, please go to http://www.fedshirevets.gov/

The following documents are accepted, and may be required if applicable to your eligibility and/or qualifications for this position. Please use this checklist to make sure you have included other documents required for your application, such as a copy of your transcript (if using education to qualify), documentation to support Veterans Preference claims, etc. You will not be contacted for additional information.

• Cover Letter
• DD-214/ Statement of Service
• Disability Letter (Schedule A)
• Disability Letter (VA)
• License
• OF-306
• Ecclesiastical Endorsement
• Professional Certification
• Resume
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
• 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 http://www.fedshirevets.gov/job/vetpref/index.aspx .

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:

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.