Chaplain

US-Department-of-Veterans-Affair; Hot Springs (SD); On-site; USD 75,000 - 95,000; Full time

Job summary

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs seeks a GS-12 Chaplain to provide comprehensive spiritual and pastoral care to Veterans, caregivers, and staff within a pluralistic VA setting.

Applicants must hold a Master of Divinity or equivalent, possess ecclesiastical endorsement, and be board-certified (or equivalent). The role emphasizes advanced spiritual care, program development, and collaboration with mental health chaplains.

Qualifications

• Master of Divinity or equivalent theological degree from CHEA/ATS accredited institution.
• Ecclesiastical endorsement within the past 12 months from official endorsing authority.
• Board certification with 4 units of CPE is qualifying.
• Proficiency in spoken and written English.

Responsibilities

• Provide comprehensive religious, spiritual, and pastoral care to Veterans, caregivers, and staff as required.
• Maintain current ecclesiastical endorsement and comply with VA endorsement standards.
• Demonstrate specialty certification and advanced chaplaincy practice in leadership and guidance.
• Coordinate chaplaincy services within a pluralistic VA setting and contribute to program development and evaluation.

Skills

Spiritual care

Conflict mediation

Research literacy

Program evaluation

Teaching and mentoring

Policy development

Education

Master of Divinity

Board Certified Chaplain (BCCI) or equivalent

Job description

GS-12 Chaplain

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 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this occupational series. For more information, refer to Required Documents below.

All requirements must be met by the close date of this announcement, 08/28/2026.

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.
• 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.
• 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
• Board 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. Note: Provisional or Associate or other status as a candidate for board certification does not meet the board certification requirement.
• English Language Proficiency: Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f).

Grade Determinations

GS-12 Chaplain

Experience: One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade, GS-11.

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.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs):

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

Preferred Experience: Board specialization in grief recovery, addictions, moral injury, or mental health. 3 years of mental health, suicide prevention, rehabilitation, moral injury, or other similar chaplain experience Experience developing and implementing chaplain programs for mental health and/or addiction spiritual care needs.

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

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12.

Physical Requirements

You will be asked to participate in a pre-employment examination or evaluation as part of the pre-employment process for this position. Questions about physical demands or environmental factors may be addressed at the time of evaluation or examination. Driving physical required. Occasional travel between Fort Meade, Hot Springs, and CBOCs (potentially up to 1 day per week).