Director, Pastoral Service

One Brooklyn Health System Inc.; New York (NY); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

One Brooklyn Health System Inc. seeks a Director of Pastoral Care to provide strategic and compassionate spiritual leadership across the Brookdale Hospital community.

The role delivers direct emotional and spiritual support to patients, families, and staff, especially during trauma and end-of-life situations. Reporting to executive leadership, you will integrate pastoral care into planning and culture, manage chaplaincy services, supervise staff, oversee policies on ethics, organ donation, and

Qualifications

• Master of Divinity (or equivalent) required.
• Minimum three years as a chaplain in healthcare/trauma settings.
• Ability to engage with diverse faiths and cultures with discretion.

Responsibilities

• Deliver bedside ministry and spiritual counseling during crises.
• Lead trauma debriefings and emotional support for hospital staff.
• Serve on the Ethics Committee and develop end-of-life care policies.
• Lead chapel services and spiritual enrichment efforts.
• Represent Pastoral Care in executive meetings and hospital leadership initiatives.
• Manage departmental operations, volunteers, documentation, and budget.
• Facilitate therapeutic groups and collaborate across clinical disciplines.

Skills

Empathetic crisis response

Cross-cultural communication

Ethics and confidentiality

Leadership and staff support

Education

Master of Divinity (M.Div.)

Tools

Electronic Health Records (EHR) systems

Job description

Overview

The Director of Pastoral Care provides strategic and compassionate spiritual leadership across the Brookdale Hospital community. This role includes delivering direct emotional and spiritual support to patients, families, and staff—particularly during trauma and end-of-life situations—while also integrating pastoral care into executive-level planning and institutional culture. Operating within an interfaith and trauma-informed framework, the Director manages chaplaincy services, leads staff support initiatives, and oversees policies related to ethics, compassionate withdrawal, and organ donation.

Responsibilities

• Deliver bedside ministry and spiritual counseling during crises, including infant death, trauma, and end-of-life care.
• Lead trauma debriefings and emotional support for hospital staff.
• Serve on the Ethics Committee and develop end-of-life care policies.
• Lead chapel services and spiritual enrichment efforts.
• Represent Pastoral Care in executive meetings and hospital leadership initiatives.
• Manage departmental operations, volunteers, documentation, and budget.
• Facilitate therapeutic groups and collaborate across clinical disciplines.

Qualifications

Education

• Masterer of Divinity (M.Div.) or required equivalent.

Experience

• Minimum three (3) years of chaplaincy experience in healthcare or trauma settings.

Knowledge and Skills

• Exceptional ability to respond empathetically during crisis.
• The capacity to communicate respectfully across cultures and with persons of different faiths is a valued asset.
• Due to the sensitive nature of the work, the chaplain is held to a high standard of ethical behavior, professionalism and confidentiality.
• Ability to fully utilize BHMC’s electronic record systems, equipment and other healthcare and billing systems relevant to this position.

Physical Requirements

• Position requires prolonged periods of standing, reaching, walking throughout the working day.
• Position will be required to stoop, bend, lift, and carry items weighing up to 25 pounds.

The salary range and/or hourly rate listed is a good faith determination of potential base compensation that may be offered to a successful applicant for this position at the time of this job advertisement and can be modified in the future. When determining a team member’s base salary and/or rate, several factors may be considered as applicable (e.g., site, specialty, service line, years of relevant experience, education, credentials, negotiated contracts, budget and internal equity).

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

The statements herein are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by employees and are not to be construed as an exhaustive list of responsibilities, duties, and skills required of personnel so classified. Furthermore, they do not establish a contract for employment and are subject to change at the discretion of One Brooklyn Health (OBH).

OBH is an equal opportunity employer, it is our policy to provide equal opportunity to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, marital status, military status, age, gender, sexual orientation, disability or handicap or other characteristics protected by applicable federal, state, or local laws.