Hospice Chaplain — Independent Caseload & Spiritual Care

Heart to Heart Hospice; Houston (TX); On-site; USD 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Heart to Heart Hospice is seeking a Chaplain to provide individualized spiritual care to patients and families, managing caseloads with autonomous judgment and collaborating with IDG peers. The role emphasizes interfaith sensitivity, crisis counseling, and bereavement support within a hospice setting.

The position requires formal theological education or CPE, board certification or ordination experience, plus at least one year in a healthcare or death and dying context.

Qualifications

• Minimum one year of experience in a healthcare setting or with death and dying.
• Demonstrates comfort working in an interfaith and multi-belief setting; ability to provide spiritual care without imposing personal beliefs.
• Current State Driver’s License and reliable transportation with valid auto liability insurance.
• Proficiency with computer systems including EMR software; experience with FireNote preferred.

Responsibilities

• Independently manage an assigned caseload of hospice patients, determining visit frequency, scheduling, and pastoral approach for each patient and family based on autonomous spiritual and clinical assessment.
• Conduct individualized spiritual assessments for each patient and family to identify spiritual needs, distress, strengths, and resources across all faith traditions and belief systems.
• Provide professional pastoral counseling, crisis intervention, and emotional support to patients and families in real time, applying independent judgment to determine the appropriate pastoral modality and response for each situation.
• Participate as a peer-level professional contributor in the Interdisciplinary Group (IDG), presenting independent spiritual care assessments and plan of care updates alongside nursing, social work, and clinical leadership.
• Independently manage the bereavement support relationship with families following patient death, determining duration, frequency, and content of bereavement contacts based on own professional assessment of each family’s grief trajectory.
• Collaborate with other clinical team members to resolve spiritual, pastoral, and ethical issues affecting patient care.

Skills

Crisis counseling

Interfaith communication

Empathy

Education

Formal theological education (BDiv / MDiv or equivalent)

Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE)

Board Certification (BCC) or equivalent

Ordination with pastoral ministry experience

Job description

Heart to Heart Hospice is seeking a Chaplain to provide individualized spiritual care to patients and families, managing caseloads with autonomous judgment and collaborating with IDG peers. The role emphasizes interfaith sensitivity, crisis counseling, and bereavement support within a hospice setting.

The position requires formal theological education or CPE, board certification or ordination experience, plus at least one year in a healthcare or death and dying context.