Manager, Chaplaincy
- Employer
- University of Virginia
- Location
- Charlottesville, Virginia, United States of America
View more categoriesView less categories
- Employment Type
- Full Time
- Institution Type
- Four-Year Institution
Job Details
Lead the Future of Spiritual Care in an Academic Medical Center
UVA Health seeks an experienced, visionary Chaplaincy Manager to lead our Chaplaincy Services and Pastoral Education department and help shape the future of spiritual care across the health system. This is a unique opportunity for a strategic leader who excels at operational management, fostering interdisciplinary collaboration, and promoting compassionate, patient-centered care.
The ideal candidate is a chaplain who thinks like a healthcare executive—someone who honors the sacred, deeply personal nature of spiritual care while bringing the operational, financial, and leadership expertise needed to build programs, advocate for resources, and align departmental priorities with organizational goals.
This position offers the opportunity to lead a respected spiritual care department, help resume our ACPE Accredited Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) programs, support patients and caregivers throughout the healthcare journey, and strengthen chaplaincy within a nationally recognized academic medical center.
Why This Opportunity Stands Out
Make a Lasting Impact
As Chaplaincy Manager, you will influence the experience of patients, families, team members, healthcare leaders, and future chaplain learners. Your work will directly support whole-person care and advance the mission of UVA Health.
Rebuild and Shape a CPE Program
This role offers a rare opportunity to lead the renewal of the ACPE Accredited Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) program, develop future chaplains, and build a sustainable educational infrastructure.
Lead a Growing Department
The Chaplaincy team is expanding and preparing for continued growth. The successful candidate will onboard new staff, nurture current staff, refine current structures, strengthen interdisciplinary partnerships, and lead strategic initiatives that increase the reach and visibility of spiritual care across the organization.
Be Part of What's Next
With planned growth—including the South Tower expansion, chapel improvements, and enhanced departmental workspace and resources—this is an exciting time to join UVA Health and help shape the future of spiritual care services.
Join a Collaborative and Supportive Culture that values
Collaboration
Transparency
Inclusion
Innovation
Integrity
Professional growth
Shared ownership
Team members are encouraged to share ideas, lead initiatives, and help shape the department’s future.
Position Summary
The Chaplaincy Manager provides leadership and operational oversight for Chaplaincy Services and the ACPE Accredited Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) program. This leader ensures high-quality spiritual care, supports chaplain staff, fosters interdisciplinary partnerships, manages departmental operations, oversees chaplaincy education, and advances strategic initiatives that strengthen whole-person healthcare.
A key priority will be re-establishing and strengthening the academic excellence of our ACPE Accredited Clinical Pastoral Education programs while supporting clinical excellence across the chaplaincy department. This work will include oversight of any future ACPE Certified Educators, developing a robust curriculum and educational framework, creating a strong preceptorship cadre, supporting future chaplain learners, aligning program practices with new accreditation standards, and fostering a culture of reflective learning, professional growth, and high-quality spiritual care.
Key Responsibilities
Provide leadership, supervision, and support for Chaplaincy Services.
Oversee daily departmental operations and strategic initiatives.
Lead the department in defining areas for improvement and growth utilizing national chaplaincy accreditation standards, quality improvement methodologies, and strategic planning.
Collaborate with physicians, nurses, social workers, and other healthcare disciplines as well as healthcare leaders.
Promote integration of spiritual care within patient-centered care models.
Support staff wellness, resilience, and professional development.
Manage departmental budgets, resources, and operational processes.
Lead the redevelopment and implementation of the ACPE Accredited Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) program.
Partner with organizational leaders, consultants, the Professional Advisory Group, and stakeholders to advance departmental goals.
Develop and maintain strong interdisciplinary relationships throughout the health system.
Represent spiritual care as an essential component of whole-person healthcare.
Required Qualifications
Education
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 by the Association of Theological Schools (ATS) and recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
Completion of four units of clinical pastoral education (CPE) – as certified by one of the following: the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education (ACPE); National Association of Catholic Chaplains (NACC); Canadian Association for Spiritual Care/ Association Canadienne De Soins Spirituels (CASC/ACSS).
Experience
Five Years experience as a professional chaplain (post-CPE)
Two Years of experience as the manager of a professional chaplaincy department.
Certification, Ordination, and Ecclesiastical Endorsement
Fully recognized spiritual care leader in a specific faith tradition through ordination or equivalent.
Endorsement from a specific faith tradition to serve in a specialized setting as a healthcare chaplain, and as an ACPE Certified Educator, if applicable.
Board Certified by one of the following: Association of Professional Chaplains (APC); National Association of Catholic Chaplains (NACC); Neshama: Association of Jewish Chaplains (NAJC); The Canadian Association for Spiritual Care/Association Canadienne des Soins Spirituels (CASC/ACSS), or the Spiritual Care Association. Board certification must be maintained for continuing employment.
Preferred Qualifications
Education (Preferred)
Strong preference for advanced graduate education beyond the M.Div. including additional graduate level work in a related field.
Ph.D. preferred, but Th.D., D.Min., Ed.D., M.P.H. or other graduate degrees considered.
Graduate work or professional certificates in chaplaincy research and/or clinical ethics preferred.
Professional Experience (Preferred)
Preferred: Three years of post-CPE chaplain experience in an academic medical center and Level 1 trauma center.
Preferred: Three Years of experience as the manager of a professional chaplaincy department in an academic medical center and Level 1 trauma center.
Certification, Ordination, and Ecclesiastical Endorsement (Preferred)
Preferred: ACPE Certified Educator.
Preferred: ACPE National Faculty. If not ACPE National Faculty, must achieve National Faculty status within two years of hire date.
Research, Scholarship & Teaching (Preferred)
Experience with:
Authoring peer-reviewed articles, chapters, or books
Professional presentations at regional and national meetings
Chaplaincy research as a collaborator or Principle Investigator.
Experience working with IRBs.
Demonstration of research literacy and thorough familiarity with evidence-based spiritual care practices
Interprofessional education
Healthcare ethics education
Residency or learner development programs
Chaplaincy preceptor training and development
Graduate level teaching
Development and Fundraising (Preferred)
Preferred experiences include:
Budget management
Successful Grant proposals and acquisition
Foundation and/or corporate funding acquisition
Program development support
Partnership with institutional advancement teams in gift acquisitions
The Ideal Candidate
The successful candidate will be:
A respected spiritual care professional.
A strategic healthcare leader.
Skilled at navigating both executive, academic, and clinical environments.
Passionate about education and program development.
Experienced in building relationships across diverse stakeholder groups.
Comfortable leading through growth and change.
Able to align mission, patient experience, staff support, operational excellence, and organizational strategy.
Committed to advocating for chaplaincy as an essential profession within healthcare.
Above all, this leader is an effective advocate for the value of spiritual care across a complex health system and clearly articulates the evidence supporting its essential role in whole-person healthcare.
Work Schedule & Environment
Full-time, exempt leadership position
Primarily Monday through Friday schedule
Shared weekend leadership call rotation among department leaders
Leadership accountability within a 24/7 healthcare environment
Location
Charlottesville, Virginia
Relocation assistance is available for qualified candidates.
Join Our Team at UVA Health
This is an exceptional opportunity for an accomplished chaplain leader to shape the future of spiritual care in a nationally recognized academic healthcare environment. If you are inspired to build programs, develop leaders, support caregivers, and advance whole-person care, we encourage you to apply.
PHYSICAL DEMANDS
This is primarily a sedentary job involving extensive use of desktop computers. The job does occasionally require traveling some distance to attend meetings, and programs.
The pay range for this role is $98,841.60 - $158,142.40 annually. Individual compensation will be determined by the selected candidate's qualifications, previous work experience, and/or education.Benefits- Comprehensive Benefits Package: Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance
- Generous Paid Time Off
- Retirement Savings
- Long-term and Short-term Disability
- Health Saving Plans, and Flexible Spending Accounts
- Certification and Education Support
The University of Virginia is an equal opportunity employer. All interested persons are encouraged to apply, including veterans and individuals with disabilities. Learn more about UVA’s commitment to non-discrimination and equal opportunity employment.
Organization
In 1819, the University of Virginia established a new model for intellectual exchange and cross-disciplinary collaboration in higher education. Two hundred years later, as a major research institution, we continue to challenge conventions, lead with ingenuity and advance knowledge for the common good.
What began as an innovative idea has become one of the nation’s leading public research universities, with over 21,000 undergraduate, graduate and professional students. UVA also has over 3,000 full-time faculty offering more than 400 degrees.
Each of the University’s eleven schools has its own distinctive mission, working together to garner consistently high rankings—including #2 Best Value Public College (Princeton Review, 2016), #3 Public University in the Nation (U.S. News & World Report, 2016), and #3 Best Value Among Public Colleges (Kiplinger’s, 2016).
As we invest in and strengthen our research capabilities, UVA seeks new faculty ready to uncover new insights, rewrite old rules and collaborate on intellectual discoveries.
RESEARCH COLLABORATIONS THAT CROSS DISCIPLINES
As an R1 institution, the University’s research centers, consortia and laboratories are on the leading edge of discovery and technology, offering collaborative spaces for students and faculty to solve global problems.
Our professors are recognized members of major national scholarly and professional organizations, including the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Our faculty’s engagement in interdisciplinary research is being facilitated by new research institutes specializing in everything from big data to brain functioning, and by cluster hires across schools.
NATIONALLY RANKED HEALTH SYSTEM
UVA is also home to a nationally renowned academic medical center and the UVA Health System, which serves a three-part mission to treat patients, conduct translational research and train medical practitioners in a wide variety of disciplines.
Established as the nation’s 10th medical school in 1825, the institution has since grown to include a 612-bed hospital and a Level I trauma center, nationally recognized cancer and heart centers, a Children’s Hospital, and primary and specialty clinics throughout Central Virginia.
The UVA Medical Center is consistently ranked among the nation’s best hospitals by the U.S. News & World Report magazine and has been named among the top 25 percent in seven specialties.
INSPIRING STUDENTS, INSPIRED TEACHING
The vast majority of UVA students come from the top 10% of their high school class, as well as from all 50 states, over 142 countries and a variety of socioeconomic backgrounds. Despite their diversity, all UVA students share a love of learning and a drive to achieve.
One of the reasons students choose Virginia is our unique residential culture. At UVA, the community of students, faculty and staff personifies the Jeffersonian idea that living and learning are connected. The Academical Village was constructed to support a unique residential experience, with faculty living in the Pavilions, students occupying Lawn rooms and the world-famous Rotunda at its heart. The University’s residential culture continues to support this experience today—strengthened by students, faculty and staff rich in backgrounds, ideas and perspectives. Our unique culture is also paying dividends in innovation: UVA’s faculty have generated more than 130 patents since 2010.
Perhaps most importantly, faculty come to UVA knowing that instruction is as important as research, and they pride themselves on their many teaching awards. Our best professors look for ways to encourage, mentor and develop tomorrow’s leaders inside and outside the classroom.
LIFE IN CHARLOTTESVILLE
Living in Charlottesville you’ll find sophisticated restaurants, world-renowned wineries and breweries, cosmopolitan arts and music, friendly urban and suburban neighborhoods and a Piedmont landscape that has lured adventurous souls for centuries. No wonder the U.S. National Bureau of Economic Research named Charlottesville the “happiest city in America” in 2014.
In addition to UVA and its health system, several major employers have facilities in Charlottesville, including State Farm, Northrop Grumman, the U.S. Department of Defense, GE and others. Charlottesville is also becoming a center for innovative start-up businesses. The University also actively helps spouses and partners of faculty members build their networks and pursue employment opportunities with a wide variety of area employers.
The University of Virginia is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All interested persons are encouraged to apply including veterans and individuals with disabilities.
- Telephone
- 434-985-4532
- Location
-
2420 Old Ivy
Charlottesvle
Virginia
22911-7433
United States
Get job alerts
Create a job alert and receive personalized job recommendations straight to your inbox.
Create alert