Chaplain job description.
A Chaplain provides spiritual care, emotional support, and crisis counseling to patients, staff, residents, or personnel in settings such as hospitals, hospices, correctional facilities, or the military. They offer non-denominational support respecting diverse beliefs, facilitate rituals and services on request, and work alongside clinical or administrative teams during difficult moments.
The Chaplain job description · $29
The full editable .docx — role summary, 8 worked responsibilities, qualifications, and skills, formatted for your letterhead. Delivered to your inbox within 24 hours — usually instantly.
Role: Chaplain Reports to: Director of Pastoral Care or Facility Administrator
A Chaplain provides spiritual care, emotional support, and crisis counseling to patients, staff, residents, or personnel in settings such as hospitals, hospices, correctional facilities, or the military. They offer non-denominational support respecting diverse beliefs, facilitate rituals and services on request, and work alongside clinical or administrative teams during difficult moments.
- Provide spiritual and emotional support to individuals across diverse faith backgrounds
- Offer crisis intervention and grief counseling during emergencies or loss
- Facilitate religious services, rituals, or observances upon request
What's inside the document.
One-paragraph plain-English explanation of the role's outcome and scope.
8 responsibilities phrased the way the work is actually done.
4 qualifications a candidate must have to perform on day 30.
3 qualifications that would make a candidate excellent in year two.
6 skill chips you can copy directly into your ATS.
Director of Pastoral Care or Facility Administrator
A complete document set.
- Word document (.docx) — fully editable
- PDF — signature-ready
- Google Docs — one-click copy to your Drive
- 12 months of updates to this document
- Commercial-use licence for internal and client work
The work, not the title.
- Provide spiritual and emotional support to individuals across diverse faith backgrounds
- Offer crisis intervention and grief counseling during emergencies or loss
- Facilitate religious services, rituals, or observances upon request
- Collaborate with clinical, social work, or administrative staff on patient or resident care
- Support families during end-of-life or critical incident situations
- Maintain confidentiality and respect for individual beliefs and practices
- Document visits and interventions in accordance with organizational policy
- Participate in interdisciplinary care planning or debriefing sessions
Required — and what would make a candidate excellent.
- Bachelor's degree; master's in divinity, theology, or related field often required
- Endorsement from a recognized faith or religious body, where applicable
- Completion of Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) units as required by employer
- Strong active listening and crisis counseling skills
- Board certification through a recognized chaplaincy association
- Experience in a hospital, hospice, correctional, or military setting
- Training in trauma-informed or grief counseling approaches
Eight steps from download to publish.
- 01Open the Chaplain job description in Word or your one-click Google Docs copy.
- 02Replace placeholders for company name, reporting line, and location with your specifics.
- 03Tighten the summary to one paragraph that names the team's outcome, not just the role.
- 04Edit the responsibilities to match the actual scope of the seat — aim for 6 to 8 items, not 12.
- 05Separate required qualifications from preferred. Required is what a candidate must have to do the work on day 30; preferred is what would make them excellent in year two.
- 06Add salary range guidance using BLS, Payscale, or your own band data — do not copy generic figures.
- 07Have the hiring manager and one peer read it. Cut anything that wouldn't survive a candidate question.
- 08Publish to your ATS, intranet, and external careers page.
The right document at the right moment.
Use this Chaplain job description any time you are opening or reopening a seat at this level. The mid band sets the calibration — copy the document, tighten it to your specific scope, and circulate to the hiring panel before the first interview.
The reporting line (Director of Pastoral Care or Facility Administrator) and skills list are starting points. Override either if your org structure or stack differs from the norm — the template is a draft, not a contract.
Honest answers before you download.
- Does a chaplain need to be ordained in a specific faith?
- Requirements vary by employer; many institutions require endorsement from a recognized religious body along with clinical pastoral training, while some roles are explicitly interfaith.
- What settings employ chaplains?
- Common settings include hospitals, hospice organizations, correctional facilities, the military, and universities.
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Youth Minister
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Social Worker
A Social Worker helps individuals and families navigate personal, social, or health-related challenges by connecting them to resources and support services.
This Chaplain job description is a professionally drafted starting point for your hiring process and is not legal advice. Hiring practice varies by jurisdiction (e.g. pay-transparency laws differ across US states and AU jurisdictions). Adapt this document for your specific location and have employment counsel review any clauses you add before publishing. Salary varies by region, employer type, and experience. Reference BLS or current industry surveys for ranges. Full disclaimer.