Director of Spiritual Care

St. Mary’s Healthcare has been providing high-quality, compassionate healthcare to the people of Montgomery and Fulton counties since 1903. At St. Mary’s Hospital, the Rao Outpatient Pavilion and other locations, the local, independent healthcare organization offers the comprehensive, critical services its community needs and deserves. St. Mary’s Healthcare has also been named a 2026 Times Union Top Workplace—the first acute care hospital in the Capital Region to earn the distinction since the Times Union launched the recognition program 15 years ago.

Job Requisition: DIREC001840

Employment Type: Full-Time

Shift: Days

Hours per Week: 40 hour/week

Hiring Range: Starting at $75,000

The actual compensation for this position will be determined based on experience and other factors permitted by law.

Responsibilities:

• Ensure the delivery of a complete program of spiritual care to patients/residents, their loved ones and staff of all faith traditions.
• Supervise and facilitate the work of those delivering spiritual care including employees of the institution and chaplains within the Spiritual Care Department by the faith communities.
• Provide orientation and training according to institutional standards.
• Support an interdisciplinary approach to spiritual care • Provide liaison to other departments such as social work, volunteers.
• Oversee the use and maintenance of the spiritual care offices and chapel. • Provide proper office supplies, ritual items and religious literature. • Provide for the maintenance of office equipment • Oversee the scheduling of the chapel.
• Develop and maintain proper administration procedures for the department in accordance with institutional policy. • Develop and maintain procedures to keep records of spiritual activity to communicate with other members of the department and report to department/institution. • Develop and administer the department’s plan for continuous quality improvement.
• Onboarding and Training: Overseeing the orientation, training, and integration of new chaplains to ensure high standards of care.
• Operations: Develops departmental policies and procedures, in collaboration with other colleagues. Identifies areas for improvement, and implements changes as needed. Collaborates with other department leaders to ensure efficient and effective operations.
• Fiscal Management: Prepares and monitors a comprehensive financial plan, annual operating budget, and capital budgets within areas of responsibility. Uses appropriate metrics to monitor ongoing performance. Proactively identifies and develops a plan to correct budget variances. Reviews patient charges for accuracy. Ensures effective and efficient use of manpower, material, and financial resources in delivery of care. Evaluates business performance against established standards where available.
• Business Development and Evaluation: Collaborates with appropriate leaders to evaluate proposed business plans to assess impact on patient care and operations. Identifies capital and human resource requirements necessary to accomplish business plan goals. Prepares reports comparing business plan projections to actual results. Evaluates business performance against established standards where available.
• Safety: Assures that departmental operations and policies meet hospital safety policies for: equipment, management, life safety, infection control and emergency preparedness. Assures on-going training for staff on the proper handling, use, storage and labeling of all supplies and equipment and safe patient handling.
• Leadership: Attends and actively participates in department and hospital-wide committee meetings and activities, seeking opportunities to provide leadership within areas of expertise. Serves as a liaison between the hospital and community as appropriate to role. Ensures departmental compliance with applicable federal, state, and local regulatory and accrediting agencies. Maintains current knowledge of trends and incorporates updated standards and practice into departmental operations in collaborations with members of the healthcare team. Develops and maintains quality improvement initiatives and plans, strategic business plans, marketing plans and customer satisfaction programs as applicable to the role.
• Human Resources: Responsible for working with the Human Resources Department in the hiring/interview/onboarding process. Determines, coordinates, and supervises daily staffing assignments and staffing levels. Trains, coaches, and evaluates assigned staff on performance expectations. Applies progressive discipline when appropriate. Participates in hiring and termination procedures.  Complete annual and probationary evaluations and required associate job competency documentation. Responsible for managing the review and approval of the timekeeping system, including but not limited to, time off requests, and bi-weekly payroll sign-off.  Responsible for managing staff meal breaks to be in compliance with NYS labor law.

Additional Responsibilities:

• Performs related duties as determined by the Director, Mission Advancement & Community Outreach.
• Other Duties as assigned.

Supervisory Responsibilities:

• Assigned Associates 

Education, Training & Experience:

• Education: A Master's degree in Theology, Divinity (MDiv), pastoral studies, Psychology or an equivalent graduate theological degree from an accredited institution required.

• Training: Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE): Completion of at least 4 units of accredited clinical training, which equals roughly 1,600 hours of supervised clinical ministry required.

•  Board Certification: Active status as a Board-Certified Chaplain (BCC) through a national body like Association of Professional Chaplains (APC), NACC, SCA, WSHO, or any other cognate preferred. If not already certified, certification must be obtained within 24 months (2 years) from date of hire.

•   Healthcare Leadership Experience: Minimum of 3 years of progressive management, supervisory, or departmental administration experience specifically within a healthcare chaplaincy program required.  Three years of experience being a member of hospital Ethics Committee preferred.

•  Endorsement: Formal endorsement or ordination from a recognized faith tradition required.

•  Language: Bilingual in Spanish preferred

Required Skills & Attributes: 

• Ability to organize and establish day-to-day priorities while using critical thinking skills in all aspects of the job.

• Must be able to multitask while remaining professional, focused, composed and positive.
• Excellent customer service skills
• Displays integrity, friendliness, and compassion.
• Must be able to establish an appropriate and effective rapport with others.
• Demonstrates flexibility
• Takes initiative
• Able to work in a fast-paced environment
• Embraces new opportunities to grow both personally and professionally.
• Effective critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
• Proficient with various Microsoft Office products (Word and Excel).
• Strong organizational skills.
• Effective interpersonal skills.
• Ability to take and follow direction in a positive and appropriate manner.
• Ability to work as part of a team and independently. Must be able to demonstrate effective and appropriate written and oral communication skills.
• Must be able to speak, read, write and follow instructions in English.