Vice President-Spiritual Care, Chaplaincy, & Congregational Partnerships

The Opportunity

Our leaders shape strategic initiatives, develop passionate teams, and work to improve health outcomes. They advance our mission and exemplify excellence, compassion, teamwork, and purpose in all that they do. Indiana University Health is seeking individuals who embody these values to join our Spiritual Care leadership team in the role of Vice President – Spiritual Care, Chaplaincy, and Congregational Partnerships. 

The Vice President – Spiritual Care, Chaplaincy, and Congregational Partnerships provides executive leadership and strategic oversight for IU Health’s system-wide spiritual care services, including chaplaincy, Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE), and congregational relations. This role is accountable for the comprehensive planning, execution, evaluation, and continuous improvement of these functions, while ensuring alignment with organizational priorities, regulatory standards, and best practices in holistic, patient-centered care.

Working collaboratively within a highly matrixed health system, this executive partners closely with enterprise leaders to align vision, strategy, and policy across diverse clinical and community environments. In close coordination with the Senior Vice President of Mission and Values, the Vice President plays a critical role in strengthening and expanding strategic partnerships with the Indiana Conference of the United Methodist Church and pursuing meaningful engagement opportunities with other faith traditions and community organizations that support IU Health’s mission.

This leader serves as a visible champion of IU Health’s mission, values, and vision, modeling compassionate leadership and fostering a culture in which spiritual care is recognized as an integral component of whole-person healing. The Vice President supports and develops teams and leaders across the organization to ensure consistent, high-quality spiritual care for patients, families, and team members.

IU Health seeks a dynamic and accomplished healthcare executive with the ability to lead through influence, collaboration, and trust. The successful candidate will be a visionary and change-oriented leader who thrives in complex, distributed systems and excels in relationship-driven environments. The Vice President must demonstrate intellectual curiosity, humility, and respect, while effectively driving innovation and long-term impact in spiritual care and community partnership efforts.

Key Relationships

Reports to: Senior Vice President, Mission and Values Officer

Direct Reports: 

• Directors/ Managers of Spiritual Care & Chaplaincy in each region/ business unit
• Director of Education for Spiritual Care
• Director of Congregational Care Network (CCN)

Key Relationships: 

• President and CEO, IU Health
• Bishop, Indiana Conference of United Methodist Church
• Board Committee Values, Ethics, Social Responsibility and Pastoral Services
• Chief Health Impact Officer
• Vice President, Community Outreach & Engagement

• Vice President, Clinical & Organizational Ethics

   

Candidate Qualifications

Candidates for the position will be evaluated according to the following criteria and competencies.

Education and Experience

• A Master of Divinity degree or its equivalent is required.
• Ordination or ecclesial endorsement is required.
• Board certification with the Association of Professional Chaplains, Association for Clinical Pastoral Education or a cognate body with similar standards is preferred.
• 5 to 10 years’ experience leading a business/ system enterprise, with capacity to work in a matrixed setting.

Characteristics and Capabilities

• As a bold, strategic, and transformational leader for IU Health, the Vice President - Spiritual Care, Chaplaincy, and Congregational Partnerships will:
• Desire to lead through the organization’s mission, vision, and values.
• Manage in partnership with various entity leaders’ achievement of strategic goals and annual goals.
• Integrate and align spiritual care priorities with critical entities in the system, with specific attention to Health Impact, Community Health, Clinical Provider leadership, Nursing leadership, Government Affairs, and Integrated Care Management.
• Manage people and financial resources effectively and efficiently per policies and procedures.
• Provide input into philosophy, goals and policies of system chaplaincy and spiritual care.
• Review and implement the 5-year strategic plan (Roadmap) for Spiritual Care and Chaplaincy, Spiritual Care Education, and the Congregational Care Network, and execute on that plan in coordination with other leaders. 
  • Review and enhance the Integrated Model of Spiritual Care for the system, developing the continuum of care from Ambulatory to Acute to Community Based spiritual care.
• Strengthen ties to the United Methodist Church as well as other congregations and faith traditions to improve the health of communities served by IU Health.
• Collaborate with the SVP of Mission and Values to further the purposes of the IU Health Board Committee on Values, Ethics, Social Responsibility and Pastoral Services.
• Foster an inclusive workplace and actively manage a culture of belonging, trust, and mutual respect for all.
• Develop and utilize service metrics and quality metrics for patients, team members and community/congregational partners served by spiritual care and chaplaincy; improve services based upon these metrics. Practice evidenced based decision-making.
• Cultivate an environment of collaboration, responsibility, and accountability resulting in such highly successful outcomes that IU Health becomes the benchmark for spiritual care services.
• Be a member of the IU Health leadership team, with the ability, desire, and proven results to assume additional responsibility beyond the VP Spiritual Care, Chaplaincy and Congregational Partnership role.
• Visible and collaborative leader with excellent listening and communication skills.
• Positive, inspiring, and energetic leader who demonstrates the highest standards of professionalism and performance.
• Possesses the highest personal integrity and ethics.

Indiana University Health is unlike any other healthcare system and we're looking for team members who share the things that matter most to us. IU Health leaders play a crucial role in advancing the mission of our organization and inspiring teams to make a meaningful difference in the lives of patients. As one of Indiana’s largest employers and the most comprehensive medical system in the state, our vision is to lead the transformation of healthcare through quality, innovation, and education, and make Indiana one of the nation’s healthiest states.

Indiana University Health is dedicated to a fair hiring process and is committed to equal opportunity and nondiscrimination for all individuals, regardless of age, color, disability, ethnicity, marital status, national origin, race, religion, gender identity, expression, sexual orientation, or veteran status.