Pastor Counselor at Martha Jefferson House – Charlottesville, Virginia

Summary:

The Pastoral Counselor receives general supervision and direction from the Administrator and will comply with established policies and operational procedures. This position will provide spiritual and emotional support to residents, their families, and sometimes staff. It’s a unique role that blends pastoral care with counseling skills, often tailored to the needs of older adults who may be coping with loss, illness, life transitions, or end-of-life concerns. This position will work alongside the interdisciplinary team but will help the Activities Coordinator by providing and overseeing spiritual offerings and programs to our Leisure and Enrichment plan. The counselor will also work alongside the Social Services Coordinator with supporting and counseling residents, families, and staff.

Duties and Responsibilities:

1. Provide one-on-one pastoral care visits to residents, offering emotional and spiritual support.
2. Develop and maintain a spiritual assessment program to understand each resident’s faith background, preferences, and needs, ensuring personalized spiritual care that respects diverse religious traditions.
3. Lead regular weekly worship services in an inclusive, interfaith format that welcomes residents of all faith backgrounds.
4. Organize and conduct special holiday services throughout the year, including Christmas, Easter, and other significant religious observances that are meaningful to residents.
5. Create and lead small group spiritual discussion circles and Bible study groups that foster community connection and intellectual engagement.
6. Develop educational programs on topics of interest to seniors, such as life review, legacy, and finding meaning in later life stages.
7. Organize interfaith educational presentations that celebrate diverse religious traditions and promote understanding among residents.
8. Provide pastoral support to staff members dealing with workplace stress, grief, or personal challenges.
9. Serve as an on-call spiritual care provider for emergency situations, offering crisis intervention and support to residents, families, and staff.
10. Collaborate with the interdisciplinary team to provide holistic care that addresses both the physical and spiritual needs of residents.
11. Offer grief counseling and bereavement support to residents and families during times of loss.
12. Facilitate family meetings and mediation when requested, helping navigate difficult conversations about care decisions and life transitions.
13. Maintain connections with families of residents, particularly those who live at a distance, providing updates and support as needed.
14. Plans and provides pastoral support for memorial services.
15. Is responsible for recruiting, scheduling, organizing, and promoting facility-wide religious activities by marketing and direct personal contact according to residents’ needs, interest, and abilities.
16. Helps manage and orient volunteers from local religious sororities, fraternities, churches, and volunteer organizations like the Madison House to promote a robust volunteer program at the MJHouse.
17. Visits residents as identified by interdisciplinary team.
18. Visits hospitalized residents.
19. Attends and participates in staff and committee meetings as assigned.
20. Represents the facility at all times in a professional manner, communicating to the community the philosophy and mission of the organization.
21. Remains current in professional field through continuing education.
22. Ensures confidentiality of all sensitive information.
23. Submits monthly and quarterly departmental reports of goals, objectives, and accomplishments.
24. Observes and protects resident rights including rights of confidentiality, privacy, and dignity.
25. Practices safety procedures and complies with established reporting of accidents and injuries.
26. Performs other related duties as assigned.

Required knowledge, skills, and abilities:

Education:

• Bachelor of Divinity (B.Div.) or related field of study
• Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) training

Job Knowledge:

One to three years of experience in multi-faith or interfaith ministry. Experience working with individuals with dementia or cognitive impairment. Familiarity with end-of-life care, palliative care, or bereavement support. Comfort leading group discussions, devotionals, spiritual education, worship services, memorials and religious studies.

Position will require weekend and evening hours.

Martha Jefferson House provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.