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Spiritual Life Jobs (NOW HIRING)

College Chaplain

Amherst, MA ยท On-site

$80K - $85K/yr

The College Chaplain serves as a senior religious and spiritual life practitioner within the Center for Religious and Spiritual Life, providing leadership for chaplaincy, spiritual care, and ...

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Spiritual Life information

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$29K

$63.6K

$98K

How much do spiritual life jobs pay per year?

As of Jun 9, 2026, the average yearly pay for spiritual life in the United States is $63,587.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $48,500.00 and $80,000.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What are spiritual life professionals?

Spiritual life professionals are individuals who support others in exploring, understanding, and deepening their spiritual beliefs and practices. They may work as spiritual life coaches, advisors, or counselors, helping clients find meaning, purpose, and fulfillment in life. These professionals often draw on various religious, philosophical, or holistic traditions to guide people through personal growth, life transitions, or challenges. Their role is not to promote a specific faith, but to foster spiritual well-being tailored to each individual's values and needs.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a Spiritual Life Director, and why are they important?

To thrive as a Spiritual Life Director, you typically need a background in theology or religious studies, experience in pastoral care, and often ordination or certification in your faith tradition. Familiarity with church management software, event coordination tools, and online platforms for community outreach is highly valuable. Exceptional interpersonal skills, empathy, and the ability to inspire and guide others are essential soft skills in this role. These abilities help foster meaningful spiritual growth, community engagement, and support for individuals' spiritual journeys.

What is the difference between Spiritual Life vs Spiritual Counselor?

AspectSpiritual LifeSpiritual Counselor
CredentialsOften no formal certification required; personal experience and spiritual knowledgeTypically requires certification or training in counseling or spiritual guidance
Work EnvironmentPersonal practice, retreats, workshops, community eventsOne-on-one sessions, group counseling, wellness centers
Industry UsageSelf-help, wellness, spiritual developmentTherapy, coaching, spiritual guidance services

While Spiritual Life focuses on personal spiritual growth and practices, Spiritual Counselors provide guidance and support through structured counseling sessions. Both roles aim to enhance spiritual well-being but differ in credentials and work settings.

How does a Spiritual Life Coordinator typically collaborate with other staff members in an educational or organizational setting?

A Spiritual Life Coordinator often works closely with faculty, counselors, and administrative staff to support the holistic well-being of students or members. They might organize interdepartmental events, lead group discussions, and provide guidance during challenging times, ensuring spiritual support is integrated into the broader organizational culture. Regular collaboration helps align spiritual programming with the institution's mission and fosters a supportive, inclusive environment.
More about Spiritual Life jobs
What cities are hiring for Spiritual Life jobs? Cities with the most Spiritual Life job openings:
What states have the most Spiritual Life jobs? States with the most job openings for Spiritual Life jobs include:
Infographic showing various Spiritual Life job openings in the United States as of May 2026, with employment types broken down into 1% As Needed, 82% Full Time, and 17% Part Time. Highlights an 95% Physical, 2% Hybrid, and 3% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $63,587 per year, or $30.6 per hour.
Director of Spiritual Diversity

Director of Spiritual Diversity

Santa Clara University

Santa Clara, CA โ€ข On-site

$102K - $115K/yr

Full-time

Posted 20 days ago


Job description

Position Title:
Director of Spiritual Diversity
Position Type:
Regular
Hiring Range:
$102,800 - $115,560 per year; Compensation will be based on education, experience, skills relevant to the role, and internal equity.
Pay Frequency:
Annual
A. POSITION PURPOSE
The Director for Spiritual Diversity (DSD) is charged with envisioning and creating enduring structures, programs and relationships that support the development and nurturing of the spiritual life of the SCU community, especially those from diverse religious/spiritual traditions and students who identify as religiously unaffiliated. The DSD, under the direction of the Director of the Center for Spirituality and Faith (CSF), will create, direct, and implement plans and programs that foster multi-faith awareness and community-building on campus and support interfaith worship and community. The DSD will develop creative, engaging, and exciting growth-development programming and opportunities to engage the growing population of religiously unaffiliated students in the positive possibilities of a robust spiritual life, especially drawing on the tools of Ignatian Spirituality. The position will collaborate extensively with other Mission and Ministry partners, especially the Ignatian Formation team. In addition, the DSD will develop and sustain key institutional partnerships with a series of external partners connected to various faith traditions. The DSD will oversee a team of graduate assistants and student interns to execute the portfolio. This is a full-time, 12 month/year position.
B. ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
1. Develops a strategy to foster the spiritual and religious formation of students across the spectrum of faith traditions or those who are religiously unaffiliated
  • Develops a comprehensive strategy for religious and spiritual formation that can be tailored to the diverse student body
  • Establishes foundational programming and engagement opportunities to connect with the full spectrum of student experiences
  • Develops an outreach plan to establish and maintain connections to students whose spiritual formation is not being met through traditional needs
  • Establishes an assessment framework grounded in best practices and informed by national trends that can inform the establishment of strategic goals and tracking effectiveness and impact

2. Develops and executes programming to foster the religious formation of students
  • Creates opportunities for students to practice their religious traditions by offering opportunities for prayer, scripture study, meditation, worship, and service, in collaboration with Center for Spirituality interns and with the leaders of student religious organizations
  • In collaboration with the Center for Student Involvement, provides leadership, guidance, and mentorship to all faith-based registered student organizations
  • Coordinates the celebration of religious holidays (e.g. Welcome Weekend Havdalah, Passover Seder, Ramadan Iftars and Eid Banquet, Holi festival, Diwali celebration, Sikh holidays, among others), in collaboration with the leaders of student religious organizations

3. Develops and executes programming to foster the interfaith formation of students
  • Promotes interfaith and intercultural understanding, relationships, and community life
  • Supervises interfaith interns and equips them with bridge-building skills to cultivate relationships with students, faculty, and staff on a spiritually diverse campus
  • Guides student leaders through a strategic visioning and planning process
  • Collaborates with student organizations to design events for the campus community, including dinners, cultural programs, and service projects
  • Collaborates with faculty and staff to design curricular and co-curricular opportunities for students
  • Identifies community partners to participate in educational experiences with students

4. Develops and executes programming to foster the spiritual formation of religiously unaffiliated students
  • Creates dialogue and engagement opportunities for students who are religiously unaffiliated but still desire spiritual growth
  • Works with Mission and Ministry's Retreat Team to develop, promote, and deliver retreats that offer opportunities for all students - including religiously unaffiliated students - to explore spirituality, meaning, and purpose. Draws on expertise and wisdom, as well as practices and scriptures, from diverse traditions to contribute to these retreat experiences
  • Creates campus educational opportunities for campus partners to investigate and understand strategies for serving religiously unaffiliated students

5. Develops students' holistic formation through intensive mentorship and pastoral care
  • Pastorally supports students, regardless of religious affiliation, during crises, spiritual accompaniment, and general mentorship
  • Fosters particular in-depth leadership development for student leaders, employees, and volunteers to foster their learning and formation in ministry
  • Accompanies students in the challenges they face in collaboration with CAPS and other university support units

6. Establishes and maintains a critical portfolio of partnerships, both on and off campus
  • Directs the CSF's inclusion and support of faith-based student organizations
  • Develops relationships with faculty and staff who can serve as resources and representatives of various religious traditions, with specific outreach to the Department of Religious Studies, the Jesuit School of Theology, and the Graduate Program in Pastoral Ministries
  • Establishes relationships with local religious communities to make referrals for worship, as needed
  • Develops relationships with religious bodies and interfaith organizations that resource students and advance interreligious education (e.g. Hillel of Silicon Valley, Pacifica Institute, the Healing Mountain)
  • Represents the CSF on university committees, meetings and /or at events related to religious diversity, pluralism, inclusion, and in appropriate liturgical functions
  • Discerns the appropriateness of outside religious organizations that wish to operate on campus or resource students

7. Manages all operational and financial aspects related to the portfolio
  • With the support of operations staff, leads the effective operation of program activities
  • Manages annual allocated program budget development, reporting, and forecasting
  • Hires, trains, and supervises student employees and interns
  • Supports fundraising efforts and donor cultivation

8. Contributes to the broader work of the Division
  • Consults with constituent programs to further align them with SCU's Jesuit, Catholic mission
  • Supports the creative infusion of faith and spirituality throughout Mission and Ministry and broader campus programming
  • Regularly attends and participates in Ignatian programming and Catholic liturgy events offered by other Division programs, including some events that may be held outside of regular business hours
  • Regularly attends and participates in SCU campus-wide, staff-wide, and academic programming events to represent Ignatian Spirituality and Catholic life perspectives, to form relationships to support engagement with Ignatian Spirituality, and to inform Ignatian Spirituality programming, including some events that may be held outside of regular business hours

9. Executes other tasks as assigned
C. GENERAL GUIDELINES
  • Recommends initiatives and implements changes to improve quality and services
  • Identifies and determines cause of problems; develops and presents recommendations for improvement of established processes and practices
  • Maintains contact with customers and solicits feedback for improved services
  • Maximizes productivity through use of appropriate tools; planned training and performance initiatives
  • Researches and develops resources that create timely and efficient workflow
  • Prepares progress reports; informs supervisor of project status; and deviation from goals
  • Ensures completeness, accuracy and timeliness of all operational functions
  • Prepares and submits reports as requested and required
  • Develops and implements guidelines to support the functions of the unit

D. QUALIFICATIONS
To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The items below are representative of the knowledge, skills, abilities, education, and experience required or preferred.
Knowledge
  • Awareness of religious and wisdom traditions and current spirituality trends; knowledge of interfaith dialogue frameworks
  • Understanding of spiritual/religious development stages for contemporary young adults and the capacity to implement programs to meet these spiritual developmental aspirations
  • Familiarity with interfaith dialogue across a broad range of religious traditions
  • Knowledge of trends in the spiritual and religious practices of young adults
  • Experience in educational institutions required, preferably involving teaching experience or retreat experience focused on spirituality and faith formation for diverse student populations
  • A comprehensive understanding of and professional involvement with the Ignatian and Catholic educational paradigm is desirable

Skills
  • Strong verbal /written communication and influencing skills
  • Superior ability to communicate with religiously and intellectually diverse audiences.
  • Inter- and intra-culturally competent and skilled in working with and supporting students, faculty and staff from a wide variety of backgrounds and orientations
  • Open, objective, innovative, and oriented toward understanding and responding to issues from divergent perspectives
  • Outstanding organizational and project management skills
  • Demonstrated competence in MS Office, Excel, PowerPoint, Google Suite, Adobe Acrobat Pro required

Abilities
  • Demonstrated ability to provide pastoral and spiritual care for students
  • Demonstrated high-level performance in organizational entrepreneurship and creativity
  • Demonstrated high-level performance in successfully driving projects from inception to completion, including curriculum or program planning and implementation
  • Excellent overall judgment combined with attention to detail
  • Ability to consistently demonstrate a commitment to equity and respect in the workplace, a genuine desire to promote a supportive climate for all members of the SCU community, intercultural awareness, communication and understanding, and the ability to manage difficult and contentious situations
  • Demonstrated high level record of building and managing effective connections with a range of constituencies to achieve success
  • Availability to work variable hours when required to accomplish project goals
  • Valid U.S. Driver's License preferred

Education
  • Master's degree required/or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
  • Clinical Pastoral Education credits highly desirable

Years of Experience
  • Minimum four years' professional experience in relevant field required.
  • Experience in pastoral care or chaplaincy strongly desired

5. PHYSICAL DEMANDS
The physical demands described below are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, as amended, the California Fair Employment & Housing Act, and all other applicable laws, SCU provides reasonable accommodations for qualified persons with disabilities. A qualified individual is a person who meets skill, experience, education, or other requirements of the position, and who can perform the essential functions of the position with or without reasonable accommodation.
  • Considerable time is spent at a desk using a computer terminal
  • May be required to travel to other buildings on the campus
  • May be required to occasionally travel to outside partners, customers, vendors or suppliers Travel may include out of state destinations and include overnight stays
  • Some evening and weekend events required

6. WORK ENVIRONMENT
The work environment characteristics described below are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job.
  • Typical office environment
  • Mostly indoor office environment with windows
  • Offices with equipment noise
  • Offices with frequent interruptions

We encourage all candidates to review this overview document for the newly named Center for Spirituality and Faith.
Any questions about the process or the positions can. Be directed to Michael Nuttall at mnuttall@scu.edu
Telecommute
Santa Clara University is registered to do business in the following states: California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, and Illinois. Employees approved to telecommute are required to perform their work within one of these states.
EEO Statement
Equal Opportunity/Notice of Nondiscrimination
Santa Clara University is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply and will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, ethnicity, national origin, citizenship, ancestry, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender expression, gender identity, marital status, parental status, veteran or military status, physical or mental disability, medical conditions, pregnancy or related conditions, reproductive health decision making, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws. For a complete copy of Santa Clara University's equal opportunity and nondiscrimination policies, please visit the Office of Equal Opportunity and Title IX website at https://www.scu.edu/title-ix/.
Clery Notice of Availability
Santa Clara University annually collects information about campus crimes and other reportable incidents in accordance with the federal Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act. To view the Santa Clara Unive...