Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

Genetic Counseling Policy and Strategy Manager

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute$150K — $172K *
Healthcare
8 - 10 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Master's degree in Genetic Counseling required.
  • Minimum of 10 years of progressively advanced clinical experience in genetic counseling required.
  • Demonstrated leadership experience in program development and mentorship required.
  • Extensive experience in clinical cancer genetic counseling preferred.
  • Experience in an academic medical center or cancer center preferred.
  • Board-Certified by the American Board of Genetic Counseling.
  • Current licensure as a Genetic Counselor in Massachusetts required.

Responsibilities

  • Provide expert genetic counseling services for adult patients and families.
  • Serve as lead clinician for complex hereditary cancer cases.
  • Design care delivery models to enhance access and quality of genetic services.
  • Develop strategies to manage patient volumes and continuity of care.
  • Partner with IT to improve integration of genetic tools in workflows.
  • Develop and standardize institutional guidance for genetic testing and management.
  • Oversee quality improvement activities for compliance and accreditation.

Benefits

  • Collaborative work environment with access to multidisciplinary teams.
  • Opportunities for professional growth and leadership development.
  • Participation in institutional policy and advocacy efforts.
  • Access to advanced technology and genomic resources.
  • Involvement in quality improvement and research initiatives.
Full Job Description
The Genetic Counseling Policy and Strategy Manager serves as a senior genetic counseling leader within the GEP program, bridging clinical genetics expertise with institutional strategy and policy. This position will develop scalable models of genetics care, strengthen compliance and accreditation readiness, improve integration of genetics workflows and tools into institutional systems, and advance the role of genetics across oncology care. The manager works collaboratively with program leadership, administrative and operational leaders, and technology partners, while also representing genetics at the institutional and external levels on policy, governance, and advocacy matters.

Primary Duties and Responsibilities:

Clinical Care
  • Provides expert genetic counseling services for adult patients and families, including collection and interpretation of personal and family history, risk assessment, test selection, informed consent, result disclosure, psychosocial support, and development of management recommendations across hereditary cancer syndromes.
  • Serves as a lead clinician for complex and high-acuity cases involving common and rare hereditary cancer conditions.

Clinical & Institutional Strategy
  • In collaboration with Cancer Genetics & Prevention division leadership, designs and refines care delivery models that extend beyond traditional genetic counseling pathways to support access, quality, and appropriate follow-up.
  • Develop strategies to manage increasing patient volumes while maintaining strong standards for informed consent, triage, and continuity of care.
  • Partners with information technology and operational stakeholders to improve integration of family history tools, pedigree software, and clinical decision support resources within institutional systems and workflows.
  • Develops, standardizes, and updates evidence-based institutional guidance for genetic and genomic testing criteria, tumor / germline testing, referral pathways, and high-risk screening and management practices.

Operational & Financial Management
  • In collaboration with program and administrative leadership, evaluate operational efficiency and recommend workflow improvements that support high-quality patient care and sustainable service delivery.
  • Monitors and helps advise on billing and reimbursement practices related to genetics services, including workflow design, payer-related processes, and institutional compliance considerations.
  • Reviews institutional utilization of genetic testing and ordering patterns to identify opportunities to reduce redundant, inappropriate, or inefficient testing and to support responsible resource use.
  • Works closely with relevant data, operations, and administrative partners to ensure genetics-related tools, data workflows, and systems are used efficiently and appropriately for clinical and programmatic purposes.

Policy & Governance
  • Provides expert consultation and cross-functional collaboration on the development, implementation, and refinement of institutional policies involving genomic information and genetics practice.
  • Oversees quality improvement activities related to turnaround times, documentation, consent practices, patient outcomes, and other measures tied to quality standards and accreditation expectations.
  • Supports institutional readiness for genetics-related compliance and accreditation requirements and contributes to continuous improvement efforts.
  • Represents the program in internal governance discussions and in external policy and advocacy settings relevant to genetic counseling, licensure, credentialing, and reimbursement.
  • Leads or supports advocacy efforts related to recognition of genetic counselors and broader access to genetics services.


Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:
  • Expert knowledge of hereditary cancer genetics, including both common and rare cancer predisposition syndromes, cancer risk assessment methodologies, and current testing strategies.
  • Advanced skill in delivering genetic counseling through comprehensive family history assessment, clinical evaluation, selection of appropriate testing, interpretation of results, and provision of psychosocial support.
  • Strong expertise in tumor/germline and variant analysis and interpretation, use of clinical genetics resources, and application of current literature and evidence-based practice to complex patient care decisions.
  • Working knowledge of broader genomic analysis and personalized genomic medicine as applied to hereditary cancer evaluation and management.
  • Ability to communicate highly complex scientific, medical, and risk information clearly and effectively to patients, families, clinicians, trainees, and other audiences in both verbal and written formats.
  • Strong leadership skills with the ability to guide specialty program development, manage competing priorities, support change, and identify innovative approaches to improve services and program growth.
  • Demonstrated ability to build collaborative relationships with multidisciplinary faculty, staff, external partners, and referring providers across a complex academic healthcare environment.
  • Strong teaching, mentorship, and presentation skills, including the ability to support professional development of genetic counselors, interns, students, fellows, and other healthcare professionals.
  • Proficiency with pedigree standards, pedigree-drawing software, clinical documentation, and relevant genetic testing and electronic medical record workflows.
  • Strong research and analytical skills, including the ability to review, synthesize, and apply medical literature and contribute to research, publication, or presentation efforts.
  • Excellent organizational and project management skills, with the ability to manage multiple large initiatives, prioritize effectively, and maintain attention to detail.
  • High level of emotional awareness, professionalism, sound judgment, and sensitivity in navigating complex patient, family, and team interactions.

Minimum Job Qualifications:
  • Master's degree in Genetic Counseling required.
  • Minimum of 10 years of progressively advanced clinical experience in genetic counseling required.
  • Demonstrated leadership experience in program development, staff mentorship, education, and/or research initiatives required.
  • Extensive experience in clinical cancer genetic counseling preferred.
  • Experience in an academic medical center, cancer center, or similarly complex healthcare environment preferred.


License/Certification/Registration Required:
  • Board-Certified by the American Board of Genetic Counseling.
  • Current licensure as a Genetic Counselor in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts required.


Supervisory Responsibilities:

No formal supervisory responsibilities.

Patient Contact:

Yes, mainly adult oncology or high-risk genetics patients, with the potential to see some pediatric oncology patients.

Special Working Conditions

Availability by pager and expected on-call coverage during normal business hours at the main campus as scheduled.

The hiring range is based on market pay structures, with individual salaries determined by factors such as business needs, market conditions, internal equity, and based on the candidate's relevant experience, skills and qualifications.

For union positions, the pay range is determined by the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).

$150,000.00 - $172,500.00

About Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute is a non-profit organization that provides cancer treatment and research services. The institute was founded in 1947 and is affiliated with Harvard Medical School. Dana-Farber Cancer Institute is committed to providing the highest quality care to cancer patients, and is dedicated to finding new treatments and cures for the disease. The institute offers a range of services, including chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and surgery. Dana-Farber Cancer Institute is also involved in a number of research initiatives, and has made significant contributions to the field of cancer research.
Learn more about Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Size
5,000 employees
Industry
Founded
1947

Similar Jobs

More Jobs at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

More Healthcare Jobs

Find similar Genetic Counseling Policy and Strategy Manager jobs: