Genetic Counseling Policy and Strategy Manager

Overview

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.

Located in Boston and the surrounding communities, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute is a leader in life changing breakthroughs in cancer research and patient care. We are united in our mission of conquering cancer, HIV/AIDS, and related diseases. We strive to create an inclusive, diverse, and equitable environment where we provide compassionate and comprehensive care to patients of all backgrounds, and design programs to promote public health particularly among high-risk and underserved populations. We conduct groundbreaking research that advances treatment, we educate tomorrow's physician/researchers, and we work with amazing partners, including other Harvard Medical School-affiliated hospitals.

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.
• E xperience 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.

At Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, we work every day to create an innovative, caring, and inclusive environment where every patient, family, and staff member feels they belong. As relentless as we are in our mission to reduce the burden of cancer for all, we are committed to having faculty and staff who offer multifaceted experiences. Cancer knows no boundaries and when it comes to hiring the most dedicated and compassionate professionals, neither do we. If working in this kind of organization inspires you, we encourage you to apply.

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute is an equal opportunity employer and affirms the right of every qualified applicant to receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender identity or expression, national origin, sexual orientation, genetic information, disability, age, ancestry, military service, protected veteran status, or other characteristics protected by law.

Pay Transparency Statement

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).