What are the responsibilities and job description for the System Chief - Radiation Therapy position at Duke?
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About Duke University Hospital
Pursue your passion for caring with Duke University Hospital in Durham, North Carolina, which is consistently ranked among the best in the United States. The largest of the four Duke Healthhospitals with 1062 patient beds, it features comprehensive diagnostic and therapeutic facilities, including a regional emergency/trauma center, an endo-surgery center, and more.
***This position is eligible for up to $10,000 Relocation***
General Description of the Job Class
The System Chief Radiation Therapy provides strategic, operational, and clinical leadership for Radiation Therapy services across Duke University Health System and its network sites. This role oversees radiation therapist staffing, daily operations, quality, performance, workload balance, and workforce development across multiple sites.
As a technical and clinical expert, the System Chief partners with Radiation Oncology physicians, medical physicists, dosimetrists, nursing, administrative, and revenue cycle teams to ensure safe, high- quality, efficient, and compliant care delivery. Key responsibilities include advancing clinical practice, optimizing workflows, ensuring accurate charge capture, and supporting regulatory and reimbursement compliance.
This leader drives system-wide initiatives in clinical excellence, operational performance, workforce development, and patient-centered care, while guiding the adoption of new technologies and care models. The role requires regular collaboration and travel across Duke Health locations.
The position will have a dual reporting relationship to the Radiation Oncology Ambulatory Operations Director and the Vice Chair of Clinical Operations. The System Chief Radiation Therapy plays a key role in advancing Radiation Oncology services across the Duke Health System.
Duties and Responsibilities of this Level
System Leadership and Operations
- Provides system-wide leadership for radiation therapy services across all sites.
- Aligns clinical and operational priorities in partnership with physicians and interdisciplinary leadership.
- Directs staffing models, workflow, and care delivery across academic and community settings.
- Standardizes clinical workflows, treatment protocols, and operational policies.
Clinical Oversight
- Ensures safe, accurate, and timely delivery of radiation therapy in accordance with physician orders and regulatory standards.
- Optimizes clinical operations to enhance patient flow, safety, and experience.
- Leads implementation of new technologies, equipment, and clinical procedures.
- Manages operational disruptions, including equipment downtime and site transitions.
- Identifies and mitigates clinical safety risks.
- Maintains clinical competency and proficiency in radiation therapy practice to remain current with evolving technologies, workflows, and standards of care.
- Provides clinical support and staffing coverage as needed during operational disruptions, workforce shortages, or periods of increased patient volume.
- Maintains an active understanding of frontline clinical operations to effectively support staff, inform decision-making, and foster credibility with the clinical team.
Staff Leadership and Development
- Leads and develops chiefs, team leads, and frontline staff.
- Recruits, retains, and builds a high-performing workforce across all sites.
- Promotes a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
- Oversees onboarding, competency validation, and ongoing professional development.
- Implements a system that develops and rewards expertise and superior performance in radiation therapists.
Quality and Safety
- Ensures compliance with accreditation, regulatory, and institutional standards.
- Leads quality improvement initiatives to ensure safe, timely and efficient treatment.
- Monitors safety events. quality metrics. and clinical outcomes.
- Partners with physicists and dosimetrists on quality assurance and equipment performance.
- Monitors and improves productivity, access, and service performance metrics.
- Leads charge capture efforts; partners with revenue cycle teams to improve documentation and reduce billing errors.
Required Qualifications at this Level
Education
- Bachelor's degree in Radiation Therapy or related field required.
- Master's degree in healthcare administration, leadership, or related field strongly preferred.
Experience
- 5 years of radiation therapy clinical experience required.
- 3 years of leadership experience in radiation oncology preferred.
- Experience in an academic medical center environment preferred.
Degrees, Licensure, and/or Certification
- Current certification by the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists (ARRT), Radiation Therapy [RT(T)]
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
- Advanced knowledge of radiation therapy technologies and oncology workflows.
- Demonstrated leadership and experience managing multi-site operations.
- Strong communication, organizational, and change management skills.
- Ability to drive operational improvement and performance outcomes.
- Commitment to patient-centered, high-quality care.
- Experience with Varian systems and software preferred.
- Experience with proton therapy delivery, brachytherapy delivery, and adaptive therapy delivery desirable.
Duke is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to providing employment opportunity without regard to an individual's age, color, disability, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, national origin, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy and pregnancy related conditions), sexual orientation or military status.
Duke aspires to create a community built on collaboration, innovation, creativity, and belonging. Our collective success depends on the robust exchange of ideas—an exchange that is best when the rich diversity of our perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences flourishes. To achieve this exchange, it is essential that all members of the community feel secure and welcome, that the contributions of all individuals are respected, and that all voices are heard. All members of our community have a responsibility to uphold these values.
Essential Physical Job Functions:
Certain jobs at Duke University and Duke University Health System may include essential job functions that require specific physical and/or mental abilities. Additional information and provision for requests for reasonable accommodation will be provided by each hiring department.