System Chief - Dosimetry

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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.

General Description of the Job Class

The System Chief Dosimetry provides strategic, clinical, and operational leadership for medical dosimetry services across Duke University Health System and its network sites. This role oversees treatment planning quality, staffing, performance, and standardization of dosimetry practices across multiple sites.

As a clinical expert, the System Chief Dosimetry partners with Radiation Oncology physicians, medical physicists, radiation therapists, and administrative leaders to ensure safe, accurate, and efficient treatment planning. Responsibilities include advancing planning techniques, standardizing workflows, optimizing resource utilization, and ensuring compliance with clinical, regulatory, charge capture, and accreditation standards.

This leader drives system-wide initiatives in clinical excellence, innovation, workforce development, and operational performance, while supporting the implementation of new technologies and treatment modalities. The role requires regular collaboration across sites and travel within the health system.

The position will have a dual reporting relationship to the Radiation Oncology Ambulatory Operations Director and the Chief of Physics. The System Chief Dosimetry plays a key role in advancing high-quality, standardized radiation treatment planning across Duke Health.

Duties and Responsibilities of this Level

System Leadership and Operations

• Provides system-wide leadership for dosimetry services across all Radiation Oncology sites.
• Aligns treatment planning practices with physician, physics, and operational priorities.
• Oversees staffing models, workload distribution, and planning turnaround times.
• Develops and standardizes treatment planning workflows, protocols, charge capture and documentation practices.
• Monitors productivity, plan quality, and operational performance metrics.
• Supports efficient resource utilization and capacity planning across sites.

Clinical Oversight

• Ensures high-quality, accurate, and timely development of radiation therapy treatment plans.
• Oversees adherence to physician prescriptions and evidence-based planning standards.
• Partners with medical physicists to ensure dosimetric accuracy and plan integrity.
• Supports implementation of advanced planning techniques and new technologies (e.g., IMRT, VMAT, SRS, SBRT).
• Provides clinical guidance and troubleshooting for complex cases.
• Maintains clinical competency in radiation therapy treatment planning to remain current with evolving technologies, planning techniques, and standards of care.
• Serves as a clinical dosimetry resource and provides treatment planning support as needed to address staffing gaps, operational challenges, or fluctuations in workload.
• Maintains direct knowledge of frontline dosimetry workflows and operational challenges to support informed leadership, effective decision-making, and strong engagement with the dosimetry team.

Staff Leadership and Development

• Leads and develops site dosimetry leaders and dosimetry staff.
• Recruits, mentors, and retains high-performing dosimetry professionals across all sites.
• Promotes a culture of collaboration, innovation, and continuous learning.
• Oversees onboarding, competency validation, and ongoing professional development.

Quality and Safety

• Ensures compliance with regulatory, accreditation, and institutional standards.
• Leads quality assurance initiatives related to treatment planning and dosimetric accuracy.
• Monitors plan quality metrics, peer review outcomes, and safety events.
• Partners with physicists to support QA programs, audits, and continuous improvement efforts.

Required Qualifications at this Level

Education

• Bachelor's degree in medical dosimetry or related field required

Experience

• 5 years of clinical dosimetry experience required.
• 3 years of leadership experience in radiation oncology preferred.

Degrees, Licensure, and/or Certification

Certified Medical Dosimetrist (CMD) required.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Advanced expertise in radiation treatment planning and dosimetric principles.
• Strong knowledge of treatment planning systems and oncology workflows.
• Experience with advanced techniques (IMRT, VMAT, SRS, SBRT).
• Demonstrated ability to lead multi-site or complex clinical operations.
• Strong analytical, organizational, and problem-solving skills.
• Effective communication and collaboration across interdisciplinary teams.
• Commitment to clinical excellence and patient-centered care.
• Experience in an academic medical center environment preferred.
• Experience with Varian systems (e.g., Eclipse and ARIA) preferred.
• Experience with proton therapy and brachytherapy planning desirable.