Genetic Counselor Assistant

The Chronicle Of Higher Education, Inc.; Salt Lake City (UT); Hybrid; USD 22,000 - 30,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Healthcare coverage

Retirement contributions

Paid leave time

Holidays

Tuition reduction

Transit discounts

Professional development

Job summary

The Genetic Counselor Assistant role at University of Utah provides clinical, research, and administrative support to physicians, genetic counselors, and staff within pediatrics and the Center for Pediatric Personalized Medicine.

GCA duties include scheduling, pedigree preparation, research participant screening, consent collection, and regulatory compliance activities, with final pay determined by department needs and budget considerations.

Qualifications

• Experience providing scheduling and clerical support in a clinical or educational setting.
• Ability to collect consent documentation and maintain research records.
• Comfort coordinating multiple program activities and staff communications.

Responsibilities

• Provide daily support for clinical, research, and administrative programs.
• Schedule meetings and events; manage documentation and records.
• Assist in coordinating genetic counseling processes and patient communications.
• Support regulatory compliance and data entry for research studies.
• Facilitate pre-authorizations, referrals, and billing documentation.

Skills

Communication

Administrative support

Data entry

Tools

Office suite

Job description

Genetic Counselor Assistant

Job Summary

The Division of Neurology in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Utah Spencer F. Eccles School of Medicine is seeking a Genetic Counseling Assistant (GCA). This position provides clinical, research, and administrative support to physicians, genetic counselors, and other staff within the Department of Pediatrics and the Center for Pediatric Personalized Medicine at Primary Children's Hospital.

The GCA works closely with patients and their families while assisting with appointment scheduling, preparation of genetic pedigrees through patient chart review, identification of potential research participants, and collection of informed consent documentation. Additional responsibilities include supporting regulatory compliance activities, such as adverse event reporting, and coordinating a variety of clinical, research, and administrative functions that support patient care and ongoing research initiatives.

This position is posted at multiple job levels. Each level has distinct qualifications, responsibilities, which will be evaluated during the selection process. Final placement, including the associated pay rate, will be determined based on business needs and budget considerations.

Department Summary

The Department of Pediatrics is the second largest department in the University of Utah School of Medicine and one of the largest pediatric departments in the country. We are committed to improving the lives of children through excellence in advocacy, education, research, and clinical care. For more information about the Department of Pediatrics, please visit: http://medicine.utah.edu/pediatrics/ Mutual respect and appreciation are highly valued in the department.

Benefits Summary

• Excellent healthcare coverage at affordable rates (see the SummaryComparison for more information)
• 14.2% retirement contributions
• Generous paid leave time
• 11 paid Holidays per year
• 50% tuition reduction for employees, spouses, and dependent children
• Flex spending accounts
• University provided basic employee life insurance coverage equal to a salary of up to$25,000
• Variety of elective insurance coverage, including life insurance, short and long-term disability, accidental death & dismemberment, accident, critical illness, hospital indemnity, and pet.
• Free transit on most UTA services
• Employee discounts on a variety of products and services, including cell phones & plans, entertainment, health and fitness, restaurants, retail, and travel
• Professional development opportunities

Additional benefits information is available at https://benefits.utah.edu/.

Employee Health Requirements

This position is patient-sensitive and must fulfill all associated vaccination requirements, or be approved for an exemption, prior to the first day of work. We protect our patients, coworkers and community by requiring all patient-sensitive employees to be immunized according to CDC standards and hospital policy. Limited exemptions may be made for documented medical contraindications or religious beliefs that object to vaccinations.

Responsibilities

Essential Functions

Provide daily assistance in support of one or more programs for the university. Schedule meetings and special events. Answer questions from the public. Assist in the development of promotional and informational program materials. Coordinate volunteer schedules and training. Responsibilities may include fundraising, budgeting, and community outreach for assigned program(s).

Basic clerical and office duties, including:

1. Assembles necessary documents and supplies.
2. Effectively uses computer applications as needed in the office setting.
3. Schedules, coordinates, and monitors appointments and testing.
4. Maintains medical records and other information.
5. Maintains inventory of supplies, ordering and restocking as needed to ensure availability for patient care.
6. Accurately documents patient and family genetic history and vital information into the medical record and into research databases.
7. Communicates with patients and providers via telephone, fax, e‑mail, and U.S. mail.
8. Assists in coordinating program meetings and case conferences.
9. Under the direction of the provider, assigns procedural and diagnostic coding to encounter forms.
10. Conducts pre‑authorizations, referrals, etc in accordance with third party insurer requirements.
11. Facilitates timely billing by completing the necessary documentation.

Research functions:

1. Screens participants by assessing eligibility for research protocols and potential for commitment to project.
2. Collects and tracks research consent from study participants.
3. Disseminates information about the project and implements recruitment enhancement strategies.
4. Monitors participant progression throughout study and conduct evaluation at end of study.
5. Coordinates clinical patient information according to research protocols and assist the researchers with gathering pertinent clinical information.
6. Follows techniques of clinical research coordination and practices, FDA Good Clinical Practices (GCP), and clinical research standard operating procedures to ensure compliance with Intermountain policy and procedure, research sponsors and Federal rules and regulations.

Clinical functions within acceptable standards of care including:

1. Processes patient referrals from medical care providers and self‑referrals from patients to genetic counseling; coordinates referral of genetic counseling patients to other specialties and providers.
2. Prioritizes (triages) patient scheduling to identify emergent needs through phone, electronic and walk‑in communication, in accordance with established guidelines and protocols.
3. Schedules appointment times and sends introductory packet to each scheduled patient.
4. Prepares patient record to include obtaining patient and family genetic and medical history and generates a pedigree for the genetic counselor.
5. Provides patient education as directed (content reflects specific genetic assistant training, guidelines, care process models, protocols) and documents the education.
6. Assists genetic counselor during the genetic counseling session with paperwork, preauthorization's, pedigrees, etc.
7. Assists with consenting patients to research, in accordance with established guidelines and protocols.
8. Preauthorizes patients for genetic testing, including in‑depth knowledge of genetic testing criteria as it pertains to various insurance companies, HMOs, PPOs, and Medicare/Medicaid.
9. Works with laboratories and insurance companies to facilitate completion of genetic testing for patients.
10. Coordinates incorporation of patient information into electronic medical record, including intake forms, physician and patient letters, and test results.
11. Following provider instructions, demonstrates accurate, timely and efficient follow through, tracks and reports testing results to genetic counselors.
12. Track patient information, genetic test results, medical records, family history, and input information into tracking database.
13. Actively participates in quality improvement initiatives (i.e. CQI, TQM, Lean, 100% participation, etc.).

Other duties as assigned (i.e. data entry, expense tracking, patient chart reviews, etc…)

The following job levels and associated pay rates will be considered based on job placement. Final placement, including the corresponding pay rate, will be determined by the department in alignment with business needs and budget considerations.

Program Assistant, I

Perform routine tasks as directed and under close supervision. Requires little to no related experience. This is an Entry-Level position in the Support track. Job Code: SZ3721 Grade: S13 Expected Pay Range: $16.12 to $20.29

Program Assistant, II

Completes routine tasks under moderate supervision. Requires at least 1 year of related experience. This is an Intermediate Level position in the Support track. Job Code: SZ3722 Grade: S14 Expected Pay Range: $17.33 to $21.81

Disclaimer:

This job description has been designed to indicate the general nature and level of work performed by employees within this classification. It is not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities and qualifications required of employees assigned to the job.

Minimum Qualifications

EQUIVALENCY STATEMENT: 1 year of higher education can be substituted for 1 year of directly related work experience (Example: bachelor's degree = 4 years of directly related work experience).

Department may hire employee at one of the following job levels:

Program Assistant, I: Requires little to no related experience.

Program Assistant, II: Requires at least 1 year of related experience.

Preferences

• CITI Good Clinical Practices (GCP) certification.

The Department will screen applicants according to the identified preferences.

Special Instructions

Full Time or Part Time?

Full Time

Work Schedule Summary

Monday – Friday, 8:00 a.m. – 4:30p.m. Hours may vary based on operational needs. Opportunities for a hybrid telework schedule may be considered after the initial training period, provided the arrangement is supported by operational needs and individual performance. Telework arrangements are not guaranteed and may be modified or discontinued at any time based on business requirements or performance. Employees approved for hybrid telework must provide their own private workspace, secure internet connection, and demonstrate the ability to work independently.

Department: 00848 - Pediatric Administration

Location: Campus

Pay Rate Range: $16.12 to $21.81

Close Date: 11/07/2026