Genetic Counsellor

Come work as a Genetic Counsellor with Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH)

Vancouver Coastal Health is looking for a Genetic Counsellor to join the Adult Metabolic Disease Clinic at Vancouver General Hospital. Apply today to join our team

As a Genetic Counsellor at Vancouver Coastal Health you will:

• Participate in a team approach to medical genetic services under the direction of a Ph.D. and/or M.D. Geneticist.
• Perform responsibilities including counselling, education, clinical research and client care focusing on medical facts including diagnosis and probable course of the disorder, hereditary contributions to the disorder and the risk of recurrence.
• Perform duties including conducting assessments, providing individual, family and group counseling services, maintaining client records, attending interdisciplinary clinical/case conferences, facilitating genetic testing options, identifying and assisting client(s) to access applicable community resources, and contributing to the effectiveness of service delivery and development of program sponsored interdisciplinary research.

Education & Experience

• Master's degree in genetic counselling; two years of recent, related experience and/or an equivalent combination of education, training and experience.Board eligible for certification or Board certified with the Canadian Association of Genetic Counselling or the American Board of Genetic Counseling.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• Comprehensive knowledge of counseling skills.
• Broad knowledge of other health disciplines and their role in health care.
• Broad knowledge of research methodology and familiarity with design and conduct of quantitative and qualitative research.
• Broad knowledge of family, group and change therapy.
• Demonstrated listening and information seeking skills that promote communication and lead to a co-operative approach to problem solving within an interdisciplinary setting.
• Demonstrated ability to gather relevant data and make multi-dimensional assessments.
• Demonstrated understanding of hereditary syndromes, genetic testing and clinical guidelines.
• Demonstrated ability to conduct social and psychosocial assessments.
• Demonstrated ability to understand and influence group and inter-group processes and decision making.
• Demonstrated ability to establish rapport with clients and families in order to explore issues that are beyond the initial presented concerns.
• Demonstrated ability to communicate effectively both verbally and in writing with clients, families, staff and community agency personnel.
• Demonstrated ability to effectively deal with conflict situations.
• Demonstrated ability to adjust to new and unexpected events.
• Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively as a member of an interdisciplinary team.
• Demonstrated ability to establish workload priorities in collaboration with others.
• Demonstrated ability to teach and supervise students.
• General knowledge of Trauma Informed Practice and Harm Reduction approaches and Strengths-based care.
• Demonstrated ability to promote Indigenous Cultural Safety.
• Demonstrated ability to provide competent and culturally safe care in a variety of settings and with diverse populations.
• Physical ability to perform the duties of the position.
• Computer literacy with word processing, spreadsheet and database skills.

The hours of work including days off and work area may be subject to change consistent with operational requirements and the provision of the Collective Agreement and applicable statutes. Successful applicants may be required to complete a Criminal Records Review Check.As per Ministry of Health policy, all health care workers working in publicly-funded health care facilities are required to report their past receipt of certain vaccines or history of certain infections. Collecting these records will allow for offering of any missing vaccines, and for appropriate actions to be taken in the event of any future exposure to a communicable disease or during outbreaks. For all new hires and appointments to Vancouver Coastal Health, you will be asked to provide this information as part of the onboarding process.

WHY JOIN VANCOUVER COASTAL HEALTH?

VCH is a world class innovator in medical care, research and teaching, delivering service to more than one million BC residents. At VCH, we embrace thinking boldly, taking smart risks, and "going first" when we believe it will lead to the best possible outcomes for patients and their families. We invite you to join us in creating healthy lives in healthy communities by showcasing our passion for care, connection to the communities we serve and our culture of teamwork that makes VCH a great place to work.

• Comprehensive health benefits package, including MSP, extended health and dental and municipal pension plan
• Grow your career with employer-paid training and leadership development opportunities
• Wellness supports, including counselling, critical incident and innovative wellness services are available to employees and their immediate families
• Award-winning recognition programs to honour staff, medical staff and volunteers
• Access to exclusive discount offers and deals for VCH staff

At Vancouver Coastal Health, our vision of healthy lives in healthy communities inspires us and our values and pillars guide us. We support equitable practices, diverse teams and inclusive environments, which are vital to creating welcoming spaces where everyone can bring their whole selves to work and feel supported. We encourage applications from equity-deserving communities, including Indigenous Peoples and members of racialized groups, people with disabilities and people of all gender identities and expressions and sexual orientation.Vancouver Coastal Health is proud to be recognized as one of BC's Top Employers, Canada's Best Diversity Employers and Canada's Top Employers for Young People in 2025.Only short-listed applicants will be contacted for this posting. ***Employees of VCH must apply online via the Internal Career Portal on CareerHub, you are currently viewing the External Career Portal. Refer to the site for instructions on how to view internal job postings and how to apply as an employee. Current VCH employees who apply to this posting using this external site will be considered as an external candidate. Seniority will not apply.***Thank you for your interest in Vancouver Coastal Health.