Overview
The Nursing Workforce Program Manager leads and coordinates nursing workforce initiatives that strengthen recruitment, pipeline development, and retention through strategy, data-driven execution, and cross-functional partnership. The role serves as a key liaison between Nursing and Talent Acquisition, providing nursing subject-matter expertise to calibrate screening criteria and routinely review applicant pools/resumes to ensure qualified candidates are advanced. The position supports high-quality selection practices by guiding nursing leaders on interviewing standards, consistent evaluation processes, and candidate experience. The role also partners closely with Marketing and Communications, HR, and Nursing and Patient Care Services (NPCS) leaders to develop and execute recruitment messaging, campaigns, and event strategy; builds external relationships (including schools of nursing); represents Nursing at recruiting events; and tracks hiring/retention outcomes and ROI to continuously improve workforce strategies.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.
The Nursing Workforce Program Manager leads and coordinates nursing workforce initiatives that strengthen recruitment, pipeline development, and retention through strategy, data-driven execution, and cross-functional partnership. The role serves as a key liaison between Nursing and Talent Acquisition, providing nursing subject-matter expertise to calibrate screening criteria and routinely review applicant pools/resumes to ensure qualified candidates are advanced. The position supports high-quality selection practices by guiding nursing leaders on interviewing standards, consistent evaluation processes, and candidate experience. The role also partners closely with Marketing and Communications, HR, and Nursing and Patient Care Services (NPCS) leaders to develop and execute recruitment messaging, campaigns, and event strategy; builds external relationships (including schools of nursing); represents Nursing at recruiting events; and tracks hiring/retention outcomes and ROI to continuously improve workforce strategies.
Primary Duties and Responsibilities:
Nursing workforce strategy and planning:
• Partner with Nursing leadership and Talent Acquisition (TA) to define nursing workforce priorities (e.g., specialty areas, hard-to-fill roles, growth plans) and translate them into an integrated recruitment and retention plan aligned to operational needs and institutional policies.
TA partnership and applicant review:
• Provide nursing subject matter expertise across the recruitment lifecycle through role/intake calibration, clarification of required licensure/specialty experience, and ongoing alignment on screening criteria. Routinely review applicant pools and resumes with TA to assess nursing qualifications, calibrate quality of candidate slates, and support timely advancement of appropriate candidates.
Selection process quality and hiring manager enablement:
• Guide nursing leaders/managers on interviewing best practices and consistent selection processes (e.g., structured interviews, equitable evaluation, documentation expectations). Support development and adoption of interview guides and selection criteria, and help remove process barriers that impact candidate flow, timeliness, and decision quality.
Recruitment strategy, events, and Nursing representation:
• Co-develop nursing recruitment strategies with TA and collaborate with Marketing/Communications, HR, and NPCS to plan and execute recruitment events and outreach (e.g., job fairs, conferences, open houses, targeted campaigns). Attend and represent Nursing at key internal/external recruiting events, ensuring coordinated nursing participation, consistent messaging, and effective post-event follow-up.
Pipeline development and academic partnerships:
• Build and maintain relationships with schools of nursing, internal partners (e.g. workforce development) and external workforce partners to strengthen early-career and specialty pipelines (e.g., student placements, externships, residencies/transition programs in coordination with Nursing education partners). Track pipeline outcomes and conversion and recommend adjustments based on performance and workforce demand.
Retention integration and career pathways:
• Collaborate with Nursing leaders and HR partners to inform and strengthen nursing career pathways, internal mobility, and advancement supports. Ensure retention insights inform recruitment messaging, pipeline focus, and targeted retention interventions.
Workforce analytics, metrics, and ROI:
In collaboration with HR/TA analytics as applicable, develop and monitor dashboards and report for hiring and retention outcomes (e.g., applicant-to-interview conversion, offer acceptance, time-to-fill trends by specialty, early turnover, event outcomes). Evaluate the effectiveness and ROI of workforce initiatives, remain current on multigenerational workforce and labor market trends, and recommend evidence-informed improvements.
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:
• Knowledge of nursing roles, specialty practice areas, and common qualification requirements that affect nurse hiring (e.g., licensure, acute care experience, oncology/infusion experience, scheduling models, shift coverage needs).
• Demonstrated ability to evaluate nursing resumes/applicant profiles and distinguish required vs. preferred experience; ability to calibrate screening criteria with TA and hiring leaders.
• Working knowledge of recruitment process standards and selection best practices, including structured interviewing, equitable evaluation, and candidate dispositioning/documentation expectations.
• Ability to coach and influence nursing managers and TA partners to improve process quality, timeliness, and consistency without direct authority.
• Demonstrated ability to build, nurture, and sustain productive relationships across disciplines and levels, both internally and externally (e.g., Nursing, Talent Acquisition, HR, Marketing/Communications, academic partners, and professional associations), serving as an effective representative of the Nursing department and modeling Dana-Farber’s core values in all interactions.
• Strong program/project management skills, including planning, execution, stakeholder alignment, and managing multiple concurrent priorities.
• Ability to plan and execute recruitment events and outreach, including coordinating logistics, nursing participation, materials, and post-event tracking/follow-up.
• Strong analytical skills, including defining and monitoring metrics, interpreting trends, and translating insights into actionable recommendations; ability to assess program effectiveness and ROI.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to synthesize information for leaders and create clear guidance for diverse stakeholders.
• High degree of discretion and integrity in handling sensitive applicant and workforce information.
• Proficiency with common business tools (e.g., Excel, PowerPoint) and comfort working with Applicant Tracking System outputs and HR/workforce data sources.
Minimum Job
With a career at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, you play an important role in helping to fulfill our mission and ultimate goal: the eradication of cancer and related diseases. We are ranked as one of the nation's best midsize employers and offer exciting jobs and careers to match your skills, interests, and passions.
The mission of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute is to provide expert, compassionate care to children and adults with cancer while advancing the understanding, diagnosis, treatment, cure, and prevention of cancer and related diseases.
As an affiliate of Harvard Medical School and a Comprehensive Cancer Center designated by the National Cancer Institute, the Institute also provides training for new generations of physicians and scientists, designs programs that promote public health particularly among high-risk and underserved populations, and disseminates innovative patient therapies and scientific discoveries to our target community across the United States and throughout the world.
