Director of Compliance

Description:

Job Description Summary:
Reporting directly to the Chief Operating Officer (COO), The Director of Compliance will assist our COO in ensuring Samuel Merritt University (SMU) has established and maintained an effective compliance program: preventing and detecting violations of university policies and procedures and maintaining compliance with all federal laws, regulations and guidelines regarding operations.

This role is responsible for guiding an effective federated compliance structure through a combination of centralized assurance, compliance liaison oversight and coordination, ongoing evaluation of compliance program performance to reduce risks of noncompliance, and methods to detect and prevent conduct that may represent noncompliance or nonconformity with defined institutional risk tolerance.

Main duties of this position include conducting internal audits and investigations, assisting the COO in exercising oversight responsibility for SMU’s compliance function. Exceptional investigative skills, plus the ability to work effectively with components throughout the organization, are key.

Duties and Responsibilities:

Responsibilities:

• Manage the university privacy, ethics and compliance program
• Maintain an ongoing compliance risk assessment process
• As requested or necessary, provide consultation to senior management regarding risks or potential noncompliance events Identify and develop initiatives to address and resolve areas of compliance concerns or emerging risks
• Coordinate resolution of issues with senior leadership and/or management of the compliance areas or business units
• Maintain a working understanding of the contemporary compliance landscape
• Cultivate relationships with peers and subject matter experts to facilitate anticipatory evaluation of new regulations, enforcement focus or other compliance initiatives
• Serve as primary point of contact for the ethics and compliance hotline, including coordinating investigations and follow-up activities
• Administer the compliance program and coordinate with the internal audit function
• Prepare updates and reports for senior leadership, steering committees and governing boards
• Represent the privacy, ethics and compliance program on internal working committees and review boards
• Maintain a close working relationship with independent counsel and the information security office
• Apply sound and balanced risk evaluation and risk mitigation perspective

Education:

• Bachelor's degree required; advanced degree preferred (e.g., MPH, MBA, MHA, JD, MD, etc.).
• Demonstrated collaborative leadership, thoughtful communication and sincere interpersonal style.
• Significant experience in assessing compliance risks, evaluating compliance program performance and leading high- performing teams in a complex environment.

Experience:
Minimum of 20 years of compliance experience and progressive leadership responsibilities in an academic, research or other complex compliance environment, with working knowledge or experience in sponsored program management, human subjects research, privacy requirements, clinical trials, responsible conduct of research, regulatory affairs, lab safety and biosafety, environmental health and safety, athletics compliance, and international activities and minimum of 10 years of serving in a compliance role in higher education.

The University has an institution-wide commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. We strive to build a welcoming and supportive campus environment, and acknowledge that diversity is an educational imperative to achieve excellence.

Employee Status:
Regular
Exemption Status:
United States of America (Exempt)
Time Type:
Full time
Job Shift: