Dir Operations, Legal, Risk & Audit

Job Summary:

The UNC Health Legal, Risk Management, and Audit Services Department seeks an energetic, skilled, resourceful, and business-savvy professional with excellent communication and interpersonal skills to become the department’s first Director of Operations. This position will work closely with department leaders as a member of the departmental leadership team as well as with stakeholders and the department’s clients throughout UNC Health to define and drive strategic and operational initiatives, manage key processes and deliverables that are critical to the LRMAS Department, and deploy technology tools and information to users of legal, risk management, and audit services.

The Director of Operations will report directly to the Chief Legal Officer and work with and on behalf of the leaders of the Legal Team, the Risk Management team, and the Audit Services team to support of each of those areas. Through direct supervision and oversight of the department’s team of legal and policy specialists and paralegals, the Director will also oversee the development of content, presentations, and reports concerning legal, audit, risk, and governance matters on behalf of the department for UNC Health’s boards and committees and executive leadership.

Description of Job Responsibilities:

Serve as a strategic partner to the Chief Legal Officer, the Vice President for Risk Management, the Vice President for Audit Services, and the Vice Presidents/Deputy General Counsels to drive department initiatives, including communicating and managing deliverables across departments and operations.

Provide leadership and direction for change management initiatives, employee engagement activities, budget and financial planning, project management, and program development on behalf of the Chief Legal Officer and Legal team leaders, the Vice President for Risk Management, and the Vice President for Audit Services. Provide oversight for all projects supporting the Chief Legal Officer’s agenda to meet established milestones, measurement criteria, and deliverables.

Assist the departmental leadership team with day-to-day department operations, including reporting, dashboarding, budgeting, and financial management. Assist in designing, collecting, reporting, and assessing legal, risk management, audit services, and governance metrics.

Support and direct the development and deployment of technology and management tools, including matter management, contract management, claims management and reporting, and dashboards. Plan and manage systems for e-Billing; vendor and law firm billing procedures and practices; and management of law firms and other service providers.

Create and drive relationships with other key UNC Health and University entities and functions, including Finance, Compliance and Privacy, IT, Human Resources, Supply Chain, UNC Health hospitals, UNC Health physician groups, Strategy & Corporate Development, Real Estate, Revenue Cycle, Managed Care, UNC School of Medicine, and Research.

Help plan for, select, implement, champion, and maintain legal, risk, and governance technology tools, including but not limited to CLM tools, matter management, knowledge management, reporting tools, dashboards, client and customer-facing systems, and claims management and support. Evaluate and improve the methods for intake, assignment, and management of work, including expansion of the departmental intranet site as a portal to all requests to the department and automation of first-level legal support. Serve as owner for projects and drive the use of technologies to increase efficiencies.

Responsible to the CLO for department budget management, including all business and operating expenses, accounting practices and policies, and accurate financial reporting. Responsible for annual and quarterly forecasting. Measures performance against budgets and provides recommendations to assure adherence to budget. Serves as departmental point of contact with business finance partners on budgeting, forecasting spending, and financial management policies.

Coordinate the department’s delivery of information and training to UNC Health entities, and department teammates. Direct departmental activities to create and refine forms, knowledge, playbooks, systems, processes, and procedures.

Assist in managing recruitment, hiring, and onboarding new teammates.

Leads people toward meeting the organization's vision, mission, and goals. Provides an inclusive workplace that fosters the development of others, facilitates cooperation and teamwork, and supports constructive resolution of conflicts. Treat sensitive or confidential information appropriately. Works to improve and reinforce the performance of others. Delegates assignments, clarifies expectations, and holds others accountable for achieving results related to their area of responsibility. Encourages workforce engagement by building a commitment to excellence. Works collaboratively toward solutions that accomplish organizational objectives.

Initiates and manages the change process, taking steps to remove barriers or accelerate its pace. Communicates a compelling vision and need for change that generates excitement, enthusiasm, and commitment to the process.

Clearly communicates the direction, required performance, and challenges of change to all involved parties. Identifies and enlists the support of key individuals and groups to move the change forward. Obtains and provides resources to implement change initiatives. Serves as a role model by demonstrating commitment to innovation and continuous improvement in organizational performance.

Exceeds departmental and organizational goals and customer expectations. Makes decisions that produce high- quality results by applying knowledge, analyzing problems, and calculating risks. Delivers high-quality services and is committed to continuous improvement. Understands the overall financial performance of the organization and applies financial concepts and practices to establish and maintain realistic budgets. Uses financial information to monitor the overall financial status of operations.

Education Requirements:

Bachelor’s degree in business administration, finance, accounting, operations management or a related field. MBA or law degree preferred

Licensure/Certification Requirements:

n/a

Professional Experience Requirements:

Requires at least seven years of progressively responsible experience in legal, enterprise risk, claims management, compliance, finance, or related fields with at least three years of supervisory/management experience.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities Requirements:

Solid understanding of relevant laws, regulations, and industry standards that impact the organization's operations and compliance.

Understanding of legal operations functions like contract management, eDiscovery, and legal technology. Effectively managing complex projects, budgets, and resources within the LRA function.

Ability to analyze complex data, identify trends, and recommend data-driven solutions. Demonstrated commitment to staying up-to-date on legal, risk, and audit developments. Building strong relationships with key stakeholders across the organization.