SEARCH CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

GENERAL SUMMARY OF POSITION: 

Under the general direction of the University of Massachusetts Medical School’s (UMMS) Associate Vice Chancellor for Management and under the direct supervision of UMMS’ Senior Director of Compliance and Privacy, the Contracts and Compliance Legal Associate is responsible for advising business and research personnel in matters of contract drafting, negotiation, and compliance with contractual, healthcare and/or research data privacy requirements.

The OOM provides assistance to UMMS in addressing and managing areas of risk, data privacy and compliance/privacy requirements related to UMMS’ business and research operations.  The OOM’s compliance and privacy personnel also provide workforce training regarding data privacy and compliance and advise on issues for Commonwealth Medicine (CWM), a health-care consulting division of UMMS, and other UMMS departments regarding research grants and data privacy requirements.  The overall legal authority for the University of Massachusetts (University) and its five campuses (including UMMS) is the Office of General Counsel (OGC), and this position is not within the University’s OGC but rather within the OOM at UMMS, which coordinates its on-campus efforts with the OGC. 

MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Draft and review business, consultant and research contracts, including but not limited to: healthcare services contracts, research grants, business associate agreements, and data use agreements.
• Consult with UMMS’ and CWM’s programs and business units, and advise their staff, managers, directors and department heads to help ensure that activities being performed are in accordance with federal, state and contractual requirements.
• Work with the UMMS Information Security Office to advise UMMS workforce in matters related to protecting data and reviewing and fulfilling data requirements in contracts.
• Draft and update privacy and compliance policies, standards and procedures, and assist business units to adapt and implement their departmental data privacy standards to meet their business needs and contractual requirements.
• Assist business units in identifying their risk areas with periodic risk analyses and assessments.
• Develop and help conduct annual training related to privacy and compliance policies and standards.
• Maintain current knowledge of applicable federal and state laws and regulations and identify how they impact UMMS and CWM operations.
• Conduct investigations of noncompliance and recommend mitigation measures. 
• Assist CWM business personnel with potential conflicts of interest and public procurement requirements.
• Research and respond to ad hoc legal inquiries.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• A J.D. degree and a current and valid license to practice law in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
• 5-8 years relevant legal experience in healthcare, contract administration and/or privacy and compliance.
• Prior experience in contract drafting and review, developing policies and procedures and the ability to issue spot and analyze legal implications.
• Knowledge of federal and state laws and regulations affecting the field of healthcare and/or data privacy and compliance, including HIPAA and M.G.L. c. 93H.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Massachusetts government, healthcare, research or public sector legal experience including providing advice and counsel to corporate, government or healthcare clients.
• Experience with the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and/or MassHealth is a plus.

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