Director of Compliance and Enterprise Risk Management

Job Description:

Job Title: Director of Compliance and Enterprise Risk Management
Reporting Structure: Chief Financial Officer

Department: Finance and Accounting

Job Purpose:

The Director of Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) and Compliance provides enterprise-level leadership, governance oversight, coordination, and strategic guidance for the System’s risk and compliance framework. The position develops and maintains the System-wide Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) program, methodologies, governance processes, and reporting practices that support informed decision-making, organizational resilience, and Board oversight.

The Director serves as a strategic advisor to executive leadership by monitoring the evolving regulatory and risk landscape facilitating enterprise risk assessments, providing executive level reporting and analysis, and promoting consistent risk management practices across the System.

Operational responsibility for identifying, assessing, mitigating, and managing risks remains with the institutional leadership and functional executives. The Director provides the governance framework, enterprise coordination, and executive visibility necessary to support consistent risk management while respecting institutional authority and accountability.

Role Impact:

The Director strengthens the System by promoting a consistent enterprise approach to risk management that aligns decentralized institutional risk management practices with System-wide strategy, governance expectations, regulatory compliance, and Board oversight. Through enterprise coordination, executive advisory services, and strategic reporting, the Director enhances operational resilience, supports informed decision making, and reinforces clear accountability for risk ownership across the System.

Key Position responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

Enterprise Risk Oversight

• Develop, implement, and continuously enhance the System-wide ERM framework, methodologies, tools, and reporting standards.
• Guide institutions in conducting risk assessments and maintaining institutional risk registers using consistent enterprise methodologies.
• Aggregate and analyze institutional risk information to develop and maintain the System’s enterprise risk profile.
• Identify and elevate cross-cutting, systemic, and emerging risks requiring executive leadership or Board consideration.
• Facilitate the development and periodic review of the System’s risk appetite and risk tolerance in partnership with executive leadership and the Board.
• Develop and maintain enterprise risk escalation protocols for material or emerging risks.
• Lead the System Risk and Compliance Committee and other cross-functional governance committees.
• Develop enterprise dashboards, key risk indicators (KRIs), and executive reports that support governance and strategic decision making.

Regulatory & Compliance Intelligence

• Monitor the evolving federal, state, accreditation, and industry regulatory landscape affecting higher education.
• Partner with executive leaders and functional subject matter experts to evaluate enterprise impacts of significant regulatory developments.
• Provide executive leadership and institutional leaders with strategic regulatory briefings, trend analyses, and enterprise impact assessments.
• Facilitate cross-functional coordination related to significant regulatory changes and emerging compliance risks.
• Conduct proactive regulatory horizon scanning to support strategic planning and organizational preparedness.
• Promote consistent enterprise communication regarding significant regulatory developments.

Board Engagement

• Prepare and present risk reports, dashboards, and emerging risk updates for executive leadership and Board committees.
• Advise executive leadership and the Board regarding enterprise risks, regulatory developments, governance trends, and leading practices.
• Support the Board’s enterprise risk governance responsibilities through education, strategic reporting, and periodic review of the System’s enterprise risk profile.

Risk Framework & Control Alignment

• Establish and maintain enterprise risk assessment methodologies, documentation standards, and risk reporting practices.
• Collaborate with Internal Audit, Legal Affairs, Compliance, and other functional leaders to provide enterprise risk insights that inform risk-based audit planning and compliance monitoring while maintaining the independence of assurance functions.
• Facilitate periodic enterprise risk reviews to evaluate aggregate risk exposure, organizational resilience, and mitigation effectiveness.
• Monitor trends in significant audit, compliance, and risk findings to identify recurring systemic issues and opportunities to strengthen governance and internal controls.
• Develop and monitor enterprise key risk indicators (KRIs) and other metrics that measure changes in the System’s risk profile.

Culture & Capacity Building

• Provide strategic guidance and consultation to institutions in advancing Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) maturity.
• Develop and maintain enterprise methodologies, tools, guidance, and educational resources that promote consistent risk management practices and compliance awareness.
• Foster a culture of risk awareness, ethical decision making, and shared accountability throughout the System.
• Promote the integration of enterprise risk management into strategic planning and executive decision making.

Risk Domain Scope

The Director provides enterprise-level coordination, governance oversight, and reporting across the System’s major risk domains. Functional executives and institutional leaderships retain responsibility for identifying, managing, and mitigating risks within their respective areas of authority. Major risk domains include, but are not limited to:

• Financial sustainability and liquidity (Chief Financial Officer)
• Enrollment, admissions, and revenue concentration (Enrollment and Marketing)
• Title IV compliance and federal regulatory compliance (Student Financial Affairs and Legal Affairs)
• Accreditation, licensure, and state authorization (Academic Affairs and Institutional Leadership)
• Information security, cybersecurity, data privacy, and technology resilience risk (Information Technology)
• Reputational and strategic communications (Executive Leadership and Marketing/Communications)
• Business continuity, emergency management, and crisis response (Executive Leadership)
• Third-party, vendor, and strategic partner risk (Functional leadership in collaboration with Finance, Procurement, and Legal Affairs)

Crisis Management & Business Continuity

• Support executive leadership through enterprise crisis governance, cross-functional coordination, and post-incident reviews.
• Coordinate enterprise risk assessments with institutional business continuity, disaster recovery, and organizational resilience planning.
• Develop and maintain enterprise incident reporting and risk escalation protocols.
• Facilitate post-incident lessons learned reviews to identify systemic issues and strengthen enterprise resilience.

Performance Indicators

• The Enterprise Risk Management program demonstrates measurable improvement in organizational maturity, consistency, and effectiveness.
• Executive leadership and the Board receive meaningful, timely risk intelligence that supports governance and strategic decision making.
• Enterprise risks are proactively identified, escalated, and monitored through established governance processes.
• Institutional risk management practices demonstrate increasing consistency with System-wide ERM methodologies and reporting standards.
• Recurring systemic risk themes identified through enterprise risk assessments, audits, and compliance monitoring decrease over time through strengthened governance and cross-functional collaboration.
• Enterprise risk management is effectively integrated into strategic planning, governance, and major organizational initiatives.

Required Qualifications:

Knowledge and Skills:

• Knowledge of higher education governance, accreditation, regulatory compliance, and federal financial aid requirements.
• Demonstrated success advising executive leadership and presenting complex risk and governance matters to senior leadership and Board committees.
• Demonstrated ability to influence cross-functional stakeholders and build consensus in matrixed organizations where success depends on collaboration rather than direct authority.
• Familiarity with recognized ERM frameworks (e.g., COSO ERM or ISO 31000).

Education:

• Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Risk Management, Finance, Accounting, Higher Education Administration, Public Administration, or a related field required; Master’s degree preferred.
• Relevant professional certifications (e.g., CRM, CIA, CCEP, CISA, CRISC, or PMP) preferred.

Experience:

• Seven (7) to ten (10) years of progressively responsible experience in enterprise risk management, compliance, governance, internal audit, or related disciplines, including leadership responsibilities.
• Demonstrated experience designing, implementing, and advancing ERM frameworks within complex, decentralized, or multi-entity organizations.
• Experience leading enterprise-wide initiatives involving organizational change, governance transformation, or strategic business process improvement.

Compensation & Benefits

This opportunity is budgeted at $140,000 - 150,000 base compensation. Additional compensation factors may impact total compensation. To learn more about our competitive benefits and additional rewards, including generous paid time-off, medical and dental insurance coverage, life and disability insurance, retirement plan with employer contribution, multiple flexible spending accounts, tuition reimbursement, click the link below.

The Community Solution is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Application Process

Please note the screening, recruitment, and selection process is managed by recruiting staff and hiring managers with the aid of artificial intelligence to evaluate candidates against job requirements. The artificial intelligence tool is a resource only and all employment decisions are made by staff members.

When you apply, it is recommended you utilize the option to parse your resume into the application. To ensure your experience is accurately reflected, please review and complete all application fields—even if you auto-fill from your resume.

For the best results, tailor your resume to the job description, highlight key qualifications and skills, and use clear, consistent formatting. This helps our AI tools read and assess your application more effectively. We are committed to regularly monitoring the process for fairness and remove personally identifiable information during evaluation.

Originally posted on Himalayas