Chief Compliance and Risk Officer

Job Description

The Chief Compliance and Risk Officer serves as the University’s leader for risk management and compliance, providing strategic direction and oversight for institution wide risk programs. Reporting to the Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, the CRCO develops and maintains an integrated framework to identify, assess, and address risks across University operations.

The Chief Compliance and Risk Officer promotes adherence to applicable laws, regulations, and University policies while fostering a culture of accountability, transparency, and ethical conduct. The position collaborates with academic and administrative leaders to align risk and compliance efforts with the University’s mission and strategic priorities.

The Chief Compliance and Risk Officer works with University leadership and internal stakeholders to evaluate strategic, operational, reputational, and compliance risks and to advance effective mitigation strategies that strengthen institutional resilience. The role also presents risk analyses and compliance updates to senior leadership and participates in meetings of the Board’s Audit and Risk Committee to support governance oversight and helps ensure the University meets its regulatory and ethical responsibilities.

Education and Experience

Education

• Bachelor’s degree is required. Master’s degree in a field directly related to compliance or institutional risk is preferred.
  
  

Required Experience

• Minimum of 10 years of progressively responsible experience in compliance and risk management within higher education, demonstrating a deep understanding of the regulatory and operational environment.
• Leadership experience directing enterprise wide risk management and compliance functions in a complex setting, including collaboration with academic, administrative, and operational units.
• Experience with risk mitigation, internal controls, and compliance program design, with the ability to apply best practices to strengthen institutional risk posture and accountability.
  
  

Preferred Experience

• Experience designing, implementing, or overseeing an Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) program.
• Experience overseeing or working closely with Athletics Compliance to support NCAA, conference, and institutional requirements.
• Experience overseeing ethics and compliance reporting systems, including whistleblower reporting and case management.
• Experience overseeing risk management and insurance programs, including workers’ compensation, liability coverage, and claims management in a university setting.
  
  

Skills and Knowledge

• Comprehensive knowledge of federal and state regulations affecting higher education, with the ability to interpret evolving requirements and guide institutional compliance efforts.
• Demonstrated understanding and ability to develop and communicate enterprise risk management frameworks and compliance standards to executive leadership, supporting informed decision making in a complex, decentralized university environment.
• Strong capability in program and policy development, including drafting, reviewing, and aligning policies to regulatory and operational requirements.
• Ability to oversee compliance functions in highly regulated environments, including Division I athletics compliance programs, ensuring adherence to NCAA, conference, and federal requirements.
• Knowledge of risk management and insurance principles, with the ability to provide strategic oversight of liability, property, workers compensation, and related coverage programs within a large institutional setting.
• Exceptional judgment, discretion, and interpersonal skills, with the ability to build credibility and influence decisions at senior levels.
• Ability to navigate the operational and research complexities of an R1 university, including working effectively across academic, research, administrative, and operational units.
  
  

Responsibilities

• University Compliance Oversight – Provides strategic leadership and comprehensive oversight of the University’s compliance program, ensuring adherence to federal, state, and local laws, as well as institutional policies. Develops and maintains institutional compliance frameworks, oversees compliance risk assessments and monitoring activities, and partners with stakeholders across campus to foster a culture of integrity, accountability, and ethical conduct. Additionally, the position provides oversight for research related compliance activities, including research security, foreign influence, and export control regulations. Advises faculty and staff on risk mitigation strategies for sponsored research and works directly with the Vice President for Research to support compliant, secure, and federally aligned research operations.
• Education, Reporting and Engagement – Prepares and delivers risk, ethics, and compliance dashboards; annual compliance plans; investigation and trend analyses; program maturity and effectiveness assessments; emerging regulatory updates; performance metrics; and written reports for the Audit and Risk Committee of the Board of Trustees and senior leadership, ensuring clear, accurate, and timely communication of key institutional risks and compliance obligations. Collaborates with stakeholder offices including Title IX, Research Compliance, Human Resources, and others to promote transparency, accountability, and coordinated institutional responses.
• Leads and supports education and communication initiatives that strengthen the University’s culture of compliance, risk awareness, and ethical decision-making. Facilitates operational compliance partnerships and provides leadership support for University committees related to compliance and enterprise risk management.
• Keeps University leadership informed of emerging ethical, compliance, and risk issues with potential adverse impact. Maintains regular engagement with the Vice President for Research on research related compliance matters and collaborates with Academic Affairs on the development, review, and alignment of academic and administrative policies.
• Risk Management and Insurance – Provide strategic oversight of the University’s Office of Risk Management and Insurance, which manages property, liability, workers’ compensation coverage, and medical leaves. Set program direction, approve coverage strategies and ensure effective claims governance and loss prevention practices. Partner with the Executive Director of Risk Management & Insurance to monitor performance, broker relationships, coverage placements, claims trends, and reserve practices. Oversee the stewardship, and regulatory compliance of the University’s captive insurance entity, Orange Insurance Company, LLC, which provides liability coverage for the University and its subsidiaries.
• Enterprise Risk Management – Provide strategic oversight and direction for the University’s ERM program to ensure a fit for purpose framework that is well communicated, consistently applied, and tracked to completion. Set risk appetite and tolerance guidance, approve ERM methodologies and reporting cadences, and ensure risk identification, assessment, mitigation planning, and issue remediation are integrated into institutional decision making.
• Partner with and supervise the Director of Enterprise Risk Management, who leads operational execution, including risk analytics, dashboards, heat maps, emerging risk monitoring, and facilitation of risk owner action plans. Ensure that ERM reporting to senior leadership and the Board is clear, timely, and actionable, and that risk mitigation commitments are monitored through closure with documented controls, owners, and timelines.
• Collaborate with the Office of General Counsel to govern University policy through a standardized policy framework ensuring policies are current, compliant, accessible, and aligned with ERM priorities and facilitate stakeholder engagement to promote clarity, consistency, and reduced institutional risk.
• Ethics and Compliance Reporting Hotline – Maintains operational oversight of the ethics and compliance reporting hotline to ensure accessibility and confidentiality. Establishes and enforces protocols for timely triage, investigation, and resolution of cases. Monitors case progress and outcomes, ensures compliance with university standards and regulatory requirements, and prepares analytics and dashboard reports for the Audit and Risk Committee of the Board of Trustees.
• Athletics Compliance – Provides oversight of the Division I Athletics Compliance Office, ensuring adherence to NCAA rules, conference requirements, and federal and state laws. Responsibilities of this Office include monitoring compliance with Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) policies, eligibility standards, recruiting practices, and financial aid regulations; coordinating education and training for coaches, staff, and student-athletes; and implementing systems to detect and prevent violations while maintaining institutional control and integrity.
• Conflicts of Interest and Financial Conflicts of Interest – Administers and oversees annual Conflict of Interest (COI) and Financial Conflict of Interest (FCOI) disclosure processes. Ensures completion and review of COI surveys for university leadership, Board of Trustees, head coaches, and the highest-compensated individuals. Ensures compliance with federal regulations governing FCOI for sponsored research by collecting, reviewing, and monitoring disclosures. Oversees the COI/FCOI mitigation plans; and accurate records to support audit and reporting obligations.
• Clery Reporting – Ensures compliance with the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act. Coordinates data collection and reporting processes, oversees timely publication of the Annual Security Report.
• Management and Supervision – Manage and oversee the work of staff within the Office of the Chief Risk and Compliance Officer, ensuring effective coordination across all functional areas. Provide guidance, set priorities, and monitor performance to achieve departmental objectives and initiatives as organizational needs evolve. Foster collaboration, accountability, and professional development within the team, and ensure resources are aligned to meet compliance and risk management obligations.
  
  

Physical Requirements

NA

Tools/Equipment

NA

Application Instructions

In addition to completing an online application, please attach a resume and cover letter.

About Syracuse University

Syracuse University is a private, international research university with distinctive academics, diversely unique offerings, and an undeniable spirit. Located in the geographic heart of New York State, with a global footprint, and over 150 years of history, Syracuse University offers a quintessential college experience.

The scope of Syracuse University is a testament to its strengths: a pioneering history dating back to 1870; a choice of more than 200 majors, 100 minors, and 200 advanced degree programs offered across the University’s 13 schools and colleges; over 15,000 undergraduates and over 6,000 graduate students; more than a quarter of a million alumni in 160 countries; and a student population from all 50 U.S. states and 123 countries. For more information, please visit http://www.syracuse.edu.

About The Syracuse Area

Syracuse is a medium-sized city situated in the geographic center of New York State approximately 250 miles northwest of New York City. The metro-area population totals approximately 500,000. The area offers a low cost of living and provides many social, cultural, and recreational options, including parks, museums, festivals, professional regional theater, and premier shopping venues. Syracuse and Central New York present a wide range of seasonal recreation and attractions ranging from water skiing and snow skiing, hiking in the Adirondacks, touring the historic sites, visiting wineries along the Finger Lakes, and biking on trails along the Erie Canal.

EEO Statement

Syracuse University is an equal-opportunity institution. The University prohibits discrimination and harassment based on race, color, creed, religion, sex, gender, national origin, citizenship, ethnicity, marital status, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression, veteran status, or any other status protected by applicable law to the extent prohibited by law. This nondiscrimination policy covers admissions, employment, and access to and treatment in University programs, services, and activities.

Commitment to Supporting and Hiring Veterans

Syracuse University has a long history of engaging veterans and the military-connected community through its educational programs, community outreach, and employment programs. After World War II, Syracuse University welcomed more than 10,000 returning veterans to our campus, and those veterans literally transformed Syracuse University into the national research institution it is today. The University’s contemporary commitment to veterans builds on this historical legacy, and extends to both class-leading initiatives focused on making an SU degree accessible and affordable to the post-9/11 generation of veterans, and also programs designed to position Syracuse University as the employer of choice for military veterans, members of the Guard and Reserve, and military family members.

Commitment to a Respectful and Welcoming Community

Syracuse University fosters a welcoming learning environment where students, faculty, administrators, staff, curriculum, social activities, governance, and all aspects of campus life reflect a broad range of perspectives and experiences. The University community values the many similarities and differences among individuals and groups. At Syracuse, we are committed to preparing students to engage with and appreciate the richness of backgrounds, beliefs, and experiences that shape our society. To achieve this, we strive to cultivate a community that respects and encourages open dialogue, understanding, and mutual respect.