Case and Informal Resolution Specialist

Virginia Commonwealth University•Richmond, VA

4d•$55,000 - $70,000•Hybrid

About The Position

Virginia Commonwealth University's Department of Equity and Access Services is seeking to hire a Case and Informal Resolution Specialist. This role is part of the Civil Rights Investigations team within the Equal Opportunity team. The primary purpose of this position is to support the compliance mandate of the office, which includes informal resolutions, administrative investigations, and all resolution processes for complaints of alleged discrimination and/or harassment at VCU. The Specialist serves as the initial point of contact for all discrimination and harassment complaints, responsible for triage, intake meetings, and initial case management, while maintaining strict confidentiality. The role involves working with reporting parties during intake and follow-up, assisting with document searches, organizing case files, and preparing chronologies and correspondence for external investigations. Additionally, the Specialist will aid in the delivery, maintenance, and tracking of civil rights training materials, manage case creation, conduct initial outreach, and connect individuals experiencing prohibited conduct with University resources and resolution options. The position also requires outreach to respondents, assisting them with University resources and supportive measures, and implementing informal resolution processes and protocols under the University’s non-discrimination policies, utilizing a restorative-practices approach and facilitated dialogue.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree from an accredited institution in a field related to the primary duties and responsibilities of the position, or an associate degree plus two (2) years of related experience, or four (4) years of related experience.
Knowledge of Title IX, Clery Act, VAWA, FERPA, Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO), the Americans with Disabilities Act, and other applicable federal and state civil rights and employment laws, regulations, and court decisions.
Demonstrated knowledge of procedures related to student conduct, residential housing, discrimination, harassment, and retaliation in a higher education setting.
Ability to handle highly sensitive and confidential information appropriately.
Strong and effective interpersonal skills, with the ability to establish rapport with a diverse range of university community members.
Exceptional organization skills, including the ability to coordinate a significant caseload.
Attention to detail.
Ability to organize, index, and track records to further compliance with regulatory deadlines.
Thorough knowledge of office systems to organize information, such as Google Sheets, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Adobe, and Zoom.
Capability of handling multiple work priorities.
Demonstrated ability to work in and foster an environment of respect, professionalism and civility with a population of faculty, staff, and students from all backgrounds and experiences, or a commitment to do so as a staff member at VCU.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree or other advanced degree in a field related to the primary duties and responsibilities of the position.
Experience working in a higher education environment.
Demonstrated experience or familiarity with Title IX, Clery Act, VAWA, FERPA, EEO, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and other applicable federal and state civil rights and employment laws, regulations, and court decisions.
Demonstrated experience with building rapport with students and ability to be objective and neutral in informal resolution processes.
Proficiency with Maxient or other case management software.

Responsibilities

Conduct intake and preliminary inquiries with complainants to assess concerns, determine applicable policies, recommend solutions, and provide resources for individuals and the university community.
Triage, process, and maintain cases in case management system.
Identify civil rights issues for EAS investigation and coordinate with partner offices to refer other matters.
Provide resource referrals to students and employees involved in intakes or investigations.
Draft case-related summaries and correspondence.
Schedule and coordinate meetings.
Assist AVP and investigators with maintaining internal case data and metrics.
Maintain compliance with established policies and deadlines.
Ensure internal case documentation is complete and case files are organized and stored properly.
Identify incoming reports as possible informal resolution cases, and present possibility for informal resolution to case parties.
Manage and facilitate informal resolution procedures, while navigating sensitive dialogue between involved parties and finalizing the informal resolution agreement or referring the matter to investigations if needed.
Develop informal resolution SOP’s, which may include but are not limited to: conflict resolution, mediation, restorative justice, facilitated conversations, counseling, training and/or educational conversations or projects.
Partner with Title IX Informal Resolution SME to identify and implement best practices and consistency between partner offices under EAS.
Assist with timely response to external investigations and data requests, by coordinating with EAS team members and other offices to conduct file/document searches, collecting and assessing responsive information and data, preparing chronologies and correspondence, and drafting case summaries and other documents, as needed.
Ensure case documentation is complete and case files are organized.
Serve as a liaison between the office, other campus departments, and external investigators, as needed for case-related collaboration or outreach.
Assist with prevention training through delivery, communications, and tracking completion.
Create, curate, and assist with outreach efforts about reporting and resources.
Update and maintain database detailing development in federal and state civil rights legislation, case law, and trends.
Work with SMEs to identify needs, create, and deploy training on non-discrimination topics using VCU training platforms (e.g. Talent).
Work with internal team and external stakeholders to assess needs, initiate, develop, deliver, coordinate, and implement ethics/compliance training, communication content, and channels.
Monitor activities on behalf of the office as well as work with management and other liaisons to implement changes and develop self assessments and response plans.
Plan and perform compliance reviews, provide reports, and follow up on progress based on risk assessment results and guidance from the supervisor or others.
Support the preparation of office assessments, including data collection, tracking trends, and creating visual summaries of case-related statistics.
Assist with the end of year report data collection.
Research into process improvements, standards of operation, and other reflections on the way we use our work tools to improve compliance monitoring and risk mitigation.