Executive Director of Rights and Accountability

The University of Arizona•Tucson, AZ

2d•Onsite

About The Position

The Executive Director for Rights and Accountability serves as the strategic senior leader responsible for safeguarding the rights of all members of the University of Arizona community, particularly on matters related to Title IX, Title VI, and Title VII. The Executive Director provides university-wide leadership to help facilitate a climate free from all forms of discrimination and harassment. This role will serve as the principal advisor and subject matter expert to university senior leaders and the broader campus community on legal requirements, while developing active partnerships across colleges and divisions to support students and employees. Additionally, the Executive Director has operational oversight for the implementation of civil rights compliance and is charged with managing related institutional risk. The position leads the development, implementation, and monitoring of rights-related policies and grievance procedures to ensure prompt, fair, and legally sound resolution of all complaints. This role provides strategic leadership for the University’s comprehensive rights and nondiscrimination efforts, with responsibility for ensuring full compliance with Title IX, Title VI, Title VII, and applicable state and federal laws. The position oversees the development and execution of an integrated institutional compliance framework that aligns rights and Title IX obligations with the University’s mission and strategic priorities. Serving as the principal advisor and subject matter expert to senior leadership, the role monitors emerging regulatory and legislative trends, assesses compliance risk, and translates complex legal requirements into clear, actionable guidance for university operations. Beyond regulatory compliance, this position is charged with advancing the institution from a model of technical compliance to a sustained culture of rights and accountability. This includes designing and implementing long-term strategies informed by campus climate assessments, data analytics, and systemic risk analysis to proactively identify and address inequities. The role also serves as the University’s primary liaison to federal and state agencies—such as the Office for Civil Rights and the EEOC—leading institutional responses to audits, compliance reviews, and complex investigations while safeguarding the University’s integrity, accountability, and commitment to equity.

Requirements

Mastery of the principles, regulations, and implementation strategies for core federal civil rights laws, including Title IX, Title VI, Title VII, and Section 504/ADA. This includes current knowledge of OCR guidance and best practices for compliance in a decentralized university environment.
Proven ability to design, oversee, and manage complex, sensitive, and trauma-informed investigations of discrimination and sexual misconduct complaints. This includes the skill to analyze institutional data and case trends to identify and remediate systemic barriers.
Exceptional ability to build consensus, manage conflict, and communicate diplomatic recommendations on highly sensitive matters to executive leadership, legal counsel, faculty, staff, and students. This ability must ensure consistency and fairness while balancing compliance requirements with the complex mission of a public university.
Bachelor's degree or equivalent advanced learning attained through professional level experience required.
Minimum of 11 years of related work experience, including 7 years of managerial experience, typically in large, complex institutions, or an equivalent combination of education and work experience.
Requires experience in leading multiple teams, projects, programs, and/or functions.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree in public administration, civil rights, higher education, social work, law, or a related discipline; J.D. or terminal degree preferred.
Extensive demonstrated experience leading civil rights, EEO, and/or Title IX teams, programs, investigations, or institution-wide initiatives, preferably within large, complex organizations.
Current held/updated certifications as a Title IX coordinator or equivalent (e.g., ATIXA or NASPA), a civil rights investigator, a Certified Compliance and Ethics Professional, and/or a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR), or related certifications.

Responsibilities

Oversee a comprehensive grievance system to manage the timely, thorough, and fair investigation and resolution of all formal and informal complaints of sex-based misconduct and protected-class discrimination.
Oversee and direct the implementation of appropriate measures and supportive services for all affected parties throughout the resolution process ensuring alignment with requirements and university objectives.
Ensure that civil rights grievance and appeals processes are conducted with due process for all parties and comply with all legal requirements and University/Arizona Board of Regents policy.
Oversee the maintenance of the executive-level dashboards and reporting metrics to monitor case activity, training effectiveness, and the success of prevention initiatives.
Proactively chair cross-functional working groups (consisting of teams within Enterprise Risk Management, Compliance, Office of the General Counsel, Human Resources, and other units) to ensure a synchronized response to complex rights and accountability issues and to prevent "siloed" compliance efforts.
Direct the continuous development, refinement, and implementation of all institutional policies and procedures related to discrimination, harassment, and retaliation for all University constituents.
Oversee the lifecycle of university-wide policies related to non-discrimination and harassment, ensuring they are not only legally compliant but also reflect best practices in trauma-informed care and due process.
Lead and manage staff (including both investigators and education/outreach specialists), fostering a culture of expertise, diplomacy, and superior judgment.
Serve as an advisor, bridge builder, and strategic leader on complex rights and accountability issues, managing varied and sometimes conflicting interests of multiple stakeholders.
Oversee the office budget and utilize resources effectively to maintain appropriate caseload management and ensure high-quality, professional standards in all administrative processes.
Lead the development and implementation of a multi-tiered educational strategy to reduce institutional risk and foster a safe learning environment.
Oversee the development and delivery of mandatory and specialized education, prevention, and outreach programming to faculty, staff, and students on topics including sexual misconduct, prohibited discrimination, and bystander intervention.
Serve as the primary liaison with Human Resources and Student Affairs to integrate proactive rights and accountability messaging and training into new employee and new student orientations.