Job Description
The General Counsel's Office of the Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS) is seeking a self-motivated and strategic attorney to serve as its Deputy General Counsel, Chief Privacy Officer.
The General Counsel's Office functions as EOHHS' in-house counsel. EOHHS is the largest secretariat of the executive branch and oversees the development and delivery of health and human services that promote health and safety, independence, and quality of life for individuals, families and communities throughout the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It administers the Commonwealth's Medicaid program, known as MassHealth, and is in the forefront of promoting and implementing federal and state health care reform initiatives.
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This role is one of a data strategist, adviser, and risk manager and is responsible for a wide range of complex legal and privacy activities associated with the development, implementation and administration of EOHHS programs with a focus on overseeing a comprehensive privacy program for MassHealth. The Deputy General Counsel will lead a team of attorneys and privacy professionals to safeguard the privacy of over two million Massachusetts residents served by EOHHS. This role reports directly to the General Counsel of EOHHS and works closely with the Information Security Office, IT, operations and other MassHealth and EOHHS staff.
Duties and Responsibilities (these duties are a general summary and not all inclusive):
- Offering advice and risk analysis concerning applicability of and compliance with all federal and state privacy statutes and regulations that may affect EOHHS' ongoing activities and new initiatives including the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), 42 CFR Part 2, the Massachusetts Security Breach Law (MGL c. 93H) and the Massachusetts Fair Information Practices Act (MGL c. 66A).
- Allocating assignments to best leverage individual legal skills, substantive expertise and cross-training and managing staff time to allow for the development of legal advice which is timely, sound, comprehensive, and responsive to agency needs
- Monitoring program compliance and assessing areas of privacy risk, preparing and implementing recommendations to address compliance gaps and reduce privacy risk, and providing support to other EOHHS-programs and operations as they relate to information privacy.
- Providing legal support and management in the daily operations of the MassHealth privacy office, including developing, implementing, and maintaining policies and procedures, investigating and tracking privacy complaints, incidents and breaches, responding to consumer requests and other exercises of information privacy rights.
- Reviewing and drafting data sharing agreements, business associate agreements and other data privacy and confidentiality provisions within requests for proposals, contracts, interagency service agreements, and related procurement documents.
- Reviewing and drafting legal documents, including both regulatory and sub-regulatory interpretive material, and correspondence as well as identifying the need for, and assisting in the drafting of, new legislation and regulations.
- Taking a lead role, to ensure the organization has, maintains, and updates appropriate privacy and confidentiality consents, authorization forms and information notices and materials reflecting current organization and legal practices and requirements and promotes activities to foster information privacy awareness within the agency and related entities.
- Performing or overseeing initial and periodic information privacy risk assessment/analysis, role-based access controls reviews, and external audits and investigations well as conducting or recommending mitigation and remediation as necessary.
- Collaborating with the information security office to ensure alignment between security and privacy compliance programs including policies, practices, investigations, and acts as a liaison to the information systems department.
- Maintaining current knowledge of applicable federal and state privacy laws and regulations and serving as information privacy resource to the agency regarding release of information and other privacy related issues.
- Providing privacy related support to other attorneys in representing the agency in both affirmative and defensive litigations and to EOHHS constituent agencies.
Preferred Qualifications
- EOHHS is seeking applicants who have at least eight (8) years of full-time, or equivalent part-time, professional experience in the practice of law or in a position requiring membership in the Bar.
- Applicants should have an excellent academic background and demonstrated skills and significant experience in counseling clients, legal research and analysis, oral and written advocacy, and creative problem solving.
- Applicants should have strong interpersonal and communication skills, the ability to effectively manage multiple projects simultaneously for a varied group of clients, the desire to work in a fast-paced and collaborative legal office, and a good sense of humor.
- It is desirable to have privacy or compliance experience in a HIPAA covered entity (e.g. health care provider, health plan), banking, or financial institution and/or background in and understanding of privacy law, data security, information technology, the state and federal government, MassHealth or Medicaid programs in other states, health and administrative law, health care issues and public policy. A recognized industry certification in privacy, compliance, health technology, or health administration (e.g. International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP); American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA); Health Care Compliance Association (HCCA)) is also desirable.
About the Executive Office of Health and Human Services:
The Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS) oversees expenditures of over $22 billion annually. As the largest secretariat, has approximately 24,000 employees and services almost 2 million people, one in three residents of the Commonwealth. The mission of EOHHS is to provide effective leadership and management in the development and provision of health and human services that promote health and safety, independence, and quality of life for individuals and families, and communities throughout the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
To learn more about EOHHS, please visit: https://www.mass.gov/orgs/executive-office-of-health-and-human-services
Pre-Offer Process:
A criminal and tax history background check will be completed on the recommended candidate as required by the regulations set forth by the Executive Office of Health and Human Services prior to the candidate being hired. For more information, please visit http://www.mass.gov/hhs/cori
Education, licensure, and certifications will be verified in accordance with the Human Resources Division's Hiring Guidelines.
Education and license/certification information provided by the selected candidate(s) is subject to the Massachusetts Public Records Law and may be published on the Commonwealth's website.
If you require assistance with the application/interview process and would like to request an ADA accommodation, please click on the link and complete the Reasonable Accommodation Online Request Form
For questions regarding this requisition, please contact the Executive Office of Health and Human Services Human Resources at 1-800-510-4122 Ext. #2
Qualifications
MINIMUM ENTRANCE REQUIREMENTS:
Applicants must have at least (A) seven (7) years of full-time or, equivalent part-time, professional, administrative, supervisory, or managerial experience in business administration, business management, public administration, public management, clinical administration or clinical management of which (B) at least three (3) years must have been in a managerial capacity.
Comprehensive Benefits
When you embark on a career with the Commonwealth, you are offered an outstanding suite of employee benefits that add to the overall value of your compensation package. We take pride in providing a work experience that supports you, your loved ones, and your future.
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Salary placement is determined by a combination of factors, including the candidate's years of directly related experience and education, and alignment with our internal compensation structure as set forth by the Human Resources Division's Hiring Guidelines. For all bargaining unit positions (non-management), compensation is subject to the salary provisions outlined in the applicable collective bargaining agreement and will apply to placement within the appropriate salary range.
An Equal Opportunity / Affirmative Action Employer. Females, minorities, veterans, and persons with disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply.
The Commonwealth is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, disability, national origin, veteran status, or any other basis covered by appropriate law. Research suggests that qualified women, Black, Indigenous, and Persons of Color (BIPOC) may self-select out of opportunities if they don't meet 100% of the job requirements. We encourage individuals who believe they have the skills necessary to thrive to apply for this role.