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Director, Policy & Legal Affairs

Valencia College

  • Orlando, FL
  • 7 days ago
  • $66,939–$75,642 Per Year

Highlights

Preserves the confidentiality of the office, administration, and College by exercising discretion in communicating information to administrators, faculty, students, staff, alumni, and various publics and in handling administrative and legal files/records, personnel actions, and similar confidential items/matters. Consultant to faculty and staff involved in developing and establishing policy or procedure related employee, supervisory, or student training programs to include the creation or update of additional resources (policy manual, templates, forms, handbook, etc.) to support policies, employee and student engagement.

Numbers & Facts

LocationOrlando, FL
IndustryOther/Not Classified
Salary$66,939–$75,642 Per Year
Company Size50 to 99 employees
Websitehttps://valenciacollege.edu/

Description

About this Position

Posting Detail Information

Position Number SE2179 Position Title Director, Policy & Legal Affairs Job Type Staff FT/PT Full-Time Employee Class Description P1-Staff exempt General Position Description

Under the supervision of the Vice President for Policy and General Counsel, provides leadership for the college's program for records management, including retention, disposal, and responses to external requests. Maintains and applies knowledge of current and future laws and regulations to support the daily functions associated with college-wide policy development, litigation management, and government relations. Partners with leadership in the development and implementation of the College's administrative policy framework. Engages in tracking and reporting on state legislative and administrative activities affecting the College. Manages critical special projects, coordinates human resources related public records requests, subpoenas, and policy/project management support to College initiatives and strategic direction. Exercises discretion and independent judgment with respect to matters of significance daily.

Flexible Work Arrangement Majority/Primarily On-site: Employee performs the majority of job duties on-site, but may occasionally work remotely. Grade 2035 Exemption Status Exempt Posting Number S4173P Location(s) Orlando, FL 32811 - West Campus Proposed Work Schedule (Please note hours subject to change based on business needs)

Monday - Friday: 8 am - 5 pm (Hours may vary based on business needs)

Number of Vacancies 1 Posting Start Date 10/08/2026 Posting End Date 10/22/2026 Open Until Filled No Quicklink for Posting https://valenciacollege.peopleadmin.com/postings/43992

Posting Detail Information

Temporary Position (Temp or Grant Funded) Details Salary Range $66,939 - $75,642 per year

Essential Job Functions

Description of Job Function

  1. Works to ensure the College's policies and procedures are effectively established, communicated, maintained, reviewed, and align with the College's strategic goals, values, and legal responsibilities.

  2. Leads and coordinates the College's policy-development and policy-maintenance processes, including research, best practice benchmarking, formulation, implementation, communication, maintenance, and review plan of college-wide policies and procedures, guidelines, and department procedures in alignment with local, state, and federal laws, rules, and regulations. Includes process to analyze, draft, edit, revise, coordinate, develop, critique, and evaluate policies in collaboration with subject matter experts, senior leadership, administrators, general counsel, stakeholders, and governance bodies.

  3. Coordinates and serves as the primary point of contact for the intake, processing, response, and tracking of requests for records received by the college, including public records requests, subpoenas, student education record requests, and litigation response and discovery. Responsible for tracking, analyzing, and preparing responses to records requests in consultation with other College personnel.

  4. Assists with the collection, organization, preservation, and production of documents and information in response to litigation, administrative proceedings, audits, investigations, subpoenas, and public-records requests, under the direction of the General Counsel.

  5. Establishes and maintains effective working relationships with other college departments and services as a college-wide consultative business partner on the interpretation of policies and procedures. Consultant to faculty and staff involved in developing and establishing policy or procedure related employee, supervisory, or student training programs to include the creation or update of additional resources (policy manual, templates, forms, handbook, etc.) to support policies, employee and student engagement. May assist with regulatory and compliance related training.

  6. Develops timelines, establish deadlines, tracks, monitors, and coordinates college-wide policy/procedure development, policy revision, board adoption, communication strategies, implementation, and training (as applicable) in partnership with college stakeholders. Plans and conducts compliance reviews and develops strategic recommendations for corrective actions.

  7. Manages the process for review of College policies on a three-year recurring cycle or sooner to include, as applicable, benchmark with peer institutions, research policy implications and options, and ensure college policies remain effective, current with applicable laws, rules, regulations, and are aligned with College goals and strategic priorities.

  8. Maintains a centralized, current, and accessible policy management system/policy repository, including version control, historical records, adoption dates, review schedules, cross-references, and publication standards.

  9. Collaborates with college stakeholders to understand requirements and provide support on the redesign of systems, processes, or procedures to align with changes to legislation, college goals, technological advances, and appropriate service and delivery strategies.

  10. Supports the investigation and preparation of responses to charges and complaints received from federal, state, and local agencies, including contacting witnesses, coordinating response review, and related activities.

  11. Uses online resources to benchmark policies, track legislation and/or legal matters. Assembles data and prepares reports on a routine or non-routine basis. Provides information and/or data for internal and/or external reports by researching departmental files/records and other resources; retrieving electronic data from different sources, including relevant websites; and organizing and presenting information in a usable and understandable format.

  12. Assists in monitoring legislative and regulatory activity affecting Florida public colleges and prepares timely summaries of potential institutional impact. In collaboration with members of the Office of Policy and General Counsel, assists in the analysis of the legal and operational impact of legislative developments, administrative and judicial decisions, opinions, determinations and rulings on College programs.

  13. Creates and maintains tracking systems for College intellectual property registrations, and coordinates with outside counsel in the periodic establishment and upkeep of such registrations. Creates and maintains tracking systems for College litigation and agency complaint matters. Analyzes data, compiles statistical reports, and presents results as requested.

  14. Prepares and maintains dashboards, calendars, reports, and other management tools to track policy reviews, legal matters, Board actions, compliance projects, and departmental performance measures.

  15. Preserves the confidentiality of the office, administration, and College by exercising discretion in communicating information to administrators, faculty, students, staff, alumni, and various publics and in handling administrative and legal files/records, personnel actions, and similar confidential items/matters.

  16. Builds and maintains professional contacts with policy experts and leaders at peer institutions. Serves on various college committees, as appropriate. Represents the Office of Policy and General Counsel as needed.

  17. Oversees, conducts research as appropriate, and manages special projects or initiatives.

  18. Performs other related duties as assigned.

Qualifications

Drivers License Requirement

Drivers License Requirement Not Applicable

Required Qualifications

Required Minimum Education Master's Degree from a regionally accredited institution. Required Field of Study

Paralegal studies, public policy, law, political science, business administration, or a closely related field.

Other Required Qualifications

Three (3) years of progressively responsible experience in legal services, policy development, legislative affairs or related field; experience in managing record requests, subpoenas or litigation discovery.

Required License/Certification

Preferred Qualifications

Preferred Education & Field of Study

Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from an accredited law school

Preferred Type of Experience

Four to six (4-6) years of administrative experience in a complex university or government agency setting.

Experience as a paralegal/legal assistant (or similar legal experience).

Experience working in a Florida College System institution, Florida public university, school district, state agency, local government, or similarly regulated public-sector environment.

Experience supporting a general counsel's office, legal department, compliance office, board office, government-relations office, or executive office.

Knowledge of Florida public-sector legal and governance requirements, including public records, open meetings, ethics, records retention, procurement, contracting, and District Board of Trustees governance.

Experience with institutional policy or rule development, State Board of Education rules, Florida administrative processes, or legislative and regulatory monitoring.

Preferred Licenses/Certification

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

  1. Knowledge of the principles, concepts and methods of policy management, legal research, including legal reference sources and materials, legal and/or business procedures, principles, terminology and concepts, Federal, State and local laws, regulations, and rules applicable to the College's mission and activities.

  2. Strong critical thinking skills and the ability to analyze, summarize, and effectively problem solve and/or present information.

  3. Ability to work in a small team with a significant workload, and adept at consistently multitasking to include being aggressive in the completion of tasks while accurately attending to detail.

  4. Ability to communicate effectively in writing and orally with members of the College community and outside entities.

  5. Ability to use discretion, initiative, and make decisions with a significant degree of impact and function calmly /effectively during times of crisis.

  6. Effective team member and ability to exercise considerable judgment and discretion in establishing and maintaining positive working relationships with internal colleagues at all levels and external constituents.

  7. Skill in planning, preparing comprehensive reports and presentations, and representing ideas clearly and concisely, both orally and in writing.

  8. Skill in the use of personal computers and general office software related to area of responsibility.

  9. Ability to document and research information, and analyze data to arrive at valid conclusions, recommendations, and plans of action.

  10. Ability to screen and evaluate priorities as to emergencies and to make sound recommendations.

  11. Demonstrated ability to juggle shifting priorities and multiple projects; excellent follow-through.

  12. Superior organizational, administrative, critical thinking and analytical skills.

  13. Ability to plan, coordinate, and direct the work of staff engaged in various professional, technical, and clerical support functions.

Working Conditions

General Working Conditions

This job primarily operates in a professional office environment. The employee will routinely operate standard office equipment including but not limited to computers, keyboards, mouse, phones, photocopiers, printers, scanners, filing cabinets and fax machines. While performing the duties of this job, the noise level in the work environment is usually quiet to moderate.

Typical physical competencies include but are not limited to frequently remaining stationary, moving, reaching, positioning self and occasionally ascending/descending, lifting/moving objects weighing between 5-15 pounds. This job also entails frequently communicating, discerning and exchanging information, detecting and perceiving objects up close, at a distance, and the ability to adjust focus. Cognitive abilities include but are not limited to frequently using discretion, judgment, reasoning, memory, learning, maintaining confidentiality, comprehension, problem solving, and decision-making.

The typical work environment, physical and cognitive demands listed above are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. The College has a process to identify and make available reasonable accommodations to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Job specific working conditions Job Specific Designation

Supplemental Questions

Required fields are indicated with an asterisk (*).

Documents Needed to Apply

Required Documents

  • Cover letter
  • Resume/Vita

Optional Documents

  • Transcript 1
  • Transcript 2
  • Reference Letter 1
  • Reference Letter 2
  • Reference Letter 3
  • Other Documents

About Company

The winner of the inaugural Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence, Valencia College is one of the largest community colleges in Florida, teaching more than 73,000 students annually.

 

But it's our quality of education, not size, that truly makes us great. Our Honors program is viewed by the National Collegiate and Southern Regional Honors Council as one of the exemplary programs in the nation. The Orlando Sentinel dubbed our fine-arts faculty one of the best in the region, and director Steven Spielberg called our film program one of the best anywhere. But the opinions that matter most are those of our students, and 92 percent say we met or exceeded their expectations on overall quality of education.

 

We strive to ensure that equal access to higher education belongs to everyone, because the future does, too.

 

We stand in the gap between what is and what can be. We pave a path to true potential. Whether it’s helping students land a dream job or continue on to the university of their dreams, we do everything in our power to make that possible for each and every one of our students.

 

Recognized as one of “The Great Colleges to Work For” by the Chronicle of Higher Education, we understand the importance of fostering a collaborative environment that encourages teamwork, creativity and the achievement of a true work/life balance.

 

At Valencia College, it’s more than just a job. We’re committed to helping our students reach their full potential by providing them with the right opportunities, the right tools and the right support. And that begins with recruiting the right talent.

 

We seek leaders. Inspirers. Motivators. Educational enthusiasts, passionate optimists and experienced realists. Individuals who not only believe in our students, but will help our students believe in themselves.

 

Valencia College has six campuses as well as a School of Public Safety, an Advanced Manufacturing Training Center and a District Office, all conveniently located throughout Central Florida and easily accessible by local freeways, expressways, and surface streets. But the convenient commute is just part of the appeal. With beautiful year-round weather, endless entertainment and dining options, and world-famous attractions, there's no shortage of incredible ways to spend your spare time.

 

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