Assistant General Counsel, Privacy

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System Requirements

First consideration will be given to those applicants that apply within the first 14 days.

MINIMUM ENTRANCE REQUIREMENTS\:  Applicants must have a Juris Doctor (JD) degree, admission to the Massachusetts Bar and (A) at least three years of full-time, or equivalent part-time, professional experience in the practice of law.

Incumbents may be required to have a current and valid Motor Vehicle Drivers License at a Class level specific to assignment.

   **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. 

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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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.

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 Assistant General Counsel to provide legal and privacy support for MassHealth and other EOHHS programs. 

The General Counsel's Office functions as EOHHS’ in-house counsel.  EOHHS is the Commonwealth’s largest secretariat.  It is responsible for developing, coordinating, and managing the Commonwealth’s health, welfare and human services operations and programs. EOHHS administers the Commonwealth’s Medicaid program, known as MassHealth. MassHealth is a cooperative state and federal program that provides health care benefits and premium assistance for uninsured families, disabled individuals, children, long-term unemployed adults, and seniors. The mission of MassHealth is to help the financially needy obtain high-quality health care that is affordable, promotes independence, and provides customer satisfaction.

The Assistant General Counsel will perform a wide range of complex legal and privacy activities associated with the development, implementation, and administration of EOHHS programs with a focus on MassHealth.  This role is one of a data strategist, adviser, and risk manager as well as a steward for protection of confidential information. The Assistant General Counsel will report to the Deputy General Counsel/Chief Privacy Officer and work closely with the General Counsel’s Office, 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):

• Offer 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).
• Monitor 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.
• Provide 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.
• Review and draft 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.
• Review and draft 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.
• Take 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 to promotes activities to foster information privacy awareness within the agency and related entities.
• Perform or oversee 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.
• Collaborate 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.
• Maintain 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.
• Provide privacy related support to other attorneys in representing the agency in both affirmative and defensive litigations. 

Required Qualifications:

• A minimum of at least three years of full-time, or equivalent part-time, professional experience in the practice of law or a position requiring membership in the Bar.

Preferred Qualifications:

• A minimum of three years of full-time, or equivalent part-time, professional experience in the practice of law or in a position requiring membership in the Bar.
• Excellent academic background and demonstrated skills and significant experience in counseling clients, legal research and analysis, oral and written advocacy, and creative problem solving.
• 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.
• 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. 

Agency Mission:
The Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS) oversees expenditures of over $30.47 billion annually. As the largest secretariat, EOHHS has approximately 23,000 employees and serves over two 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 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 by 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 https\://www.mass.gov/reasonable-accommodations-for-executive-department-employees 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. #4