Director of Compliance and Assistant Counsel

Job Summary

The Assistant Compliance Counsel provides strategic legal and compliance counsel to internal business partners on federal and state insurance, healthcare, artificial intelligence, and consumer privacy laws and regulations applicable to insurance, ERISA and health plans, third-party administrators, and related activities.

This role supports the effectiveness of the Compliance Program through policy and training development, monitoring and reporting, regulatory change management, contract review (including Business Associate Agreements and other commercial agreements), and investigation/response to privacy and security events. Success requires sound judgment, clear communication, and the ability to work independently in a small, collaborative legal team.

Essential Functions & Responsibilities

HIPAA & Privacy Compliance Leadership

• Serve as the primary point of contact for HIPAA, privacy, and related compliance matters; advise business partners on compliance questions, complaints, and reported incidents.
• Manage privacy and security events (including potential breaches) by developing a response strategy with key stakeholders, coordinating data collection, completing/documenting risk assessments, managing regulatory notifications/responses, and advising on customer/group client engagement.
• Draft, maintain, and update compliance and HIPAA-related policies, procedures, and records to support audits, monitoring, reporting, and operational consistency.
• Develop and deliver compliance training and communications (including HIPAA training), maintain training materials, and track completion; coordinate HIPAA Security compliance activities with the Information Security Officer.

Regulatory Support

• Monitor regulatory developments (including insurance regulatory, HIPAA Privacy, consumer privacy, and emerging AI/cyber issues); prepare monitoring and compliance reports, and provide practical guidance to stakeholders.
• Lead regulatory change management for new and pending laws by drafting alerts and implementation guidance; evaluate enterprise initiatives and information-handling practices for legal, regulatory, and policy compliance, and recommend mitigation options.

Contract Review & Legal Support

• Review, draft, and negotiate Business Associate Agreements (BAAs) and a range of commercial and vendor contracts, with a focus on privacy, data protection, artificial intelligence, and appropriate risk allocation.
• Provide counsel on risk remediation and best practices in privacy, information security, and data governance; identify security and privacy risks and advise leaders on mitigation strategies.
• Support day-to-day legal and compliance matters across the organization (including operations, marketing, privacy, and security programs) as needed.

Operational & Cross-Functional Partnership

• Partner with HR, IT, Customer Service, and business teams to embed privacy practices into daily operations.
• Enhance the Compliance Program through effectiveness reviews, risk assessments/testing, and follow-up on remediation actions.
• Follow up on reported non-compliance by conducting/coordinating internal investigations and documenting findings; support case management, data analytics, and organizational compliance communications and reporting.

Essential Qualifications

DDNJ Competencies 

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

Technical and Functional 

• Working knowledge of HIPAA, privacy, data protection, and information security requirements, including incident response and risk assessment concepts.
• Experience drafting, reviewing, and negotiating BAAs and other commercial contracts, including privacy/data terms and risk allocation.
• Demonstrated current knowledge of business ethics, legal and compliance risks, and emerging issues in privacy, artificial intelligence, and cybersecurity.
• Strong problem-solving and analytical skills, sound judgment, and attention to detail; ability to make independent decisions and communicate risk-based recommendations.
• Advanced written, verbal, and influencing skills, including the ability to work effectively with department leaders, external vendors, regulators, and accreditation bodies.
• Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple matters and deadlines; comfortable developing compliance reporting/analytics (monitoring/testing, case management, and regulatory reporting).
• Experience supporting compliance training, communications, audits, monitoring, investigations, and program effectiveness reviews.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint; advanced AI chatbot skills a plus. 

Required Physical Abilities

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

•        Ability to sit and perform extensive close keyboard and PC work   
•        Ability to walk, talk or hear
•        Occasionally required to stand and reach with hands and arms

Working Environment

•        Ability to meet deadlines and attendance standards. 
•        The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.
•        This classification will be required to sign a confidentiality agreement

Experience, Education, and Certifications Required 

Experience Required

• Juris Doctor (JD) from an ABA-accredited law school.
• Admission to the bar to practice law in New Jersey is required; successful candidates must obtain Authorized House Counsel certification from the State of Connecticut within 6 months of hire.
• Three (3+) years of experience in healthcare compliance and commercial contracts (organizational compliance and/or regulatory affairs preferred); experience in healthcare, insurance, or consulting roles a plus. 

Certifications

IAPP privacy certification (CIPP/US, CIPM, CIPT, and/or AIGP) a plus; if not held at hire, successful candidate must obtain, at minimum, the CIPP/US designation within 12 months of appointment.

About Delta Dental Of New Jersey & Connecticut
Delta Dental of New Jersey, Inc. is New Jersey's leading dental benefits company, providing or administering coverage to more than 2.2 million people through contracts with groups and individuals in New Jersey and Connecticut. In Connecticut, Delta Dental of Connecticut, Inc. is a licensed insurer that writes dental and vision coverage on an insured basis, and Delta Dental of New Jersey administers self-funded dental benefit programs.

Offering dental benefits since 1969, Delta Dental of New Jersey's mission is to promote oral health to the greatest number of people by providing accessible dental benefit programs of the highest quality, service, and value. Through its philanthropic arm, the Delta Dental of New Jersey Foundation awards more than $1M in grants annually to support access to dental care and education for underserved children, seniors, veterans, and those with special needs, as well as funds workforce development programs for dental assisting and dental hygiene across New Jersey and Connecticut.

Benefits
In addition to a great culture, we offer excellent benefits including medical, dental, vision, life insurance, short and long-term disability, spending accounts, and matching 401k. We value our associates and support everyone with learning and development, recognition programs, active wellness and diversity initiatives, tuition reimbursement, and generous paid time off to recharge – even paid time off to volunteer at causes that you care about.

The benefits set forth in this posting reflect DDNJ’s benefits policies in place at the time of posting, as are made available to other similarly situated employees of DDNJ, although participation is at all times in accordance with and subject to the eligibility and other provisions of such plans and programs. DDNJ reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to prospectively modify or terminate any of its benefits plans or programs at any time and for any reason, to the extent permitted by applicable law. DDNJ complies with all applicable state and federal wage and hour, pay equity and pay transparency laws.

Delta Dental of New Jersey Inc is an equal opportunity employer
All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, genetics, disability, marital status, age, veteran status, domestic partner status, medical condition or any other characteristic protected by law.