Work in Washington Veterans Jobs

Req #: 234504

Department: PUBLIC RECORDS OFFICE

Posting Date: 05/21/2024

Closing Info: Open Until Filled

Salary: $5,798 - $7,000 per month

Shift: First Shift

Notes: As a UW employee, you will enjoy generous benefits and work/life programs. For a complete description of our benefits for this position, please visit our website, click here. (https://hr.uw.edu/benefits/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2018/02/benefits-professional-staff-librarians-academic-staff-20230701_a11y.pdf)

As a UW employee, you have a unique opportunity to change lives on our campuses, in our state and around the world. UW employees offer their boundless energy, creative problem-solving skills and dedication to build stronger minds and a healthier world.

UW faculty and staff also enjoy outstanding benefits, professional growth opportunities and unique resources in an environment noted for diversity, intellectual excitement, artistic pursuits and natural beauty.

At the request of the public records officers, this position is delegated public records requests of a more complicated nature; analyzes the Washington State Public Records Act, HIPAA, FERPA, human subject regulations, trade secret and intellectual property laws, and other state and federal statutes. Works closely with faculty and staff, as appropriate, to determine if any portion of the records may be exempted under these statutes or under case law. This position works with internal and external customers helping them to understand the Public Records Act, the customer’s role and the University’s role in responding to requests for public records. This position produces statistics and reports at the request of the Director or Officers.

This position requires excellent judgment and ability to identify potential legal and financial risk, and risk to the institution's brand. This position is assigned cases that represent a higher level of risk to the institution, or require a higher degree of interaction with external partners. The incumbent must be able to determine when risk associated with a request is greater than initially thought and when to seek guidance of management so the request can be managed appropriately. It is often difficult to identify these risk situations and difficult to identify the next steps that should be taken. The ability to identify these greatly reduces the risks associated with public records requests. The incumbent must have not only excellent judgment, but also and more importantly, must have the ability and willingness to forward high risk situations to management. The incumbent must be able to recognize when they should not attempt to solve these situations themselves. The incumbent must be able to identify when they need guidance. Positions at this level can resolve a higher degree of situations independently rather than escalating to an Officer.

The analyst must independently perform research and legal analysis. To do this the analyst must contact faculty and staff at all levels within the University for the purpose of determining how and why individual records were created, and if these elements impact the records’ legal status. The analyst must determine if potential risks to the UW’s legal, financial or branding positions are likely to occur because of the records release. If so, they must assure that the appropriate officer in the Office of Public Records and Open Public Meetings is informed so that actions can be taken to reduce or eliminate the risk while still complying with the state and federal statutes.

High volumes and high level of legal risk have resulted in extreme pressure to quickly complete thorough in-depth analysis of compliance issues and legal research. This requires substantial skill in analyzing issues across diverse parts of the University community. This has placed increasingly high pressure on the analyst’s ability to assure the University complies with the Public Records Act and the Open Public Meetings Act.

It is a legal obligation for the UW to respond in a timely manner to all public records requests. this position requires a thorough understanding of legal compliance around public records, and a critical attention to detail. Failure to respond adequately to public records requests results in fines and negative media attention for the University of Washington.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES 60% - Records Review/Legal Analysis

• Reviews requests of a high degree of complexity and risk; independently determines which departments, faculty and staff may hold responsive information and data. Works with University staff to assure all records are identified and collected in compliance with the public records law. Researches public records compliance law independently when clarification is required. • Oversees all aspects of a caseload of public records requests. Assures the University’s response to individual public records requests complies with all state and federal access and transparency laws. Scope includes managing all legal dates, researching legal issues, analyzing data and information and performing administrative tasks associated with this compliance function. Identifies legal, financial and brand risks bringing them to the attention of management. The analyst will assist with the caseloads of other staff upon request, and will also delegate case work to others if needed. • Review all types of information and data including primary scientific research data, information held by the University but considered proprietary by the University’s business partners, patient information, student information, attorney–client privileged information, investigation records from UWPD, records from University Civil Rights Investigation Office, HR , Washington National Primate Center data and information, records from the Institutional Animal Care Committee (IACUC) and the Institutional Bio-Safety Committee, among others. Must be comfortable working with information considered confidential or personal for business purposes, and computer systems security records. May be assigned to review other types of information as necessary.

25% - Legal Correspondence

• Independently communicate with discretion and tact with all levels of University staff as well as outside clients. These clients include the general public, opposing attorneys, news media and advocacy groups. Determine communication approach and strategy for difficult client cases, to include the development of legal documentation on behalf of the UW. • Create, edit and send legal correspondence to internal and external audiences, oftentimes of a complex nature, with significant legal impact to the UW.

10% - Administrative Tasks

• Creates and maintains complex records systems controlling paper and electronic data and information submitted in response to public records requests. This may include scanning, conversion and uploading paper and electronic records into the system and assuring them for quality. Delegates administrative work to other employees in the unit if needed.

5% - Open Public Meetings

• Works with office colleagues to assure requirements of open public meeting notices are met. Sends out call for annual meeting notification to all University of Washington campuses and units. This may include editing mailing lists, creating mass emails and sending mass emails. Will file regular and special meeting notices as required by law. • Work with a diverse group of individuals; placing a value on diversity, equity, and inclusiveness.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS

• Bachelor's degree in Records Management, Business Administration, or any area requiring analytical thinking, research and excellent writing skills • Three years’ experience in public relations, records management library sciences, public policy, or law.

Equivalent education/experience will substitute for all minimum qualifications except when there are legal requirements, such as a license/certification/registration. ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS

• Equivalent combination of education and experience from which comparable knowledge and skills have been acquired may substitute for degree. • Experience in the field of Washington State Public Records compliance or in discovery review. • Position requires excellent judgment and analytical skills. • Must be able to identify issues that should be brought to the attention of office’s management before taking independent action. • Must be able to work with high volumes under strict legal deadlines. • Demonstrates discretion and tact while working with highly sensitive and confidential materials. • Needs excellent writing skills and must have excellent attention to detail. • Requires proficiency in MSWord, Excel Outlook, and Access. • Demonstrated experience in working on diverse groups and teams; respects, values, and contributes to UW Finance and UW’s commitment to diversity, inclusion, and equity.

DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Those with backgrounds in freedom of information, public relations, records management or library sciences, public policy, or the law may find this position of special interest. • Experience in a large research institution or research university is desirable. • Experience with the Washington State Sunshine Laws or other FOI statutes is preferred, as is work in any compliance operation.

Application Process: The application process may include completion of a variety of online assessments to obtain additional information that will be used in the evaluation process. These assessments may include Work Authorization, Cover Letter and/or others. Any assessments that you need to complete will appear on your screen as soon as you select “Apply to this position”. Once you begin an assessment, it must be completed at that time; if you do not complete the assessment, you will be prompted to do so the next time you log into your “My Jobs” page. If you choose to take it later, it will appear on your "My Jobs" page to take when you are ready. Please note that your application will not be reviewed, and you will not be considered for this position until all required assessments have been completed.

University of Washington is an affirmative action and equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to, among other things, race, religion, color, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, sex, age, protected veteran or disabled status, or genetic information.