Manager, University Policy and Enterprise Risk

Cooperative Education; Fairfax (VA); Hybrid; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

George Mason University is seeking a Policy & Planning Specialist 2 within the Enterprise Risk Management department in Fairfax, VA. This hybrid role leads policy development, review, and renewals while aligning policies with strategic goals and managing risk across operations, finances, and compliance.

The position requires strong governance experience, policy drafting skills, and the ability to engage stakeholders across units.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in related field, or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• 5–7 years in policy management, enterprise risk management, compliance coordination, or governance.
• Experience with governance committees, policy owners, auditors, or risk stewards.
• Experience developing training materials, process documentation, or guidance in policy, compliance, or risk.
• Experience using project management or risk tracking tools, workflow systems, or document management platforms.
• Knowledge of regulatory or accreditation requirements in policy/compliance environments.
• Familiarity with COSO ERM, ISO 31000, and higher education governance environments.
• Strong analytical and problem‑solving skills for risk mitigation.
• Excellent written and verbal communication, including policy drafting and executive reporting.
• Ability to engage stakeholders and lead cross‑functional risk discussions.
• Ability to translate complex concepts into actionable guidance.

Responsibilities

• Policy Development, Management & Governance Support: coordinate the full lifecycle of institutional policies, provide guidance to policy owners, manage reviews, publish policies, and archiving.
• Enterprise Risk Management: partner with CRO, identify and prioritize institutional risks across domains, facilitate risk assessments, maintain risk registers.
• Communication & Collaboration: develop policy communication plans, promote risk awareness, collaborate with internal audit, compliance, legal, and policy teams.
• Project ownership: lead policy and risk workstreams, track requests, organize meetings, and drive deliverables across stakeholders.
• Other duties as assigned by supervisor and department head.

Skills

Policy management

Enterprise risk management

Governance

Policy drafting

Cross-functional collaboration

Communication

Analytical thinking

Project management

Education

Bachelor’s degree in related field

Master’s degree in related field

Job description

Department: Enterprise Risk Management

Classification: Policy & Planning Specialist 2

Job Category:Classified Staff

Job Type:Full-Time

Work Schedule:Full-time (1.0 FTE, 40 hrs/wk)

Location: Fairfax, VA

Workplace Type:Hybrid Eligible

Sponsorship Eligibility:Not eligible for visa sponsorship

Pay Band:05

Salary:Salary commensurate with education and experience

Criminal Background Check:Yes

About the Department:

George Mason University’s Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) exists to promote institutional resilience by identifying, assessing, and managing risks that could affect the university’s mission. The unit also oversees policy management and building code compliance to ensure clear, consistent, and accountable governance across the institution. Through collaboration, transparency, and proactive guidance, it supports informed decision‑making and strengthens the university’s culture of integrity and risk awareness.

About the Position:

The Manager, University Policy and Enterprise Risk serves as the lead on development, review, approval, and renewals of university policies. This includes ensuring policies are clear, compliant, and aligned with strategic goals, while identifying, assessing, and mitigating risks that could impact operations, reputation, finances, or regulatory compliance. This is an individual contributor role with significant cross-functional leadership responsibility.

Responsibilities:

Policy Development, Management & Governance Support:

• Serves as the University Policy Manager coordinating the full lifecycle of institutional policies, including providing information to policy owners as they draft and revise policies, providing feedback and advice to policy owners, managing the review process by the Policy Management Group, facilitating approval, publishing policies to the policy website, and archiving;
• Provides advice and guidance to policy owners regarding required processes, templates, timelines, and governance structures;
• Maintains the policy repository and ensures version control, consistency, and clarity in policy language;
• Supports transparency by keeping the website up-to-date with current policies listed and helpful information posted to enable the policy management process; and
• Contributes to policy management efficiency and effectiveness by updating practices and approaches to university policy management as needed.

Enterprise Risk Management:

• Serves as a thought partner to the Chief Risk Officer (CRO) in continuous improvement of the university’s Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) framework;
• Identifies, assesses, and prioritizes institutional risks across academic, operational, financial, regulatory, and reputational domains;
• Facilitates regular risk assessments with leadership and key stakeholders across units;
• Maintains the university’s enterprise risk register and other key ERM documents and data, ensuring risks are documented, evaluated, and updated regularly;
• Designs and works with risk owners to implement risk mitigation strategies and action plans to reduce exposure and strengthen organizational resilience;
• Monitors emerging risks and trends (e.g., regulatory changes, cybersecurity threats, enrollment shifts) and advises leadership accordingly;
• Works in partnership with the CRO to establish key risk indicators (KRIs) and metrics to track risk levels and effectiveness of mitigation efforts;
• Provides advice for integrating risk management practices into strategic planning, decision-making, and business processes; and
• Evaluates the effectiveness of existing controls and recommends improvements where needed.

Communication & Collaboration:

• Works with policy owners to develop policy-specific communication plans;
• Promotes a risk-aware culture through training, communication, and stakeholder engagement;
• Collaborates with internal audit, compliance, legal, and policy teams to ensure alignment of risk management activities; and
• Owns project execution for policy and risk workstreams, including establishing structures, tracking requests, organizing and leading meetings, and driving accountability for deliverables across cross-functional stakeholders.

Other Related Duties as Assigned:

• Related tasks assigned by the supervisor and department head.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in related field, or equivalent combination of education and experience;
• Experience (typically 5-7 years) in policy management, enterprise risk management, compliance coordination, or organizational governance;
• Experience working with governance committees, policy owners, auditors, or risk stewards;
• Experience developing training materials, process documentation, or guidance related to policy, compliance, or risk practices;
• Experience using project management or risk tracking tools, workflow systems, or document management platforms;
• Experience interpreting regulatory or accreditation requirements relevant to institutional policy and compliance environments;
• Knowledge of enterprise risk management frameworks (e.g., COSO ERM, ISO 31000) and higher education governance/compliance environments;
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills to assess risk and develop practical mitigation strategies;
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including policy drafting and executive-level reporting;
• Ability to engage stakeholders and facilitate cross-functional collaboration and risk discussions;
• Ability to translate complex concepts into clear, actionable guidance for diverse audiences;
• Strong organizational and project management skills to handle multiple priorities effectively;
• Ability to apply a strategic, proactive mindset with adaptability to evolving risks and regulatory requirements; and
• Sound judgment, integrity, and ability to manage confidential and sensitive information.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Master’s degree in related field;
• Professional certification or advanced training in risk management, audit, compliance, or governance (e.g., CRMP, CERM, CIA, PMP);
• Experience (typically 7+ years) that includes both policy management and enterprise risk management, preferably in higher education or a similarly complex organization;
• Advanced experience leading or maturing enterprise-wide policy or ERM programs, including implementing governance frameworks and driving cross-functional adoption at scale; and
• Experience implementing ERM programs or policy frameworks in a higher education or similarly complex organizational environment.

Posting Open Date: August 17, 2026

For Full Consideration, Apply by: August 31, 2026

Open Until Filled:Yes