Privacy Specialist

VCU Health; Richmond (VA); Hybrid; USD 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

VCU Health is seeking a Privacy Specialist to support investigations and operational privacy activities in a hybrid role rooted in Richmond, VA. You will handle investigations, risk assessments, and regulatory readiness while coordinating with Legal, Compliance, IS, HIM, and clinical teams.

The role emphasizes documentation, policy maintenance, and governance reporting to strengthen privacy controls across the organization.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in healthcare administration, compliance, public health, HIM, or related field.
• Master’s degree in healthcare administration or related field preferred.

Responsibilities

• Conduct privacy investigations from intake to resolution with documentation.
• Perform access reviews and audit-log analysis for disclosures.
• Develop findings, conclusions, and actionable recommendations.
• Coordinate with Legal, Compliance, IS, HIM, and operations during investigations.
• Support privacy operations, policy development, and governance reporting.
• Contribute to regulatory readiness and enterprise privacy initiatives.

Skills

HIPAA privacy

Interviews & investigations

Regulatory reporting

Education

Bachelor’s degree in healthcare administration

Master’s degree preferred in related field

Tools

GRC software

Policy management systems

Audit tooling

Job description

**This is a hybrid opportunity - must be local Richmond, VA to come onsite as needed**

The Privacy Specialist supports the organization’s privacy operations by performing privacy investigations and operational activities to help ensure compliance with applicable privacy laws and regulations governing patient health information. The role works across two core areas: conducting investigations, supporting risk assessments, and maintaining accurate, defensible documentation. The Privacy Specialist also coordinates workflows, supports reporting and regulatory readiness, and contributes to policy and process updates. In this role, the individual works with internal stakeholders across Legal, Compliance, Information Security, HIM, and operational teams to support consistent and compliant privacy practices. Each Privacy Specialist is assigned a primary functional alignment (Investigations or Operations) based on organizational needs and may support cross-functional activities as required.

Privacy Investigations

• Conduct privacy incident investigations from intake through resolution, including fact gathering, interviews, and documentation
• Perform access reviews and analyze audit logs to evaluate potential inappropriate access or disclosure
• Apply HIPAA breach risk assessment standards to determine whether an impermissible use or disclosure occurred
• Develop findings, conclusions, and recommendations, and prepare clear, defensible documentation
• Coordinate with Legal, Compliance, Information Security, HIM, and operational teams during investigations
• Ensure timely case progression and closure in alignment with established timelines and documentation standards

Privacy Operations & Regulatory Support

• Coordinate and execute privacy operations activities, including tracking initiatives, maintaining workflows, and coordinating cross-functional activities
• Support development, review, and maintenance of privacy policies, procedures, and standards
• Prepare and maintain reports, dashboards, and metrics to support leadership visibility and risk monitoring
• Contributes to regulatory readiness activities, including audits, assessments, and documentation reviews
• Participate in enterprise initiatives (e.g., research privacy, vendor data use, interoperability, AI governance), supporting coordination and follow-up actions
• Identify and elevate operational gaps, risks, and opportunities for process improvement

Risk Assessment & Compliance Activities

• Conduct privacy and compliance risk assessments in collaboration with business owners
• Analyze trends from investigations, audits, and reports to identify risk areas and recommend mitigation strategies
• Contribute to policy updates and operational changes based on regulatory requirements and identified gaps
• Maintain accurate and complete documentation to support audit and regulatory review

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Partner with stakeholders across Legal, Compliance, ISRM, HIM, IT/Epic, and operational teams
• Support training, education, and awareness activities based on identified risks and trends
• Serve as a resource for privacy-related inquiries within assigned functional areas
• Identify opportunities to improve investigation workflows, reporting processes, and documentation standards
• Contribute to development of standardized templates, tools, and tracking mechanisms to improve consistency and efficiency
• Contribute to strengthening privacy operations and investigation practices across the organization

Employment Qualifications

• Required Education: Bachelor’s degree in healthcare administration, compliance, public health, health information management, business administration, or a related field.
• Preferred Education: Master’s degree in healthcare administration, compliance, public health, health information management, business administration, or a related field.

Licensing/ Certification

• Licensure/Certification Required: Certification in healthcare privacy or compliance (e.g., CHPC, CHPS) or ability to obtain within one year of hire.
• Licensure/Certification Preferred: Additional certifications in privacy or compliance (e.g., CIPP, CIPM, CHC) are preferred. Familiarity with project coordination practices is preferred; PMP certification is not required.

Minimum Qualifications

• Years and Type of Required Experience: Minimum of 2 years of experience supporting healthcare privacy, compliance, health information management, or related functions within a healthcare organization or academic medical center.
• Other Knowledge, Skills and Abilities Required: Working knowledge of HIPAA Privacy Rule and familiarity with applicable healthcare privacy laws and regulations. Experience supporting program, project, or governance activities, including tracking workplans, milestones, and action items. Experience coordinating cross-functional activities in a matrixed environment under the direction of leadership. Ability to support development of dashboards, reports, and governance materials for leadership review. Strong written and verbal communication skills appropriate for professional and operational audiences. Ability to support initiatives, follow established processes, and escal…
• Other Knowledge, Skills and Abilities Preferred: Exposure to privacy governance and emerging risk areas (e.g., research privacy, vendor data use, interoperability, AI). Familiarity with privacy or compliance technology platforms (e.g., GRC tools, policy management systems, reporting dashboards). Experience supporting regulatory readiness activities, such as audits, assessments, or enterprise reporting

Working Conditions

Periods of high stress and fluctuating workloads may occur. General office environment. Required to car travel to off-site locations, occasionally in adverse weather conditions.

Physical Requirements

Physical Demands: N/A