Deputy Director for Civil Rights

This position serves as Deputy Director for Civil Rights within HHS's Office for Civil Rights (OCR). Supports OCR's mission to prevent unlawful discrimination, protect conscience and religious freedom rights, and safeguard protected health information. Responsibilities include enforcement actions, complaint investigations, compliance reviews, policy, and regulatory development, technical assistance, and public outreach to promote equal access to health care and human services.

ABOUT THE POSITION The Deputy Director serves as a senior executive and principal advisor to the OCR Director on all matters related to civil rights. The incumbent is responsible for the national leadership, direction, and execution of OCR's civil rights program, ensuring the consistent, lawful, and effective implementation of Federal civil rights statutes and regulations prohibiting discrimination based on race, color, national origin, disability, age, and sex in programs or activities that HHS directly operates or to which HHS provides Federal financial assistance, consistent with OCR's statutory authorities and organizational responsibilities. provides executive leadership for OCR's national civil rights program, with accountability for achieving measurable outcomes in enforcement, policy and regulatory development, and implementation, and program performance. Leads priority enforcement initiatives within the civil rights program, including coordination of high-impact investigations and compliance reviews. Ensures timely resolution of assigned civil rights complaints to Civil Rights Division staff consistent with performance metrics and compliance standards. Directs and oversees efforts to identify, investigate, and address systemic discrimination, including patterns or practices of noncompliance, through coordinated enforcement, compliance reviews, and policy interventions. Implements enforcement and policy priorities established by the Secretary and OCR Director, in coordination with other OCR components, translating strategic direction into operational plans, program guidance, and performance expectations across OCR headquarters and field offices. Ensures the consistent and legally sound implementation of Federal civil rights statutes, regulations, and policies, including that enforcement and policy activities achieve legal sufficiency and consistency in their application across OCR programs and regions. Ensures that enforcement actions and compliance activities effectively remedy violations and promote accountability for noncompliance with Federal civil rights requirements. Oversees the development and execution of regulations, sub-regulatory guidance, and policy interpretations in alignment with governing legal authorities and Departmental priorities. Directs program operations to ensure efficiency, effectiveness, and accountability. Works in collaboration with the Deputy Director of Enforcement on strategies for improving timely resolution of civil rights complaints, for reducing civil rights case backlogs, and for meeting civil rights-specific OCR performance outcomes. Oversees the development and use of data systems, analytical tools, and performance metrics to identify national trends, assess program effectiveness, and improve operational processes. Ensures the integrity and maintenance of program data to support reporting requirements and inform decision-making. Collaborates with organizational leadership responsible for operations, resources, and performance management to ensure effective collection, analysis, and use of data to assess program efficiency and effectiveness. Serves as a recognized subject matter expert in Federal civil rights laws and policy and their application in enforcement and compliance contexts.