Job Description

Chief Risk Officer

The Chief Risk Officer (CRO) serves as the university administrator with responsibility for strategic oversight and leadership of risk management programs and services: The CRO directs University-wide enterprise risk management efforts, designs and executes risk financing and insurance strategies, and drives continuous improvement in loss prevention, and in health and safety performance. This position advises university leadership - and the Arizona Board of Regents - on institutional loss exposures, emerging risks, and cost-of-risk trends, and recommends and implements mitigation measures to reduce losses and the cost of risk. The CRO also serves as head for Risk Management Services (RMS) with oversight over the insurance, workers compensation, and enterprise risk teams.

Outstanding U of A benefits include health, dental, and vision insurance plans; life insurance and disability programs; paid vacation, sick leave, and holidays; U of A/ASU/NAU tuition reduction for the employee and qualified family members; retirement plans; access to U of A recreation and cultural activities; and more!

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Duties & Responsibilities

Enterprise Risk Management

• Lead the university's enterprise risk management framework - bringing together leaders from across the university and ensuring systematic identification, assessment, and prioritization of high-level institutional risks.
• Direct risk owners in developing and implementing mitigation strategies, and hold them accountable for progress.
• Deliver comprehensive risk analyses, dashboards, and progress reports to senior leadership and the Arizona Board of Regents, supporting informed, strategic decision-making.

Insurance Strategy & Coverage

• Design, develop, and execute the University's insurance and risk financing strategy to ensure robust protection of institutional assets and operations.
• Serve as the primary liaison with the Arizona Department of Administration (ADOA) for state-provided insurance plans, ensuring the university's compliance and effective utilization of these programs.
• Lead the negotiation, procurement, and renewal of all local insurance policies, including but not limited to: property, liability, professional, cyber, international programs, and unique university assets.
• Continuously evaluate insurance needs and market conditions, recommending adjustments to deductibles, limits, and retentions to optimize the university's cost of risk.

Incident and Claims Process Oversight

• Oversee the entire incident reporting, claims management, and litigation response, setting institutional standards for timeliness, and compliance.
• Strategically manage the University's workers' compensation program, overseeing investigations, claims submission, and employee return-to-work processes.
• Analyze claims data to identify patterns, recommend loss prevention strategies, and reduce future exposures.
• Act as senior point of contact for complex claims, working with legal counsel, state officials, and external parties.

Risk Management Team Leadership

• Provide Strategic Direction and Vision: Lead the enterprise risk management, claims, insurance administration, and workers' compensation teams by translating the university's financial and risk management goals into clear, actionable operational objectives.
• Develop and Mentor Staff Expertise: Oversee the professional development of the team, ensuring staff possess the technical certifications, analytical skills, and regulatory knowledge necessary to handle complex insurance programs and high-exposure claims.
• Foster a Proactive Risk Culture: Direct staff to transition from reactive claims processing to proactive loss prevention and data-driven analysis, using claims history to recommend systemic safety improvements and influence processes across the university community.
• Manage Performance and Resource Allocation: Establish key performance indicators (KPIs) for claims resolution time, loss ratio, and service delivery; manage the departmental budget, ensuring proper resource allocation for internal operations, third-party insurance needs, and risk systems/technology.
• Ensure Seamless Cross-Functional Collaboration: Serve as the exemplar for partnership between the risk management team and key partners across the university (e.g., Finance & Budget, Office of the General Counsel, Human Resources, Safety, etc.), ensuring staff collaborate effectively on injury investigation, contract review, and litigation support.

Compliance, Crisis Management & Continuity

• Establish and enforce University-wide risk management policies, procedures, and compliance standards.
• Lead University efforts in business continuity and crisis response planning, coordinating with senior leadership, Emergency Management, and external partners to ensure readiness for major incidents.
• Advise executive leadership during emergencies, ensuring rapid, coordinated response that protects University people, property, and reputation.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Mastery of advanced principles and practices of Property & Casualty (P&C) and other commercial insurance lines (e.g., General Liability, Cyber Liability, Workers Compensation).
• Extensive knowledge of state-level risk pooling/insurance programs, regulatory compliance for insurance activities in a higher education setting, and the unique risk exposures inherent to a large university (e.g., student activities, research, foreign travel, athletics, healthcare operations).
• Adept at leading high-stakes negotiations with brokers, insurance carriers, and state liaisons to secure optimal coverage terms, favorable rates, and policy language.
• Proven ability to conduct detailed financial analysis of insurance proposals, claims data, self-insured retentions, and loss control programs to manage the total cost of risk and present complex financial scenarios clearly to senior leadership.
• Demonstrated ability to oversee and direct the complex administration of all claims (property, liability, and workers' compensation), ensuring adherence to legal and regulatory mandates. The ability to manage a sensitive and effective workers' compensation and injury process, including proactive loss prevention, vendor management, and collaborating with Human Resources to facilitate return-to-work programs.
• Ability to effectively communicate complex insurance and risk information- both verbally and in writing - to diverse, high-level audiences, including the president, senior leaders, ABOR staff, deans, and state administrative officials. This includes the ability to build and maintain collaborative relationships with internal operational units (OGC, Finance & Budget, HR, EH&S, ORP, and Facilities) to ensure university-wide compliance and effective risk mitigation.

Minimum Qualifications

• BS in Business Administration, Finance, Risk Management, Safety Management, or similar discipline (advanced degree(s) preferred).
• Current held/updated Certified Risk Manager (CRM), Associate in Risk Management (ARM), and/or Certified Safety Professional (CSP).
• Minimum of 11 years of related work experience, including 7 years of leadership experience, preferably in large complex institutions or organizations - with extensive, demonstrated experience in leading risk management teams, projects, insurance programs, and similar functions.

This job posting reflects the general nature and level of work expected of the selected candidate(s). It is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all duties and responsibilities. The institution reserves the right to amend or update this description as organizational priorities and institutional needs evolve.

Contact: Thomas McDonald | tom1@arizona.edu

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