Freedom of Information Act Officer and eDiscovery Manager

at  University of Virginia

The Office of the University Counsel at the University of Virginia seeks an individual to serve as Virginia Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Officer and eDiscovery Manager. This full-time position will lead UVA’s efforts regarding FOIA compliance, including responding to request for public records, and leading pan-University education and outreach efforts regarding UVA’s responsibilities with FOIA. Responsibilities will also include liaising with University Counsel and the Records & Information Management Office in reviewing and producing documents and electronically stored information in response to subpoenas, litigation discovery, internal investigations, and external inquiries.

The FOIA Officer and eDiscovery Manager will be primarily responsible for:

• Logging each FOIA request (and other subpoenas or document requests received by the Office of the University Counsel) and maintaining master logs of requests;
• In conjunction with counsel as appropriate, correctly calculating response deadlines and ensuring compliance with FOIA, court-imposed deadlines, and other standards of law;
• Working with other University offices, including University Counsel and the Records & Information Management Office, to implement document holds, issue, maintain and release preservation notices, and to gather appropriate records in order to respond to FOIA, litigation, and other requests;
• Consulting with the Office of University Counsel in determining what records are responsive to FOIA requests or subject to exemptions;
• Maintaining all official records related to each FOIA or other document request;
• Timely preparing, seeking approval for, and delivering official University responses to FOIA requests;
• Managing changes in process to remain compliant with changes in the law; and
• Conducting information and training sessions across Grounds to raise the awareness of FOIA responsibilities to enable members of the University community to react appropriately to and provide timely notification to the FOIA Officer and eDiscovery Manager of FOIA requests.

Required Qualifications:

• A bachelor’s degree or equivalent is required with at least five to eight years of relevant experience.
• Superb organizational and time management skills, strong interpersonal skills, and a keen eye for detail;
• Ability to communicate clearly and professionally with University faculty and staff, citizens and members of the media seeking records;
• Possess strong analytical and writing skills with demonstrated ability to collect and analyze information.
• Able to organize documents and electronically stored information in a concise, logical, and analytical manner and to derive conclusions and recommendations that involve subtle and sophisticated judgments.
• Possess a familiarity with how members of the media work so that they can effectively communicate with reporters on a daily/weekly basis regarding FOIA requests.
• General familiarity with litigation, including the discovery process, preservation notices, the attorney-client privilege, as well as the mechanics of document production.
• Knowledge of and/or experience with eDiscovery tools, Adobe Acrobat, and document sharing software/systems (Box, DropBox, Secure FTP).
• Demonstrated experience performing case analysis, ideally involving FOIA requests or related reviews, identifying exemptions, applying redactions all while maintaining the strictest of confidentiality.
• Demonstrated ability to multi-task, work in a team environment, and adjust to established work patterns and processes as required.

Preferred qualifications:

• Litigation document handling experience or FOIA Officer experience, both ideally in a higher education institution environment.
• A Juris Doctor degree or a paralegal degree or certificate.

• Logging each FOIA request (and other subpoenas or document requests received by the Office of the University Counsel) and maintaining master logs of requests;
• In conjunction with counsel as appropriate, correctly calculating response deadlines and ensuring compliance with FOIA, court-imposed deadlines, and other standards of law;
• Working with other University offices, including University Counsel and the Records & Information Management Office, to implement document holds, issue, maintain and release preservation notices, and to gather appropriate records in order to respond to FOIA, litigation, and other requests;
• Consulting with the Office of University Counsel in determining what records are responsive to FOIA requests or subject to exemptions;
• Maintaining all official records related to each FOIA or other document request;
• Timely preparing, seeking approval for, and delivering official University responses to FOIA requests;
• Managing changes in process to remain compliant with changes in the law; and
• Conducting information and training sessions across Grounds to raise the awareness of FOIA responsibilities to enable members of the University community to react appropriately to and provide timely notification to the FOIA Officer and eDiscovery Manager of FOIA requests