Senior Director Of Enterprise Risk & Legal Operations

Job Title: Senior Director of Enterprise Risk & Legal Operations

Are you passionate about giving back to your community and serving youth?

Who We Are:

In 1922, Woodcraft Rangers opened its doors in Los Angeles and began its mission of guiding young people as they explore pathways to purposeful lives. As a progressive organization, Woodcraft has always been responsive to the evolving needs of the communities served, and is notably inclusive, youth-led, and rooted in the Woodcraft Way, a holistic framework that develops body, mind, spirit, and service. Continuously at the forefront of expanded learning opportunities, Woodcraft Rangers has a rich history of making a significant impact in the greater Los Angeles area, believing that all youth are innately good, deserve the opportunity to realize their full potential, and should be an active participant in defining their own path.

What We Do:

Woodcraft Rangers provides TK-12 expanded learning programs, including before and after school, specialty enrichment, and summer learning. In the past few years, Woodcraft has expanded its menu of services beyond traditional afterschool programs and summer camps to include early learning, environmental and social justice, college access, and inclusion services for youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Additionally, we offer Lifecraft, a college and career advancement program to support the development of approximately 1,500 staff. Today, Woodcraft Rangers serves more than 25,000 youth ages 4 to 18 each year across 130 plus Title I schools in Los Angeles, San Bernardino, and Riverside counties, and continues to expand its reach.

Ideal Candidate:

The ideal candidate is an experienced risk management leader with a strong track record supporting complex, youth-serving or education-focused organizations. They bring a practical, systems-oriented approach and can translate legal, insurance, and compliance requirements into clear guidance that supports program delivery while reducing exposure. This individual has owned enterprise risk frameworks, contract strategy, insurance portfolios, and incident response, and works confidently with executive leadership, Boards, HR, IT, and program teams. Calm, credible, and solutions-focused, the ideal candidate is motivated by protecting people, mission, and long-term organizational health through strong risk governance and operational partnership.

Why Work for Woodcraft Rangers:

• Paid vacation
• Sick time
• Health Benefits
• 403(b) retirement
• Pet insurance
• Lifecraft
• Upward mobility
• Career development
• The opportunity to create a lasting positive impact on youth within your community.

Role Overview:

The Senior Director of Risk Management serves as the organization's senior leader responsible for protecting people, programs, assets, and mission integrity across a large, complex, youth-serving organization. Reporting to the Chief Operating Officer, this role leads enterprise risk strategy and execution, including contract development and negotiation, insurance portfolio oversight, legal coordination, compliance systems, SOP development, and incident response. The Senior Director partners closely with executive leadership, the Board, and cross-functional teams to identify and mitigate operational, legal, financial, safety, and reputational risks while supporting organizational growth and program delivery. This role requires a pragmatic, solutions-oriented leader who can translate complex risk requirements into clear, field-ready guidance and build a strong culture of safety, accountability, and operational excellence.

Responsibilities:

Enterprise Risk Strategy & Leadership

• Develop and lead the organization's enterprise-wide risk management framework.
• Conduct annual and quarterly risk assessments, presenting findings to COO, CEO, and Board.
• Build and maintain risk dashboards for ongoing monitoring.
• Identify emerging operational, legal, financial, safety, and reputational risks.
• Translate legal, insurance, and compliance requirements into practical, field-ready guidance that enables program delivery while reducing exposure.
• Recommend and implement mitigation strategies aligned with organizational growth.
• Evaluate feasibility and benefits of multi-entity restructuring to create liability firewalls.

Contract Development, Review & Compliance

• Lead drafting, negotiation, and review of all contracts including LEA agreements, rental/retreat agreements, consultant contracts, vendor agreements, technology/data privacy contracts, and MOU frameworks.
• Ensure all agreements include proper indemnification, risk transfer, liability limitations, and insurance requirements.
• Build and oversee a contract lifecycle management system including templates, workflows, and approval checkpoints.
• Develop vendor risk tiering, onboarding standards, and periodic compliance reviews for high-risk partners.
• Develop and enforce job descriptions (JDs) related to contract oversight and compliance.
• Train leaders and program staff on contract obligations and the implications of risk-bearing terms.

Legal Affairs Coordination

• Serve as the primary point of contact for external counsel and coordinate legal review.
• Support legal strategy for claims, regulatory issues, investigations, and employment-related matters.
• Ensure proper documentation, evidence retention, and incident reporting in accordance with legal guidance.
• Track changes in state and federal laws impacting labor, youth protection, privacy, and operational compliance.

Insurance Portfolio Oversight

• Manage the organization's complete insurance portfolio including GL, WC, auto, property, cyber, D&O, EPLI, and umbrella policies.
• Lead coverage analysis, renewal strategy, and broker/carrier negotiations.
• Investigate participation in insurance pooling models to reduce long-term exposure and stabilize premiums.
• Oversee claims management, incident documentation quality, and communication with adjustors.
• Establish internal policies for surcharge pricing and additional requirements for high-risk programming.

SOPs, Internal Controls & Compliance Systems

• Develop, update, and enforce Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for high-risk operational areas including hiring, transportation, adventure programming, supervision protocols, emergency response, and documentation standards.
• Develop and enforce risk-aligned job descriptions in partnership with HR, ensuring role clarity, decision authority, and accountability.
• Conduct internal audits and compliance reviews across regions and departments.
• Partner with HR to strengthen screening, probationary evaluation, and corrective action procedures.
• Build strong cross-department controls to reduce exposure while supporting operational excellence.

Crisis Management & Incident Response

• Lead crisis response planning and execution for incidents involving safety, legal exposure, operational disruption, or reputational risk.
• Serve as organizational incident commander or senior advisor as needed.
• Conduct root-cause analysis and produce written findings and improvement recommendations.
• Maintain communication and escalation frameworks for leadership and Board notifications.

Training, Communication & Organizational Culture

• Foster a culture of safety, accountability, clarity, and documentation accuracy.
• Develop and lead training programs for managers, staff, and program leaders.
• Create internal tools including templates, matrices, checklists, and decision-tree guides.
• Collaborate with Communications on internal messaging for safety and compliance.

Qualifications:

Required

• 7+ years experience in risk management, compliance or legal operations.
• Demonstrated experience applying California labor and employment law to manage risk related to employee relations, investigations, and compliance.
• Experience drafting, negotiating, and managing complex contracts.
• Experience managing insurance portfolios across multiple coverage lines.
• Strong expertise developing SOPs, internal controls, and compliance systems.
• Demonstrated ability to write and enforce job descriptions.
• Strong communication, analytical, and cross-functional leadership skills.

Preferred

• Experience in education, youth development, outdoor education/camps, afterschool programs, or nonprofits engaged in government contracting.
• Experience in multi-entity or subsidiary organizational models.
• Legal training (JD or paralegal certification) helpful but not required.
• Professional risk certification (ARM, CRM, CPRM).

Physical Demands:

In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the following physical demands may be essential for the effective performance of this position. Reasonable accommodation will be considered to enable individuals with disabilities to perform these essential functions:

• Frequent standing is required during working hours
• The ability to travel across the Great Los Angeles area, using either a car or public transportation, is necessary several times a month.
• Regular use of hands for various tasks, such as operating a computer and handling objects, is essential.
• Must be able to occasionally lift/move up to 40 pounds.
• Reasonable accommodation is available for individuals with disabilities.

Work Environment:

We are committed to fostering an inclusive work environment and will actively consider reasonable accommodations to enable individuals to effectively perform their roles. This position operates in environments typical of the following key aspects:

• Regular exposure to computer monitors during work.
• The typical noise level of a standard work environment.
• Stable internet access is required for effective work-from-home performance.

Status: Full-time, Exempt

Salary Range: $150,000 - $175,000 annually (based on experience and qualifications)

Hours of Operation: This role typically operates Monday through Friday, 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM, and may require availability during evenings or weekends in response to incidents, deadlines, or organizational needs.

Location: Hybrid, primary office: Los Angeles (Little Tokyo Office)

Woodcraft Rangers provides equal employment opportunities to all qualified applicants without discrimination with regard to race, religious belief, color, sex, sex stereotype, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions (including breastfeeding), age, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, gender identification and expression, transgender status, transitioning status, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic characteristics, genetic information, family care, marital status, enrollment in any public assistance program, status as military, a veteran or qualified disabled veteran, status as an unpaid intern or volunteer, or any other classification protected by law. We also prohibit discrimination based on the perception that anyone has any of those characteristics or is associated with a person who has or is perceived as having any of those characteristics.