Associate Athletic Director/Compliance and Strategy, Department of Athletics

About the role

This leadership position provides management and active engagement for all of the day-to-day operations in the athletic compliance office to ensure integrity and institutional control with all NCAA, ACC, College Sports Commission (CSC), and Wake Forest University (WFU) rules and regulations.

Essential Functions

• Provides active leadership and ensures execution by the compliance team for all day-to-day compliance operations including athletic personnel, athletic and academic eligibility, recruiting, financial aid, awards and benefits, and playing and practice season rules.
• Mastery in providing proactive rules education, interpretations of NCAA rules, developing new policies and procedures, implementation of appropriate monitoring systems, and enforcement of rules and regulations.
• Serves as the primary compliance sport liaison to one or more high profile programs and executes one or more core functions of the compliance office.
• Provides compliance education presentations at monthly departmental “all-staff” meetings and other athletic or university meetings, as needed.
• Responsible for ensuring collaboration, execution of tasks, education, and strong communication by the compliance office with campus partners in the WFU Registrar’s Office, Student Financial Aid Office, Admissions Office, and Student Financial Services Office.
• Collaborates with the Student-Athlete Services Office staff members for eligibility, admissions, transfer issues, international students, graduate students, and other related areas to ensure support for student-athletes and compliance with NCAA rules.
• Works with the Senior Associate AD on management of the compliance staff “hybrid” organizational structure for core function area assignments and team liaison assignments.
• Coordinates closely with the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and Faculty Athletic Representative.
• Assists the Senior Associate AD and athletic licensing office staff for name, image, likeness/settlement benefits interpretations and manages assigned tasks in the College Athlete Payment System (CAPS) by the appropriate deadlines.
• Serves as a member of campus committees as needed.
• Conducts research, data analysis and supports the execution of special projects as assigned by the Senior Associate AD.
• Manages oversight of NCAA and ACC waivers along with completion and data review of NCAA annual reports (Academic Progress Rate, Graduation Success Rate, Sport Sponsorship).
• Promotes the philosophy and objectives of the athletics program while adhering to and enforcing all departmental policies and procedures, as well as rules and regulations of WFU, the ACC, CSC, and the NCAA.
• Maintains current knowledge of trends and changes related to compliance in intercollegiate athletics.

Required Education, Knowledge, Skills, Abilities

• Advanced knowledge and experience working in all NCAA Division I bylaws, particularly with eligibility, recruiting, and financial aid.
• Bachelor’s degree plus a minimum of 5 years of experience in a NCAA Division I campus athletics compliance office, or an equivalent combination of applicable specialized experience.
• Working knowledge of the House Settlement and applicable NCAA/CSC rules and regulations.
• Advanced experience working with all NCAA software applications (Compliance Assistant, EC, LSDBi, RSRO, Transfer Portal).
• Excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to communicate effectively with a wide range of constituencies, both verbally and in writing.
• Public speaking experience presenting rules education to various stakeholder groups.
• Able and willing to perform accurate detail-oriented work, strong problem-solving skills, manage multiple tasks simultaneously, prioritize tasks as assigned, and maintain confidentiality with a professional demeanor.
• Able and willing to understand, comply with, and enforce NCAA, ACC, CSC and WFU rules and regulations.
• Able and willing to foster a cooperative environment and develop strong relationships with athletic coaches and administrative staff members along with campus partners in various departments.
• Able and willing to make administrative/procedural decisions and meet tight deadlines while maintaining accuracy and response times.
• Able and willing to work evenings and weekends, as needed.
• Able and willing to display high levels of integrity at all times.
• High level of experience with using technology and software applications specific to athletic compliance offices.
• Must be able to meet the requirements of the University’s automobile insurance policy.

Preferred Education, Knowledge, Skills, Abilities

• Masters degree or Juris Doctorate degree and seven years or more of experience in NCAA Division I campus athletics compliance office or Division I Conference Office or the NCAA.
• Knowledge of Google ecosystem software applications, College Athlete Payment System (CAPS), and NILGo system.
• Advanced or working knowledge of Teamworks applications (ARMS, Hub, etc.).

Accountabilities

• Supervises Assistant AD/Compliance, Compliance Coordinator, Law Extern/Fellows, and manages oversight of compliance tasks of other athletic staff members (e.g. Asst. Director of Initial and Continuing Eligibility).

Additional Job Description

This position is full-time.