Protection, Compliance, and Regulation | Job Family Group


The Protection, Compliance, and Regulation job family group is responsible for maintaining safety, security, and legal integrity across the University. These roles focus on protecting people and property, enforcing laws and policies, and ensuring compliance with legal, ethical, and regulatory standards. This group includes positions in law enforcement, security services, legal counsel, and regulatory compliance, all working to uphold a safe and accountable environment.

If you'd like assistance in charting your career path, Career Navigation is here to provide guidance and support. 

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Explore Job Families

Job Family is a specialty area within a broader field of work. It groups together roles that require similar skill sets, knowledge, and abilities. While a Job Family Group covers a wide professional category—like Protection, Compliance, and Regulation—a Job Family narrows it down to a specific focus, such as general counsel and the police department. This structure helps clarify the types of work being done and supports clearer career development pathways.

  • Audit

    These roles are responsible for conducting internal audits to ensure that the university's financial and operational processes adhere to regulations, policies, and best practices. Audit staff identify risks, provide recommendations for improvement, and ensure that resources are used efficiently and ethically.

  • Compliance

    These roles are responsible for ensuring that the university adheres to all applicable laws, regulations, and internal policies. Compliance officers monitor university operations, develop compliance programs, and provide training to reduce legal and regulatory risks.

     

  • Contracts

    These roles are responsible for drafting, reviewing, and negotiating contracts on behalf of the university. Contract specialists ensure that agreements with vendors, partners, and other entities are legally sound, protect the university’s interests, and comply with institutional policies.

  • Dispatch

    These roles are responsible for coordinating communication between university personnel and emergency services. Dispatchers ensure that calls for service, whether for security, maintenance, or medical emergencies, are promptly and effectively addressed by the appropriate teams.

  • Environmental Health and Safety

    These roles are responsible for promoting a safe and healthy environment across grounds. Environmental health and safety staff ensure compliance with safety regulations, conduct risk assessments, and implement training programs to protect students, staff, and visitors from environmental and occupational hazards.

  • General Counsel

    These roles are responsible for providing legal advice and guidance to university leadership on a wide range of issues. The General Counsel office ensures that the university's actions are legally compliant, manages legal risks, and represents the institution in legal matters.

     

  • Legal

    These roles are responsible for offering specialized legal services and advice in areas such as contracts, employment, intellectual property, and litigation. Legal staff ensure that the university complies with applicable laws and regulations and assist in resolving legal disputes.

  • Police Department

    Police Officers and associated policing positions are responsible for maintaining safety and security on grounds. University police officers enforce laws, respond to emergencies, investigate incidents, and work to ensure a secure environment for students, faculty, staff, and visitors.

  • Risk Management

    These roles are responsible for identifying, assessing, and mitigating risks that could impact the university’s operations. Risk management staff develop strategies to minimize financial, legal, and operational risks, ensuring the institution’s sustainability and resilience.

  • Security

    These roles are responsible for safeguarding university facilities, assets, and people. Security staff monitor grounds, respond to incidents, enforce policies, and collaborate with law enforcement to ensure a safe and secure environment.  Does not include Police Officers (see "Police Department")

  • Title IX Compliance

    These roles are responsible for ensuring that the university complies with Title IX, a federal law that prohibits gender-based discrimination in educational institutions. Title IX compliance officers handle investigations of sexual harassment, assault, and discrimination complaints, promoting a safe and equitable environment.

  • Multiple Functions

    These roles are responsible for performing a variety of tasks across trades and engineering disciplines. Staff and leaders in these positions may handle diverse responsibilities, such as maintenance, installation, and system management, to support the university’s infrastructure and operational needs.

Understanding Career Journeys Framework

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Job Framework Frequently Asked Questions

  • What is a career stream?

    A career stream is a category in the Career Journeys Job Framework that describes the general type of responsibilities a position has. It reflects the nature of the work—such as professional, clinical, operational, managerial, or executive—and helps clarify the kind of contribution the role makes to the University. Career streams, combined with job families, help employees understand how their work fits into the organization and identify potential paths for growth, whether within the same stream or by moving to another.

    Career Streams in Career Journeys Job Framework Include:

    • Professional
    • Management
    • Operations and Service 
    • Clinical Professional
    • Clinical Technician 
    • Senior Administrator
    • Executive
    • Athletics
       

     

  • Am I able to change career streams?

    Yes — you can move from one career stream to another if your job responsibilities change and align with the new stream.

    For example, someone in the Operations and Service stream could move into the Professional stream by gaining the necessary education, training, or experience, or into the Management stream by taking on people-leadership responsibilities. Career streams aren’t fixed for life—they’re a way of describing your current role, not limiting your future opportunities

  • Will I have to become a manager to get to the top of my career stream?

    No — you don’t have to become a manager to reach the top of your career stream.

    In Career Journeys, each stream has its own progression path. For example, in the Professional or Clinical Professional streams, you can advance in roles in a higher "level" that carry significant increases in influence, responsibility, and compensation without managing people.

    Management is just one type of career stream, not the “top” of all streams. You can build a high-level career without shifting into people leadership—unless that’s the direction you want to go.

  • What is a level?

    Levels reflect the typical knowledge, skills, and experience needed for roles at that stage. Within a career stream, several different jobs may share the same level, and not every level will always have an active position in every stream.

  • How is level/career level determined?

    The differences between career levels are determined based on the scope/complexity of the position. Specifically, this means the jobs within a job family will differ in level based on duty and responsibility differences between profiles.  Factors include the nature and scope of influence, the level of autonomy the position has to make decisions at various levels of impact, the nature of communication and audience, supervisory responsibilities and number/type of teams, and the level of expertise needed to fulfill position responsibilities. 

  • Can I change job family groups or job families?

    Yes — you can move to a different job family group or job family if you apply for and are selected for a position in that area.

    For example:

    • You might move from the Information Technology job family group into Finance if you gain relevant skills or education and are hired into a finance role.

    • Or you could shift from the Digital Media job family to Graphic Design within the Communications job family group if your work focus changes.

    It’s not an automatic change — it happens when your role and responsibilities align with the requirements of the new job family group or job family, and you successfully secure that position through UVA’s traditional hiring process.

  • What if my job responsibilities cross more than one job family group or job family?

    If most of a position’s responsibilities fall within one functional area, the position is assigned to the matching job family group or job family. If the work is more evenly spread across different areas, the job family group or job family is chosen based on which set of duties would be most important to highlight when recruiting for the role.

  • What is the difference between job profile and business title?

    • Business Title is how you present your role day-to-day.
    • Job Profile is how UVA classifies your role within the Job Framework for consistency and career planning.
  • Are faculty and student positions included in the Job Framework?

    Faculty and student positions are not included in the Career Journeys Job Framework. However, they still receive a unique job profile and can use Career Journeys to explore jobs that are part of the framework.

    Other positions not included are: Classified Staff, Temporary Employees, Professional Research Staff, Graduate Research Assistants (GRAs), Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTAs), Student Workers, Residents and House Staff, UVA Physicians Group, and UVA Community Health.

  • I supervise one person. Why isn’t my position in the management stream?

    To be classified in the management stream, a job’s main focus needs to be leading people. In most cases, this means supervising at least two team members and overseeing a distinct department as a core part of the role.

  • I’m looking to better understand my job classification—how should I proceed?

    We welcome all employees to take some time to explore the Career Journeys Job Framework and get familiar with its key concepts before requesting more information or changes to their job profile. For example, it is good to know that your job profile title may not always match the business title you use every day, and supervising one employee does not automatically place a role in the management stream before reaching out.

    You can learn more about your job profile and how it relates to other roles by reviewing the Job Framework resources on this page and on the training webpage. If, after doing so, you’d still like to know more about your classification, please email askhr@virginia.edu with a brief description of your questions and any relevant details. Our HR team will review your message and connect you with the right person to guide you through the next steps for understanding—or, if appropriate, reevaluating—your job profile.

  • What if I have another question that hasn't been answered?

    If you have more questions, there are plenty of resources to help. Your manager is a great first stop, and you can also email HR for assistance. If your questions are about your personal career path, consider scheduling a meeting with Career Navigation.

    Learn More about Career Navigation

Career Journeys Tools