Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for BU Compliance Consultant

🎯 Role Definition

The BU Compliance Consultant partners with business unit leaders and central compliance to develop and operationalize compliance frameworks, perform risk assessments, execute monitoring and testing activities, drive remediation, and embed a compliance culture across the business. This role blends regulatory subject matter expertise, project management, and strong stakeholder influence to ensure the business meets applicable laws, internal policies, and industry best practices while enabling commercial objectives.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Compliance Analyst / Junior Compliance Officer
Risk Analyst or Internal Audit Associate
Regulatory Affairs Specialist

Advancement To:

Senior BU Compliance Consultant / Lead Compliance Manager
Head of Business Unit Compliance / Compliance Program Manager
Director of Compliance or Chief Compliance Officer (larger enterprise)

Lateral Moves:

Operational Risk Manager
Internal Audit Manager
Regulatory Affairs or Legal Counsel (compliance focus)

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Lead end‑to‑end compliance program implementation for a business unit, translating regulatory requirements and corporate policy into clear, actionable controls, processes, and owner responsibilities across front‑line teams.
Conduct comprehensive regulatory and compliance risk assessments for the BU, identifying inherent and residual risks, quantifying exposure, and recommending prioritized remediation and control activity.
Develop, draft, and maintain business unit policies, procedures, and standard operating procedures (SOPs) to ensure alignment with corporate policy and applicable laws (AML, KYC, GDPR, SOX, FCPA, consumer protection).
Design and execute monitoring and testing programs (transaction testing, process walkthroughs, control testing) to evaluate control effectiveness and identify gaps; prepare clear findings and recommendations.
Manage remediation programs from identification through closure: develop remediation plans, assign actions, track status, escalate blockers, and validate effectiveness of remedial controls.
Drive regulatory change management for the BU: interpret new regulations and regulatory guidance, assess business impact, and advise product, operations, and technology on required remediation and roadmap changes.
Serve as primary compliance advisor to business leaders and product teams, providing day‑to‑day guidance on complex regulatory questions, product launches, marketing claims, partnerships, and third‑party relationships.
Lead or support regulatory examinations and audits affecting the BU, coordinating responses, compiling evidence, preparing briefs, and managing examiners/ auditors to minimize operational disruption.
Build, customize, and maintain compliance training and communications targeted to BU roles; deliver training sessions, know‑your‑audience materials, and competency assessments to drive behavior change.
Perform periodic third‑party vendor risk assessments and due diligence for vendors supporting BU operations; ensure contractual compliance clauses, monitoring obligations, and remediation rights are in place.
Partner with Legal, IT, Data Privacy, and Security teams to ensure data handling and privacy practices in the BU comply with GDPR, CCPA, and internal data protection requirements.
Develop and report meaningful compliance KPIs and dashboards for senior management and the board, translating testing results and risk metrics into executive‑level narratives and action plans.
Advise and support product development teams during new product or feature design (privacy‑by‑design and compliance‑by‑design), conducting early lifecycle reviews to reduce downstream remediation.
Oversee client onboarding and KYC/EDD remediation initiatives when applicable; establish risk‑based customer due diligence standards and support operational teams in complex investigations.
Implement control automation and tooling where appropriate (GRC tools, case management, monitoring engines) to increase coverage, reduce manual effort, and improve auditability of compliance activities.
Conduct investigations into potential compliance violations or misconduct, coordinate interviews, collect evidence, prepare investigation reports, and recommend disciplinary or remediation actions in coordination with HR and Legal.
Collaborate with Finance and SOX teams to ensure BU internal controls over financial reporting meet Sarbanes‑Oxley requirements and that testing coverage aligns with regulatory expectations.
Prioritize and manage multiple cross‑functional compliance projects simultaneously, creating project plans, setting milestones, reporting progress, and ensuring on‑time delivery within budget and scope.
Maintain up‑to‑date subject matter expertise on industry best practices and regulatory trends; proactively advise leadership on emerging risks and strategic regulatory opportunities.
Facilitate cross‑BU working groups to harmonize policy interpretation, standardize controls, and share lessons learned to drive enterprise‑wide improvements in compliance posture.
Draft and maintain clear regulatory response templates, management attestations, and board packets to streamline external reporting and ensure timely, consistent communication with regulators.
Conduct scenario analyses and compliance testing for crisis readiness (incident response, sanctions screening failures, data breaches) and participate in BU incident management and remediation playbooks.

Secondary Functions

Support ad‑hoc compliance data requests, extract and analyze transaction and case data, and translate insights into prioritized remediation actions.
Contribute to the broader enterprise compliance strategy by piloting new monitoring approaches, proof‑of‑concepts for automation, and participating in policy harmonization initiatives.
Collaborate with technology and engineering teams to translate compliance requirements into technical specifications, test scripts, and acceptance criteria for product releases.
Participate in agile ceremonies and sprint planning when compliance features or controls are being delivered as part of product/engineering workstreams.
Mentor junior compliance analysts, providing coaching on testing methodologies, report writing, regulatory interpretation, and stakeholder communication.
Represent the BU in cross‑functional risk committees, escalation forums, and change control boards to ensure compliance inputs are considered in business decisions.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Regulatory knowledge: AML/CFT, KYC, Sanctions, GDPR/CCPA, FCPA/Anti‑Corruption, SOX, market conduct and consumer protection regulations.
Compliance program design: policy frameworks, control frameworks (COSO, Three Lines of Defense), control matrices, and remediation playbooks.
Monitoring & testing: sampling strategies, test scripting, exception tracking, and remediation validation.
Investigations: evidence collection, interviewing techniques, root cause analysis, and regulatory reporting.
Data analysis & tooling: SQL, Excel (pivot tables, advanced formulas), Tableau/Power BI, and familiarity with GRC platforms (MetricStream, Archer, or similar).
Case management and workflow tools: experience with case tracking systems and incident management platforms.
Contract and third‑party due diligence: drafting SOWs and compliance clauses, performing vendor risk assessments.
Privacy and data protection controls: DPIAs, data mapping, retention schedules, and privacy impact assessments.
Project management: Agile/Scrum familiarity, project planning, stakeholder management, and change management techniques.
Documentation & reporting: preparing board‑level reports, regulatory submissions, and audit response packages.
Financial controls: understanding of SOX control testing methodology and financial risk indicators.
Industry‑specific systems: familiarity with banking/financial systems, payments platforms, or healthcare/regulatory systems as applicable.

Soft Skills

Strong verbal and written communicator with the ability to distill complex regulatory requirements into practical business guidance.
Influencing and stakeholder management skills to drive compliance outcomes without direct authority.
Strategic thinker who links regulatory requirements to business objectives and risk appetite.
Analytical mindset with attention to detail and the ability to dissect large datasets and controls evidence.
Problem solving and decision making under ambiguity and time pressure.
Project orientation and prioritization skills to manage competing deliverables and tight regulatory timelines.
Ethical mindset and personal integrity; high confidentiality and professionalism in sensitive matters.
Coaching and team development to raise BU compliance capability.
Resilience and adaptability in a fast‑changing regulatory environment.
Facilitation skills for leading workshops, trainings, and cross‑functional working groups.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor's degree in Business, Finance, Law, Economics, Information Systems, or related field.

Preferred Education:

Master's degree in Risk Management, Compliance, Law (LLM), MBA, or equivalent.
Certifications such as CAMS, CRCM, CCEP, CIPP/E, CIS, or CPA are highly desirable.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Law / Regulatory Affairs
Finance / Accounting
Business Administration / Risk Management
Information Systems / Data Analytics
Economics / Public Policy

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 4–8+ years of progressive compliance, regulatory, audit, or risk management experience, with at least 2–4 years focused on business unit or operational compliance.

Preferred:

Prior experience in a regulated industry (banking, fintech, insurance, healthcare, or telecommunications).
Proven track record leading compliance implementations, remediation programs, or successful regulatory examinations.
Demonstrated experience working with cross‑functional product, legal, operations, and technology stakeholders to operationalize controls.