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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Compliance Coach

💰 $ - $

🎯 Role Definition

A Compliance Coach is a practitioner-focused role that blends adult learning, behavior change, and regulatory expertise to ensure employees understand and consistently apply company policies and external regulations. The Compliance Coach designs, delivers, and measures targeted compliance training and coaching interventions, partners with legal and operations teams to interpret complex regulations (AML, KYC, GDPR, HIPAA, SOX where applicable), and drives sustained improvements in compliance behavior and risk mitigation across the organization.

This role is both strategic and hands-on: you will translate regulatory requirements into practical workflows, lead one-to-one and group coaching sessions, support investigations and remediation plans, and build scalable learning assets (workshops, e-learning, job aids) that reduce violations and elevate the organization’s compliance culture.

Primary keywords: Compliance Coach, compliance training, regulatory compliance, behavior change, policy enforcement, AML, KYC, GDPR, HIPAA, SOX, compliance program, coaching.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Compliance Analyst or Compliance Specialist with frontline experience
  • Learning & Development / Training Specialist with regulatory domain exposure
  • Risk Analyst or Internal Auditor who has coached operational teams

Advancement To:

  • Compliance Manager / Senior Compliance Coach
  • Head of Compliance Training or Director of Compliance Programs
  • Ethics & Compliance Leader or Chief Compliance Officer (with broader risk remit)

Lateral Moves:

  • Learning & Development Manager (enterprise training)
  • Ethics & Investigations Specialist
  • Operational Risk or Regulatory Affairs roles

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Design, develop, and deliver role-based compliance coaching programs and curricula that translate regulatory and policy requirements (AML, KYC, GDPR, HIPAA, SOX, industry-specific rules) into practical day-to-day behaviors for frontline employees and managers.
  • Conduct individualized coaching sessions with employees and managers to remediate identified compliance gaps, using adult learning principles, scenario-based role plays, and measurable performance improvement plans.
  • Lead live workshops, webinars, and in-person training sessions focused on high-risk compliance topics, ensuring consistent messaging and alignment with the legal and compliance leadership.
  • Perform regular risk assessments and gap analyses to identify priority training needs, emerging regulatory changes, and recurring behavioral failures that require targeted coaching interventions.
  • Create and maintain a library of compliance learning assets — including e-learning modules, quick reference job aids, decision trees, job-based checklists, and assessment tools — optimized for microlearning and just-in-time coaching.
  • Partner closely with Legal, Regulatory Affairs, Internal Audit, HR, and Operations to interpret complex regulations and incorporate legal guidance into practical coaching scripts and escalation protocols.
  • Monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of coaching and training programs using quantitative and qualitative metrics (completion rates, assessment scores, incident recurrence, audit findings, KPIs) and adjust interventions based on data-driven insights.
  • Support line managers by embedding compliance coaching into performance management and onboarding processes; provide coaching templates, talking points, and manager training to ensure ownership of compliance behaviors.
  • Facilitate simulated exercises and live scenario drills (e.g., mock audits, investigation tabletop exercises) to test employee readiness, improve decision-making under pressure, and reduce compliance critical incidents.
  • Investigate reported compliance incidents in coordination with Investigations or Legal teams, coach implicated employees through remediation and reintegration, and document corrective action plans to prevent recurrence.
  • Develop and execute targeted communications campaigns (email, intranet, newsletters, bulletin updates) to reinforce compliance priorities, policy changes, and behavioral expectations.
  • Manage and administer learning management systems (LMS) for compliance content delivery, reporting, and certification tracking; ensure accurate training assignment and records for audits and regulators.
  • Advise on and help implement process and control improvements where training alone is insufficient; collaborate with process owners to redesign workflows to reduce human error and compliance risk.
  • Conduct root-cause analyses following compliance breaches to identify whether failures are due to policy clarity, system limitations, skill gaps, or cultural issues, then design focused coaching and remediation plans.
  • Drive continual improvement of the compliance coaching program through stakeholder feedback, benchmarking against industry best practices, and integration of adult learning innovations (microlearning, spaced repetition, peer coaching).
  • Provide subject matter expertise to third-party vendor assessments and vendor training requirements to ensure outsourced partners meet the organization’s compliance coaching standards.
  • Maintain up-to-date knowledge of regulatory change, industry guidance, and enforcement trends; proactively update coaching content and manager guidance to reflect new obligations and supervisory expectations.
  • Prepare executive summaries, board-level briefing materials, and periodic compliance training performance reports to evidence training effectiveness, trends, and resource needs.
  • Coach teams through high-risk operational changes (product launches, strategic initiatives, M&A integrations) to ensure compliance risks are addressed in design, training, and governance.
  • Support regulatory examinations and external audits by preparing training records, coaching schedules, and evidence of remediation and ongoing monitoring activities.
  • Mentor junior compliance staff, trainers, and subject matter experts to build internal coaching capability and succession bench strength for compliance and L&D functions.
  • Escalate systemic or repeat compliance concerns to senior leadership with clear recommendations for policy amendment, disciplinary action frameworks, or operational control changes.

Secondary Functions

  • Maintain accurate training, coaching, and certification records for compliance audits and regulatory inspections; respond to ad-hoc data requests from audit and compliance leadership.
  • Contribute to the organization’s compliance learning strategy and roadmap, prioritizing topics based on risk, regulatory change, and business needs.
  • Collaborate with HR and talent teams to integrate compliance coaching into career development, onboarding, and manager capability programs.
  • Support the selection and implementation of learning technologies and compliance monitoring tools that improve coaching reach and measurement.
  • Participate in cross-functional project teams (product, ops, IT) to ensure compliance considerations and coachability are considered during design and deployment.
  • Assist in vendor selection and oversight for third-party training providers; ensure content accuracy, assessment quality, and measurable outcomes.
  • Create dashboards and KPIs to visualize program health—including remediation timelines, recidivism rates, training completion by cohort, and skill proficiency levels.
  • Lead or participate in periodic compliance culture surveys and climate assessments; translate results into targeted coaching interventions and leadership briefings.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Regulatory knowledge: practical understanding of AML, KYC, BSA, GDPR, HIPAA, SOX, industry-specific regulations, and how they apply to daily operations.
  • Adult learning design: instructional design experience with ADDIE, Bloom’s taxonomy, microlearning, and creating measurable learning objectives.
  • Coaching methodologies: proficiency with performance coaching frameworks, motivational interviewing, and behavior-change techniques for adult learners.
  • Audit & risk assessment: experience conducting gap analyses, risk scoring, root-cause analysis, and translating findings into training and control improvements.
  • LMS & learning tech: hands-on experience administering LMS platforms (e.g., Cornerstone, Workday Learning, SAP Litmos) and tracking certification/completion.
  • Measurement & analytics: ability to design learning evaluations (Kirkpatrick/Phillips models), create dashboards, and analyze training effectiveness metrics.
  • Investigation support: familiarity with internal investigations processes, documentation standards, and remediation tracking.
  • Policy development: experience drafting and operationalizing compliance policies, procedures, checklists, and job aids.
  • Project management: competent at leading cross-functional training projects, using agile or waterfall approaches, managing timelines and stakeholder expectations.
  • Communication tools: strong competency with presentation and creation tools (PowerPoint, Articulate Rise/Storyline, video editing basics) to produce engaging learning content.
  • Data literacy: comfortable with Excel (pivot tables, vlookups), basic SQL or BI tools (Tableau, Power BI) for reporting and trend analysis.
  • Vendor management: experience managing external training vendors, evaluating RFPs, and ensuring contractual compliance deliverables.

Soft Skills

  • Coaching presence: empathetic, patient, and credible; able to influence behavior at all levels from frontline staff to senior leaders.
  • Clear communicator: strong written and verbal communication skills, able to explain complex regulations in plain language.
  • Stakeholder management: proven ability to collaborate with Legal, HR, Operations, and senior leadership to drive alignment and action.
  • Adaptability: comfortable in a fast-changing regulatory environment and able to pivot priorities in response to urgent compliance matters.
  • Problem-solver: analytical thinker who can diagnose root causes and design practical, scalable interventions.
  • Facilitation skills: experienced in leading workshops, role-plays, and group coaching with high engagement.
  • Attention to detail: meticulous record-keeping, follow-up, and documentation for auditability and regulatory scrutiny.
  • Conflict resolution: de-escalation and mediation skills when coaching employees involved in compliance incidents.
  • Strategic mindset: able to connect training activities to risk reduction, culture change, and business outcomes.
  • Influencing without authority: capability to drive behavior change through persuasion, data, and organizational incentives.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • Bachelor’s degree in Business, Law, Human Resources, Education, Finance, Risk Management, or a related field.

Preferred Education:

  • Master’s degree (e.g., MSc in Compliance, LLM, MBA) or advanced certificate in compliance, risk, or adult education.
  • Professional certifications such as CAMS (Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist), CCEP (Certified Compliance & Ethics Professional), CRC (Certified Regulatory Compliance Manager), SHRM/ATD credentials, or equivalent.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Compliance, Law or Regulatory Affairs
  • Human Resources, Organizational Development, or Learning & Development
  • Finance, Risk Management, or Internal Audit
  • Adult Education, Instructional Design, or Behavioral Science

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 3–8 years of combined experience in compliance, regulatory training, internal audit, risk management, or L&D roles with regulatory exposure.

Preferred:

  • 5+ years of direct experience designing and delivering compliance coaching or training programs, with demonstrable outcomes in reducing incidents and improving audit findings.
  • Prior frontline or operational experience in regulated industries (financial services, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, energy, or technology) strongly preferred.
  • Proven track record of partnering with senior leaders to influence process and control changes, and direct experience supporting regulators or external audits.
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