Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Director of Compliance

🎯 Role Definition

The Director of Compliance is a senior operational and strategic leader charged with owning the compliance function across the enterprise. This person develops and executes a risk-based compliance program aligned to regulatory requirements (e.g., AML/BSA, SOX, GDPR, HIPAA, FCPA, sanctions), leads day-to-day compliance operations including monitoring and testing, serves as the primary liaison with regulators and auditors, and provides counsel and training to business partners. The Director of Compliance manages cross-functional remediation, vendor and third-party compliance, policy development, compliance reporting to the executive team and board, and continually improves compliance systems and controls using data-driven metrics and GRC technology.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Compliance Manager or Senior Compliance Manager
Senior Risk Manager / Head of Risk
Regulatory Counsel or Senior Legal Counsel

Advancement To:

Chief Compliance Officer (CCO)
Head of Risk & Compliance / VP Compliance
General Counsel or Chief Legal Officer

Lateral Moves:

Director of AML/KYC
Data Privacy Officer / Head of Privacy
Director of Internal Audit

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Design, implement and maintain a comprehensive, enterprise-wide compliance program that addresses applicable laws, regulations, and industry standards (e.g., AML/BSA, GDPR, HIPAA, SOX, FCPA, OFAC sanctions) and aligns to business strategy and risk appetite.
Lead, mentor and develop a high-performing compliance team including managers, specialists and analysts; set objectives, conduct performance reviews, and build a scalable organizational structure.
Serve as primary regulatory liaison: manage relationships with regulatory agencies, respond to regulatory inquiries and examinations, coordinate document production and interviews, and drive timely responses to findings.
Conduct regular risk assessments and control gap analyses across products, geographies and third-party relationships; prioritize remediation based on risk and business impact.
Develop, approve and maintain policies, procedures, and standard operating procedures (SOPs) to ensure consistent application of compliance controls across the organization.
Oversee and execute compliance monitoring and testing programs (risk-based testing, surveillance, transaction monitoring) and interpret results to guide remediation and control improvements.
Own incident management and investigations: lead internal investigations into potential compliance breaches, coordinate with Legal and HR, determine root causes, and direct corrective actions and disciplinary decisions.
Design and deliver enterprise-wide compliance training and awareness programs tailored for executives, managers and operational staff; measure training effectiveness and completion rates.
Build and maintain compliance dashboards and KPIs for senior leadership and the board, including metrics on monitoring results, investigations, remediation status and regulatory changes.
Oversee anti-money laundering (AML) and Know Your Customer (KYC) programs where applicable, including customer due diligence (CDD), enhanced due diligence (EDD), transaction surveillance, filing SARs, and AML reporting.
Ensure data privacy and protection compliance: implement GDPR, CCPA and HIPAA controls where applicable, manage data subject requests, coordinate privacy impact assessments and ensure secure data handling.
Manage third-party and vendor risk by implementing due diligence, contractual compliance clauses, onboarding controls and ongoing monitoring to mitigate supply chain and outsourcing risk.
Lead or support internal and external audits and Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) control testing; manage remediation timelines and attestations to senior leadership and auditors.
Oversee sanctions and export control compliance programs including OFAC screening, license management, blocked transactions, and trade compliance controls.
Provide proactive, business-aligned compliance advice and practical guidance to product, sales, operations, finance and technology teams to enable compliant growth and launches.
Partner with Legal to interpret complex regulatory requirements, draft guidance, and translate legal opinions into actionable operational controls and decision frameworks.
Integrate compliance considerations into mergers & acquisitions, strategic partnerships and product development due diligence; lead compliance-related diligence and post-close integration remediation.
Implement and govern Governance, Risk & Compliance (GRC) technologies and tooling (case management, policy management, monitoring platforms) to automate workflows, track issues and evidence testing.
Establish and maintain whistleblower programs and confidential reporting channels; ensure appropriate investigation, documentation and follow-through on complaints.
Prepare and present clear, concise reporting to the executive team, audit committee and board of directors on compliance posture, trends, emerging risks and remediation progress.
Manage compliance program budget, resource planning and vendor relationships to ensure cost-effective delivery of compliance capabilities.
Continuously scan regulatory landscapes for new or changing requirements; develop implementation roadmaps and change management plans to ensure timely compliance readiness.
Set expectations and collaborate with IT and security to align controls for log retention, monitoring, encryption and access controls that support regulatory and audit evidence requirements.

Secondary Functions

Support ad-hoc regulatory research and provide thought leadership on emerging compliance topics and industry best practices.
Contribute to cross-functional risk committees and executive steering groups to align compliance strategy with enterprise risk appetite.
Participate in vendor selection and vendor risk assessments for compliance-related tools and services (transaction monitoring, adverse media, identity verification).
Maintain a library of compliance playbooks and investigation templates to accelerate consistent response and documentation.
Provide coaching and enablement to business leaders on implementing remediation plans and sustaining control effectiveness.
Coordinate with privacy, legal, security and finance teams to harmonize controls and reduce duplicative compliance activities.
Drive continuous improvement initiatives and lean processes in the compliance function to reduce compliance burden while maintaining strong controls.
Attend industry forums, working groups and regulatory roundtables to benchmark practices, gather intel and represent the company on compliance issues.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Deep knowledge of regulatory frameworks such as AML/BSA, OFAC sanctions, FCPA, GDPR, CCPA, HIPAA, and SOX compliance.
Hands-on experience designing and operating AML/KYC programs, including SAR filing, CDD/EDD, transaction monitoring and alerts tuning.
Strong ability to design and implement enterprise risk assessments, control frameworks and remediation plans.
Experience with Governance, Risk & Compliance (GRC) platforms, case management systems and automated monitoring tools (e.g., MetricStream, RSA Archer, NICE Actimize, Thomson Reuters, Fenergo).
Familiarity with audit methodologies and SOX control testing; proven experience managing internal and external audits.
Ability to interpret complex statutes and regulatory guidance and translate into operational policies and process controls.
Proficiency with compliance reporting, dashboards and analytics — comfortable working with Excel, SQL or data visualization tools to analyze monitoring results.
Knowledge of privacy regulations and data protection best practices, including DPIAs, data retention and cross-border data transfer controls.
Experience managing third-party and vendor due diligence, contractual compliance clauses and ongoing vendor monitoring programs.
Practical knowledge of sanctions screening, export controls and trade compliance operations and tooling.
Experience supporting regulatory exam response and remediation programs with documented evidence and root-cause analysis.
Understanding of internal investigations, evidence handling, interviewing techniques and disciplinary frameworks.
Experience integrating compliance into M&A processes and providing diligence and post-merger remediation.

Soft Skills

Strategic thinker with the ability to translate regulatory change into pragmatic business solutions and measurable action plans.
Strong leadership and people-management skills, with experience building and scaling compliance teams and developing talent.
Excellent communication and presentation skills — able to brief executives, boards and regulators clearly and succinctly.
High ethical standards, integrity and sound judgment when navigating complex or ambiguous compliance situations.
Collaborative, cross-functional partner mindset — adept at influencing without direct authority across legal, finance, IT and operations.
Strong project management skills and ability to prioritize competing regulatory initiatives and remediation efforts.
Analytical problem solving with attention to detail and a results-oriented approach to delivering remediations.
Resilient under regulatory scrutiny and able to coordinate high-pressure responses to incidents and examinations.
Change management skills to drive adoption of new policies, systems and behaviors across the organization.
Coaching and training ability to elevate compliance literacy among non-compliance stakeholders.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor's degree in Law, Finance, Accounting, Business Administration, or related field.

Preferred Education:

JD, Master of Laws, MBA, or Master’s degree in Compliance, Risk Management or a related discipline.
Relevant professional certifications such as Certified Compliance & Ethics Professional (CCEP), CAMS (Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist), CRC, CISSP, or CPA depending on industry.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Law
Finance / Accounting
Business Administration
Risk Management
Information Security / Data Privacy

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 8–15+ years of progressive compliance, legal or regulatory experience.
Preferred: Minimum 10 years in regulated industries with 3–5 years in a senior or director-level compliance role, proven experience managing regulatory examinations, leading investigations, and supervising multi-disciplinary teams. Experience working with global regulators, cross-border compliance programs, and SaaS/GRC technologies is strongly preferred.