Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for IT Compliance Manager

🎯 Role Definition

The IT Compliance Manager leads the organization's information security compliance program, ensuring technology, processes, and third-party relationships meet regulatory, contractual, and internal control requirements. This role designs, implements, and continuously improves controls mapped to frameworks such as SOC 2, ISO 27001, PCI-DSS, NIST CSF, and relevant privacy laws (GDPR, CCPA, HIPAA where applicable). The IT Compliance Manager coordinates internal and external audits, drives remediation of control gaps, partners with engineering and operations to embed compliance into cloud, infrastructure, and application lifecycles, and communicates risk and compliance posture to executives and stakeholders.

Keywords: IT Compliance Manager, information security compliance, GRC, SOC 2, ISO 27001, PCI-DSS, GDPR, CCPA, cloud compliance, audit readiness, vendor risk.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Information Security Analyst / Specialist (with audit/compliance exposure)
IT Auditor or Internal Audit professional
Security/GRC Analyst or Risk Analyst

Advancement To:

Senior IT Compliance Manager / Head of IT Compliance
Director of Information Security / Director of GRC
Chief Information Security Officer (CISO)

Lateral Moves:

Privacy Program Manager / Data Protection Officer
Vendor Risk Manager / Third-Party Risk Director

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Own and operate the enterprise IT compliance program end-to-end, including policy development, controls design, implementation, ongoing monitoring, and remediation tracking to meet SOC 2, ISO 27001, PCI-DSS, NIST, and regulatory requirements.
Lead and coordinate all external compliance audits and certifications (SOC 2 Type I/II, ISO 27001 audits, PCI DSS assessments), serve as the primary point of contact with auditors, prepare audit evidence, and manage remediation efforts to achieve successful attestations.
Perform enterprise-wide IT risk assessments and control gap analyses, prioritize remediation based on risk appetite, and translate assessment results into actionable remediation plans with clear owners and timelines.
Develop, maintain, and enforce IT security and compliance policies, standards, and procedures (access control, change management, configuration baseline, vulnerability management, incident response, encryption, logging and monitoring).
Implement and manage control frameworks and mappings across multiple standards (SOC 2 trust services criteria, ISO 27001:2013, NIST SP 800-53/CSF) to create a consolidated control library that reduces duplication and supports multi-framework reporting.
Drive continuous monitoring and evidence collection through GRC tooling (e.g., ServiceNow GRC, RSA Archer, MetricStream) and automation (scripts, integrations, API-driven evidence collection) to streamline audit readiness and reduce manual effort.
Design and execute a formal third-party/vendor risk management program: perform vendor risk assessments, monitor vendor control effectiveness, coordinate contractual security requirements, and ensure remediation or compensating controls are in place.
Oversee access governance and privileged access management programs: manage periodic access reviews, enforce least-privilege principles, and coordinate with IAM teams for on/offboarding and role-based access control (RBAC).
Partner with cloud platform teams (AWS, Azure, GCP) to ensure cloud-native architectures, IaC pipelines, and container platforms maintain compliance posture; provide guidance for secure design and compliance requirements during cloud migrations.
Maintain the incident response and breach notification compliance elements: ensure incidents are handled per policy, evidence is preserved for audits, regulatory notifications are evaluated, and post-incident compliance reviews are conducted.
Lead control testing and evidence verification for operational effectiveness, including periodic control walkthroughs, sampling, and remediations to support management assertions in compliance reports.
Prepare and present periodic compliance and risk reports, dashboards, and KPIs to senior leadership and the board of directors; translate technical control results into business impact and action items.
Advise product, engineering, and operations teams on embedding compliance into the SDLC, including secure coding, configuration management, continuous integration/continuous deployment (CI/CD) pipeline controls, and pre-release compliance gates.
Coordinate penetration testing, vulnerability scanning, and tabletop exercises to validate controls; ensure findings are tracked, prioritized, and remediated in coordination with vulnerability and patch management teams.
Manage privacy compliance intersections: coordinate with privacy and legal teams to operationalize GDPR/CCPA obligations, data mapping, data retention, and data processing agreements to meet regulatory obligations.
Serve as the liaison for insurance and legal teams for cyber insurance applications, regulatory inquiries, subpoenas, and contractual security requirements; provide required attestations and evidence.
Implement and mature control automation and orchestration initiatives to improve efficiency in evidence collection, control monitoring, and compliance reporting.
Develop and deliver enterprise-wide compliance training and awareness programs for IT and non-IT stakeholders; track completion and measure program effectiveness.
Maintain and curate a centralized compliance evidence repository and documentation set that supports continuous audit readiness and rapid response to ad hoc compliance requests.
Manage remediation projects end-to-end: define scope, allocate resources, drive remediation activities with engineering and operations, and validate completion against acceptance criteria.
Monitor the regulatory landscape and changes in industry standards; evaluate impacts to the organization and drive updates to policy, controls, and evidence collection as needed.
Conduct control maturity assessments and roadmap planning; recommend investments, staffing changes, and technology to close control gaps and improve the organization's control posture.
Participate in contract reviews and procurement to ensure vendor contracts include clear security and audit rights, data processing clauses, and regulatory requirements.
Support mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures by performing compliance due diligence, integration planning, and ensuring acquisition targets meet baseline security controls or have actionable remediation plans.

Secondary Functions

Act as a business partner to internal audit and enterprise risk management teams, providing evidence, context, and remediation status for IT-related audit findings.
Contribute to security architecture and engineering reviews to ensure new initiatives include compensating controls where required for compliance.
Support ad-hoc regulatory requests, customer security questionnaires (CSQs), and RFP responses by coordinating input from engineering, legal, and product teams.
Develop and maintain runbooks and playbooks for compliance operations, audit evidence gathering, and emergency response coordination.
Mentor and coach junior compliance, security, and GRC staff; build internal capabilities and succession plans for the compliance function.
Maintain relationships with external advisors, auditors, and certification bodies to stay current on best practices and evolving audit expectations.
Participate in cross-functional governance committees (risk committee, change advisory board) to represent compliance considerations in business decisions.
Provide input on procurement of compliance tooling and services, evaluate vendors, and help manage vendor implementations for GRC and automation platforms.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Deep working knowledge of SOC 2 (Trust Services Criteria), ISO 27001/27002 implementation and audit processes, and PCI-DSS requirements and assessment workflows.
Familiarity with NIST CSF, NIST SP 800-53, COBIT, and their practical application in enterprise control design and assessment.
Practical experience running external audits and certification programs (SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001) including preparing readiness reports, evidence packages, and remediation plans.
Hands-on experience with GRC platforms (ServiceNow GRC, RSA Archer, MetricStream, OneTrust) to automate control workflows, evidence collection, and audit management.
Cloud compliance expertise: secure configurations, shared responsibility models, cloud-native controls for AWS, Azure, or GCP, and experience validating cloud evidence (CloudTrail, CloudWatch, AWS Config, Azure Monitor).
Vendor/third-party risk management skills: vendor assessments, contract security clauses, ongoing monitoring, and remediation coordination.
Access control and identity governance: experience with IAM tooling, privileged access management (PAM), and performing access reviews and attestations.
Vulnerability and patch management knowledge and experience coordinating remediation timelines and reporting for audit purposes.
Familiarity with privacy frameworks and laws (GDPR, CCPA) and how privacy requirements intersect with IT controls and evidence for audits.
Ability to design and execute control testing (walkthroughs, sampling, operational effectiveness testing) and document results for management and auditors.
Proficiency with security monitoring and logging platforms (SIEM), understanding of logs required for audit evidence, and how to validate retention and integrity.
Practical scripting or automation ability (Python, PowerShell, Bash) and familiarity with CI/CD pipelines to help automate evidence collection and compliance checks.
Understanding of data classification, encryption technologies (in transit and at rest), and key management best practices relevant to control implementations.
Experience preparing executive-level dashboards and KPI reporting (control status, remediation backlog, audit readiness metrics).

Soft Skills

Strong verbal and written communication: able to translate technical control status into business risk language for executives and the board.
Exceptional stakeholder management and influence skills: collaborate with engineering, product, legal, operations, and external auditors to drive timely outcomes.
Project and program management capabilities: prioritize competing remediation tasks, manage dependencies, and deliver to audit timelines.
Analytical mindset with strong attention to detail for evidence verification, control testing, and documentation accuracy.
Problem-solving and decision-making under pressure during incidents, audits, and regulatory inquiries.
Leadership and team development: coach and mentor teams, build a culture of compliance, and lead cross-functional initiatives.
Negotiation and persuasion: effectively resolve disagreements on remediation scope, timelines, and compensating controls.
Continuous learning orientation: stays current with regulatory changes, new standards, and evolving cloud and cybersecurity practices.
Customer-service orientation for internal and external stakeholders responding to compliance requests and CSQs.
Ethical judgment and confidentiality handling sensitive security and privacy information.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Cybersecurity, Information Systems, Business Risk Management, or a related field.

Preferred Education:

Master's degree in Cybersecurity, Information Systems, Business Administration (MBA) with risk focus, or equivalent advanced degree.
Additional coursework or certifications in privacy or compliance law where applicable.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Computer Science
Information Security / Cybersecurity
Information Systems / IT Management
Risk Management / Governance
Law or Privacy (for privacy-focused roles)

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

5–10 years of progressive IT, information security, or IT audit experience with 3+ years focused on compliance, GRC, or audit coordination.

Preferred:

8–12+ years of experience including leading SOC 2 and/or ISO 27001 programs, managing third-party risk, and coordinating external audits.
Proven experience working with cloud-native environments (AWS, Azure, GCP) and implementing controls across cloud platforms.
Prior experience interacting with C-suite and boards, preparing executive reports, and influencing security investments and priorities.
Professional certifications strongly preferred: CISA, CISM, CISSP, CRISC, ISO 27001 Lead Implementer/Auditor, or privacy certifications (CIPP/US, CIPP/E).