Compliance Officer jobs

A compliance officer’s overall remit is to ensure all business operations and transactions are aligned with relevant legal, regulatory, and internal rules. Their goal is to ensure the business runs in a legal and ethical manner, while also meeting business objectives. As such, this role comes with a high level of responsibility-particularly for compliance officers within high-risk financial services jobs, and requires individuals who are experts around all guidelines of their industry. The compliance officer role is sometimes used interchangeably with that of compliance manager.

Expected job role tasks

A compliance officer is typically responsible for developing and implementing a legal compliance program, along with the robust internal controls required to ensure adherence. They also need to proactively evaluate processes, practices, and documents to check compliance, and to identify weaknesses that need addressing. A large part of the role is auditing general business activities and calculating compliance risk in relation to these. Compliance officers will also need to lay out pre-emptive plans for managing compliance crises or violations within the business. Their role requires that they stay at the cutting-edge of business goals and internal changes, and this includes working with colleagues to improve compliance overall. For example, they must educate and train employees on industry regulations and practices, as part of the onboarding process. As well as when any changes are made. They must also make themselves available to address any employee questions or concerns surrounding compliance.

 
Primary function

The primary function of a compliance officer is to ensure that their organisation is fully complying with all national and international laws and regulations that apply in its industry. Additionally, individuals within this role must ensure there are no breaches of professional standards, accepted business practices, or internal standards. Compliance officers should also preempt any potential breaches by regularly reviewing internal processes and external transactions to identify and rectify any issues before problems arise.

Key hard/soft skills

While proven experience as a compliance officer or compliance manager - and/or experience in risk management-may be a requirement of the role, there are a number of essential hard and soft skills for people who want to follow this career path. The most important hard skill is simply the in-depth knowledge of legal requirements and controls relevant to the organisation. For instance, compliance officers in financial services jobs will likely need to understand anti-money laundering regulations inside and out. They should also be familiar with industry practices and professional standards, while strong business acumen is vital. In addition, a slew of soft skills will undoubtedly be beneficial to anyone in this role. These include outstanding communication skills, the ability to work well as part of a team, and attention to detail. Last but not least, every compliance officer must be integrity-driven and hold the highest standard of professional ethics.

Qualifications required

Compliance Officers must typically hold a degree related to their profession or industry. A degree such as a law, finance or business administration BA or BSc would stand a candidate in good stead, as would qualifications in related fields. In order to gain this position, applicants are often required to hold professional certifications such as the Certified Compliance and Ethics Professional (CCEP). Where professional qualifications are not mandatory, they will make candidates much more attractive to potential employers.