Director of Governance Risk and Compliance

Career Guide

A Director of Governance Risk and Compliance leads how an organization sets policies, manages business risks, and meets legal and regulatory requirements. The role balances protecting the company with enabling the business to move quickly and safely, often partnering closely with security, legal, audit, finance, and product teams.

Browse All Roles

Key Responsibilities

Set the compliance strategy and annual program plan
Define governance policies, standards, and decision processes
Run enterprise risk assessments and maintain the risk register
Oversee internal controls and control testing
Lead compliance audits and coordinate evidence collection
Manage regulatory requirements and compliance reporting
Drive remediation plans and track risk reduction outcomes
Advise leaders on risk decisions and acceptable risk levels
Build and coach the governance risk and compliance team
Select and manage governance risk and compliance tools and vendors

Top Skills for Success

Risk Assessment

Control Design

Control Testing

Policy Writing

Regulatory Interpretation

Audit Management

Third Party Risk Management

Data Analysis

Stakeholder Management

Executive Communication

Program Management

Change Management

Career Progression

Can Lead To

Vice President of Governance Risk and Compliance

Chief Compliance Officer Chief Risk Officer Chief Information Security Officer

Head of Internal Audit

Head of Trust and Assurance

Transition Opportunities

Enterprise Risk Director

Privacy Director

Security Assurance Director

Operational Resilience Director

Regulatory Affairs Director

Common Skill Gaps

Often Missing Skills

Board ReportingRisk QuantificationMetrics DesignVendor Risk ManagementIncident Response GovernancePrivacy ComplianceTool AdministrationControl Automation

Development SuggestionsBuild a clear metrics set tied to business outcomes, practice concise board level reporting, strengthen third party risk routines, and partner with security and privacy leaders to design controls that are measurable and automated where possible.

Market Intelligence Report

Director of Governance Risk and Compliance is part of the Compliance category.Explore our market intelligence report to see how AI and hiring demand are shifting for these roles.

See the market intelligence report

Salary & Demand

Median Salary Range

Entry LevelUSD 140,000 to 180,000

Mid LevelUSD 180,000 to 240,000

Senior LevelUSD 240,000 to 330,000

Growth Trend

Strong demand, driven by rising regulatory scrutiny, customer security requirements, third party risk, and board level focus on operational resilience.

Companies Hiring

Major Employers

JPMorgan ChaseBank of AmericaWells FargoGoldman SachsUnitedHealth GroupCVS HealthPfizerAmazonMicrosoftGoogleSalesforceAccenture

Industry Sectors

Financial ServicesHealthcarePharmaceuticalsTechnologyRetail and EcommerceInsuranceEnergyGovernment Contractors

Recommended Next Steps

Create a one page governance risk and compliance strategy that links risks to business goals

Standardize the risk register and define clear risk scoring criteria

Build an annual audit and evidence calendar to reduce last minute work

Define a control library with owners, testing frequency, and evidence sources

Implement a third party risk workflow with intake, review, and ongoing monitoring

Publish a monthly dashboard for leadership with trends, top risks, and remediation status

Run a quarterly risk review meeting with executives and document decisions

Identify two controls to automate and measure the time saved and risk reduction