Head of Risk and Compliance

Career Guide

A Head of Risk and Compliance leads an organization’s approach to identifying risk, meeting legal and regulatory obligations, and building a culture of ethical, safe decision making. The role partners with executives and business leaders to prevent issues, respond to incidents, and strengthen controls without slowing the business.

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Key Responsibilities

Set the risk and compliance strategy and yearly priorities
Build and maintain a company risk register and reporting cadence
Lead compliance programs tied to laws, regulations, and internal policies
Oversee risk assessments for products, vendors, and key business changes
Design and improve internal controls and governance processes
Lead investigations for suspected misconduct and policy breaches
Own relationships with regulators, auditors, and external counsel
Create training and communications that improve employee compliance
Monitor compliance metrics and drive remediation plans
Prepare executive and board updates on risk exposure and compliance status
Support crisis response and incident management when issues arise
Manage and develop the risk and compliance team

Top Skills for Success

Stakeholder Management

Executive Communication

Negotiation

Decision Making

People Leadership

Risk Assessment

Control Design

Incident Management

Regulatory Knowledge

Audit Management

Policy Writing

Vendor Risk Management

Data Fluency

Change Management

Career Progression

Can Lead To

Chief Risk Officer

Chief Compliance Officer

General Counsel

Chief Operating Officer

Transition Opportunities

Enterprise Risk Management Director

Compliance Director

Internal Audit Director

Trust and Safety Leader

Security Governance Leader

Common Skill Gaps

Often Missing Skills

Board ReportingRegulatory Relationship ManagementCrisis CommunicationsAutomation of Compliance MonitoringThird Party OversightMetrics Design

Development SuggestionsBuild a simple executive dashboard with a small set of risk indicators, lead at least one end to end incident response simulation, and partner with finance and security teams to automate monitoring where possible.

Market Intelligence Report

Head of Risk and Compliance is part of the Risk Management 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 LevelNot typical for this title; most hires are experienced leaders

Mid LevelUS$160,000 to US$240,000 base salary

Senior LevelUS$240,000 to US$400,000 base salary, often with bonus and equity

Growth Trend

Steady growth. Demand is driven by tighter regulation, increased cyber risk, third party risk, and board focus on governance.

Companies Hiring

Major Employers

JPMorgan ChaseBank of AmericaWells FargoGoldman SachsMorgan StanleyVisaMastercardPayPalStripeAmazonGoogleMicrosoftPfizerJohnson and JohnsonUnitedHealth GroupAetnaExxonMobilShellDeloittePwCEYKPMG

Industry Sectors

BankingInsurancePaymentsTechnologyHealthcarePharmaceuticalsEnergyManufacturingProfessional ServicesRetailTelecommunications

Recommended Next Steps

Benchmark your current program against peer companies in your industry

Create a one page risk and compliance strategy with clear priorities

Define measurable risk indicators and a monthly reporting rhythm

Review top vendor and product risks and confirm ownership

Run a training refresh focused on high risk behaviors

Document an incident response playbook and test it with a tabletop exercise

Strengthen board materials with clear decisions, tradeoffs, and next actions

Network with compliance and risk leaders in your sector to track regulatory changes