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.

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.

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

1
Benchmark your current program against peer companies in your industry
2
Create a one page risk and compliance strategy with clear priorities
3
Define measurable risk indicators and a monthly reporting rhythm
4
Review top vendor and product risks and confirm ownership
5
Run a training refresh focused on high risk behaviors
6
Document an incident response playbook and test it with a tabletop exercise
7
Strengthen board materials with clear decisions, tradeoffs, and next actions
8
Network with compliance and risk leaders in your sector to track regulatory changes