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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Compliance Analyst

💰 $55,000 - $110,000

ComplianceRisk ManagementFinancial Services

🎯 Role Definition

The Compliance Analyst is a mission-critical contributor who designs, monitors, and enforces policies, controls, and programs that ensure the organization meets legal and regulatory obligations. This role performs risk assessments, transaction and client due diligence (including AML/KYC), controls testing, regulatory reporting, and investigations, while partnering with business owners to remediate gaps and embed a strong compliance culture. The ideal candidate combines technical compliance knowledge (e.g., AML, OFAC, GDPR, SOX) with analytic capability, excellent written communication, and the ability to influence cross-functional teams.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Junior Compliance Analyst / Compliance Coordinator
  • AML/KYC Analyst or Transaction Monitoring Analyst
  • Internal Audit Associate, Paralegal, or Risk Analyst

Advancement To:

  • Senior Compliance Analyst
  • Compliance Manager / AML Manager
  • Regulatory Affairs Manager or Risk Manager

Lateral Moves:

  • Internal Audit
  • Operational Risk Management
  • Regulatory Reporting or Legal Operations

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Conduct comprehensive customer due diligence (CDD), enhanced due diligence (EDD), and KYC reviews for new and existing clients to identify and escalate potential money laundering, fraud, or sanctions risks in accordance with internal policy and applicable regulations (BSA/AML, OFAC, EU/UK sanctions).
  • Execute transaction monitoring investigations by reviewing alerts, analyzing customer behavior, corroborating evidence, and preparing clear, defensible escalation packages and suspicious activity reports (SARs) for submission to AML compliance leads and, where required, regulatory authorities.
  • Maintain and calibrate transaction monitoring systems and analytic rules by partnering with data engineering or vendor support to tune scenarios for false positive reduction and enhanced detection of complex typologies.
  • Perform periodic risk assessments of products, services, customer segments, and geographies to identify emerging compliance exposures and recommend risk-based controls and monitoring strategies to senior management.
  • Draft, review, and maintain internal compliance policies and standard operating procedures (SOPs), ensuring alignment with current laws, regulatory guidance, and industry best practices; facilitate controlled rollouts and version control.
  • Execute compliance testing and monitoring programs, including transaction, system, and process testing, documenting findings, root cause analysis, remediation plans, and tracking remediation until closure.
  • Support regulatory reporting obligations by preparing accurate and timely reports, assisting during regulatory examinations and audits, and responding to information requests from regulators or external auditors.
  • Investigate complex compliance incidents (including potential sanctions hits, AML breaches, or internal policy violations), coordinate cross-functional remediation, create detailed investigation reports, and recommend corrective actions to reduce reoccurrence.
  • Manage sanctions screening and blocking workflows, researching hits against watchlists (e.g., OFAC, EU, UN) and documenting rationale for clearance or escalation, ensuring adherence to legal and operational requirements.
  • Review and approve new product and service initiatives from a compliance perspective by performing regulatory impact assessments and collaborating with product and legal teams to implement built-in compliance controls.
  • Conduct periodic vendor and third-party risk assessments focused on compliance posture, service delivery risks, and regulatory obligations; draft vendor remediation requests and coordinate oversight activities with Procurement and Legal.
  • Build and deliver targeted compliance training and communications for business teams, front-line staff, and senior leadership to drive adherence to policies, cultivate awareness of regulatory change, and reduce operational risk.
  • Maintain accurate audit trails and case management documentation in compliance systems (GRC or case-management platforms), ensuring evidence supports key decisions, SAR filings, and audit tests.
  • Prepare executive-level briefings and dashboards on compliance metrics, key risk indicators (KRIs), open issues, and remediation status to inform the Chief Compliance Officer and business leadership for decision-making.
  • Support remediation and continuous improvement initiatives following internal audits or regulatory findings by owning assigned remediation workstreams and confirming corrective actions are implemented and validated.
  • Provide subject matter expertise on privacy and data protection requirements (GDPR, CCPA) as they intersect with compliance processes, data retention, and customer communications.
  • Collaborate with legal and business teams on licensing, registration, and filings required by regulators to ensure that the company remains compliant as it enters new jurisdictions or markets.
  • Analyze large datasets to identify trends, anomalies, and potential compliance gaps using Excel, SQL, or analytics tools; present actionable insights and recommendations to stakeholders.
  • Maintain up-to-date knowledge of regulatory developments, enforcement actions, and industry trends and translate them into practical change requirements for policies, systems, and training.
  • Act as a point of contact during regulatory requests, examinations, and investigations, compiling required documentation, answering technical questions, and facilitating interviews with internal stakeholders.
  • Evaluate and recommend technology and automation opportunities (e.g., workflow automation, improved screening logic, machine learning pilots) to scale compliance effectiveness and reduce manual workload.

Secondary Functions

  • Support ad-hoc investigations and data pulls to assist legal, operations, or fraud teams in time-sensitive matters and potential litigation support.
  • Contribute to cross-functional projects such as onboarding automation, product launches, or business transformation initiatives by providing compliance requirements and acceptance criteria.
  • Participate in business continuity and escalation planning related to compliance systems and key processes to ensure uninterrupted monitoring capability during incidents.
  • Assist with the preparation of annual compliance program reviews, benchmarking, and maturity assessments to support strategic planning and resource allocation.
  • Maintain training records and help coordinate periodic certification campaigns for front-line and second-line employees to ensure regulatory training completion rates meet SLAs.
  • Provide coaching and onsite support to operations or sales teams during high-risk client onboarding or complex remediation activities to expedite resolution and mitigate risk.
  • Help maintain compliance tool configurations and user access controls, and coordinate with IT and security teams to address system issues or user provisioning needs.
  • Collect and maintain industry intelligence and competitor benchmarking on sanctions, AML typologies, and regulatory enforcement to inform senior leadership of material trends.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Deep knowledge of AML/KYC frameworks, sanctions screening (OFAC/EU/UN), and suspicious activity reporting processes.
  • Experience with transaction monitoring and case management systems (e.g., Actimize, NICE, FICO, LexisNexis Bridger Insight, ComplyAdvantage).
  • Strong regulatory knowledge (BSA/AML, GDPR, CCPA, SOX basics, FINRA or FCA guidance depending on sector).
  • Proficiency with data analysis tools and techniques: advanced Excel (pivot tables, VLOOKUP, Power Query), SQL querying, and familiarity with BI tools (Tableau, Power BI).
  • Policy creation and compliance program design experience, including drafting SOPs, controls matrices, and remediation plans.
  • Hands-on experience conducting risk assessments, control testing, and drafting audit-ready documentation.
  • Practical experience preparing regulatory filings and responding to regulatory exam requests or supervisory letters.
  • Familiarity with identity verification, sanctions lists, PEP screening, negative news screening, and adverse media research.
  • Ability to use case-management and GRC platforms to document investigations, track issues, and generate management reports.
  • Experience working with cross-functional stakeholders (Legal, IT, Operations, Product) to operationalize compliance controls.

Soft Skills

  • Strong analytical reasoning and investigative judgment with the ability to synthesize complex facts into concise conclusions.
  • Clear and persuasive written and verbal communication skills for stakeholder updates, regulatory submissions, and training delivery.
  • High attention to detail and accuracy when reviewing complex transaction data and preparing official reports.
  • Excellent stakeholder management and influencing skills to implement controls across decentralized teams.
  • Problem-solving orientation with a continuous improvement mindset; comfortable recommending and implementing process changes.
  • Time management and prioritization skills to handle competing deadlines during exams, incidents, and daily monitoring.
  • Discretion, integrity, and respect for confidentiality in handling sensitive customer and regulatory information.
  • Adaptability to evolving regulations, shifting priorities, and new technologies in a fast-paced environment.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Business Administration, Economics, Information Systems, Criminal Justice, or a related field.

Preferred Education:

  • Master's degree in Finance, Law (JD), MBA, or relevant graduate degree; or professional certifications such as CAMS (Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist), CRCM, CCEP, or CISSP for technology-adjacent roles.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Finance
  • Accounting
  • Law
  • Business Administration
  • Economics
  • Information Systems / Data Analytics

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

  • 2 to 5 years for mid-level Compliance Analyst roles; 0–2 years for junior roles; 5+ years often required for senior or specialized compliance positions.

Preferred:

  • 3+ years of hands-on experience in financial services, fintech, banking, payments, or regulated industries performing AML/KYC, transaction monitoring, sanctions screening, or compliance monitoring.
  • Prior exposure to regulatory examinations, audit remediation, or cross-border compliance matters preferred.
  • Demonstrated use of compliance technology and data analytics to support investigations and program improvements.
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