How to hire a compliance specialist

How to hire a compliance specialist, step by step

Here's a step-by-step compliance specialist hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a compliance specialist job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new compliance specialist
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a compliance specialist do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a compliance specialist, identify what type of worker you actually need. Certain positions might call for a full-time employee, while others can be done by a part-time worker or contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them a compliance specialist to have before you start to hire. For example, what industry or field would you like them to have experience in, what level of seniority or education does the job require, and how much it'll cost to hire a compliance specialist that fits the bill.

   This list presents compliance specialist salaries for various positions.

   Type of Compliance Specialist	Description	Hourly rate
   Compliance Specialist		$18-40
   Lead Auditor	Lead auditors are professionals who are responsible for providing leadership and coordinating work schedules to a team of audit experts within an organization. These lead auditors are required to prepare audit plans and conduct team meetings before conducting internal or external audits at the end of the quarter or year... Show more	$29-55
   Chief Compliance Officer	A CCO or Chief Compliance Officer's primary responsibility is to ensure all procedures or activities are compliant with the company's overall policy and adhering to legal protocols with state and federal laws. Thus, the CCO drafts, proposes and develops compliance programs for the company to implement... Show more	$31-76

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Patients
   • Regulatory Compliance
   • Strong Analytical
   • FDA
   • Customer Service
   • PowerPoint
   • Risk Assessments
   • Compliance Program
   • Corrective Action
   • Internal Audit
   • Compliance Issues
   • CMS
   • Ethics
   • Internal Controls

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Lead bi-weekly Medicaid meetings to maintain effective communication with all staff regarding AHCA updates and notifications.
   • Manage and submit regulatory permit and notification applications to USDA to import, move and release regulate plant materials.
   • Participate in OCC exam preparation and review including research and presentation of documentation to achieve compliance with federal examiner requests.
   • Access the IDX system to obtain patient billing information in order to review Medicare and Medicaid payments.
   • Develop training materials to be used company-wide for regulatory mandate continuing education; create written policy manual for ethics and compliance.
   • Perform SOX control testing and validation.

   More compliance specialist duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your compliance specialist job description helps attract top candidates to the position. A compliance specialist salary can be affected by several factors, such as geography, experience, seniority, certifications, and the prestige of the hiring company.

   For example, the average salary for a compliance specialist in Alabama may be lower than in Delaware, and an entry-level compliance specialist usually earns less than a senior-level compliance specialist. Additionally, a compliance specialist with certifications may command a higher salary, and working for a well-known company or start-up may also impact an employee's pay.

   Average compliance specialist salary

   $57,330yearly

   $27.56 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level compliance specialist salary

   $38,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 5, 2025

   Average compliance specialist salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$74,626	$36
   2	District of Columbia	$73,997	$36
   3	Massachusetts	$68,733	$33
   4	Connecticut	$68,342	$33
   5	Pennsylvania	$62,278	$30
   6	New York	$62,201	$30
   7	Maryland	$62,108	$30
   8	Minnesota	$61,266	$29
   9	Oregon	$60,362	$29
   10	Illinois	$60,244	$29
   11	Virginia	$59,627	$29
   12	Washington	$58,487	$28
   13	North Carolina	$58,287	$28
   14	Missouri	$57,609	$28
   15	Michigan	$55,422	$27
   16	Texas	$55,371	$27
   17	Nebraska	$55,094	$26
   18	Indiana	$54,680	$26
   19	Ohio	$54,620	$26
   20	Colorado	$54,226	$26

   Average compliance specialist salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Meta	$115,876	$55.71	70
   2	Google	$115,538	$55.55	15
   3	Apple	$107,678	$51.77	5
   4	PayPal	$107,374	$51.62
   5	SiFive	$102,810	$49.43
   6	Entegris	$101,375	$48.74	2
   7	BMO Capital Markets	$99,136	$47.66	3
   8	American Century Investments	$98,942	$47.57
   9	Cowen	$97,524	$46.89
   10	Intel	$97,002	$46.64	4
   11	AQR Capital Management	$96,099	$46.20	1
   12	BNY Mellon	$95,796	$46.06	6
   13	Cisco	$95,494	$45.91
   14	Marcus & Millichap	$94,794	$45.57
   15	Masimo	$92,957	$44.69
   16	First Republic Bank	$92,738	$44.59
   17	Adobe	$92,382	$44.41	3
   18	Arkema	$91,995	$44.23
   19	Idera	$91,887	$44.18
   20	McKinsey & Company Inc	$91,656	$44.07	32

4. Writing a compliance specialist job description

   A compliance specialist job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. To help get you started, here's an example of a compliance specialist job description:

   Compliance specialist job description example

   Want to hear something crazy? Cars only spend 5% of their time driving. Where do they spend the other 95%? PARKED!
   
   LAZ Parking is one of the largest and fastest growing parking companies in the country. LAZ operates hundreds of thousands of parking spaces across the country. When it comes to parking, we're the experts!
   
   We are also a PEOPLE FIRST company. We often say “parking is our industry but people are our passion.” Our mission is to “create opportunities for our employees and value for our clients”. If you're looking to join a growing company led by passionate people committed to being the best - contact us today!
   The Spirit of the Position: The Compliance Specialist, California Wage and Hour reports to the California Labor and Employment Counsel and is responsible for mitigating legal risk for the company operations in California in areas such as labor relations, wage and hour compliance and employee relations. As an integral part of the company's legal and compliance team, the Compliance Specialist leads projects for a wide variety of compliance-related matters, including potential litigation; labor disputes; wage and hour compliance; etc. In partnership with Human Resources, he/she helps to establish processes, best practices and SOPs for the Payroll, Operations and Human Resources teams in California. S/he leads a team of compliance professionals to ensure best practices from an employment and risk mitigation standpoint.
   
   Salary range for this role is $85,000 - $95,000 base salary plus performance bonus. Principal Job Duties:
   Collaborate with legal counsel to provide guidance/advice in situations that arise as needed related to labor, wage and hour, employment, and other employment-related matters. Establish templates and/or other processes, standards and best practices for the California Payroll, Operations and Human Resources teams. Lead/manage members of the Compliance Department and partner with Legal Department leaders on the strategic plan for the compliance team as the company grows. Write and deliver memos (or other reports) that describe exposure on pending litigation or other compliance matters. Review and analyze legal and regulatory developments and trends and determine potential impact and applicability as necessary. Collaborate with Payroll and Human Resources to develop, provide and oversee training to staff regarding compliance topics. Audit employment related records to ensure full compliance to CA local and state regulations and laws. Other duties as needed. Requirements : Travel
   Up to 10%, based on business needs. Education
   Bachelor's Degree required Experience
   At least 3 years of California compliance experience in the areas of employment or wage and hour. Experience with HR compliance laws. Skills
   Ability to navigate the political reality of an organization. Change management savvy and ability to drive strategies that change employee behavior/culture. Ability to communicate professionally and effectively with all levels of the organization. Ability to encourage open expression of ideas and opinions. Ability to influence results in a multi-site, multi-state environment. Excellent interpersonal skills. Ability to effectively manage up. Ability to document policies, procedures and standard business practices. Demonstrates a sense of urgency and timeliness. Knowledge of Word, Power Point and General Microsoft Office Applications. Physical Demands:
   Ability to lift, push and pull at least 10 pounds. The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with qualified disabilities to perform the essential duties/functions. FLSA Status: Exempt LAZ Parking is an equal opportunity employer. In all our employment practices, including hiring, we are firmly committed to provide equal employment opportunity (EEO) to all persons, regardless of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, age, genetics, Vietnam era, special disabled, recently separated and other protected veterans, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local law. No question in our application process is used for the process of limiting or excluding any applicant's consideration for employment on such grounds. This Employer participates in E-Verify.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find compliance specialists for your business, try out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important talent pools for any company is its current employees.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and your current work to ask if they know any compliance specialists they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level compliance specialists with the right educational background.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter have more than 3.5 billion users, and they're a great place for company branding and reaching potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your compliance specialist job on Zippia to find and recruit compliance specialist candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   During your first interview to recruit compliance specialists, engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. During the following interview, you'll be able to go into more detail about the company, the position, and the responsibilities.

   You should also ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match the ideal candidate profile you developed earlier. Candidates good enough for the next step can complete the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new compliance specialist

   Once you've found the compliance specialist candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

   It's also important to follow up with applicants who do not get the job with an email letting them know that the position is filled.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new compliance specialist. Human Resources should complete Employee Action Forms and ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc. They should also ensure that new employee files are created for internal recordkeeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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How much does it cost to hire a compliance specialist?