Regulatory affairs specialist vs chief compliance officer

The differences between regulatory affairs specialists and chief compliance officers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a chief compliance officer has an average salary of $102,166, which is higher than the $70,060 average annual salary of a regulatory affairs specialist.

The top three skills for a regulatory affairs specialist include regulatory affairs, FDA and regulatory agencies. The most important skills for a chief compliance officer are oversight, compliance issues, and risk management.

Regulatory affairs specialist vs chief compliance officer overview

	Regulatory Affairs Specialist	Chief Compliance Officer
Yearly salary	$70,060	$102,166
Hourly rate	$33.68	$49.12
Growth rate	-	-
Number of jobs	9,915	76,701
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 66%	Bachelor's Degree, 60%
Average age	46	46
Years of experience	4	-

What does a regulatory affairs specialist do?

A regulatory affairs specialist assists in securing and maintaining government approval for nutritional products, drugs, medical devices, and related supplies. They are often employed by medical, pharmaceutical, and biotechnology companies. They may also work in the government or law. Typically, they work on document preparation, file maintenance, information management, and coordination of tasks across various departments. They expanded their duties and responsibilities as a result of company acquisitions and restructuring, worldwide globalization of markets, and constantly evolving regulations.

What does a chief compliance officer do?

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. Through the chief compliance officer's work, the company can lessen its liabilities and issues that may cause disruptions in production. The CCO is also part of the team that ensures quality in all company processes and activities.

Regulatory affairs specialist vs chief compliance officer salary

Regulatory affairs specialists and chief compliance officers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Regulatory Affairs Specialist	Chief Compliance Officer
Average salary	$70,060	$102,166
Salary range	Between $49,000 And $99,000	Between $65,000 And $159,000
Highest paying City	Santa Rosa, CA	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	California	Delaware
Best paying company	Meta	McKinsey & Company Inc
Best paying industry	-	Finance

Differences between regulatory affairs specialist and chief compliance officer education

There are a few differences between a regulatory affairs specialist and a chief compliance officer in terms of educational background:

	Regulatory Affairs Specialist	Chief Compliance Officer
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 66%	Bachelor's Degree, 60%
Most common major	Business	Law
Most common college	Stanford University	Harvard University

Regulatory affairs specialist vs chief compliance officer demographics

Here are the differences between regulatory affairs specialists' and chief compliance officers' demographics:

	Regulatory Affairs Specialist	Chief Compliance Officer
Average age	46	46
Gender ratio	Male, 37.5% Female, 62.5%	Male, 64.7% Female, 35.3%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.7% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 15.7% Asian, 8.2% White, 60.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%	Black or African American, 11.1% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 15.7% Asian, 8.2% White, 59.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage	12%	12%

Differences between regulatory affairs specialist and chief compliance officer duties and responsibilities

Regulatory affairs specialist example responsibilities.

Gather, evaluating, organizing, managing and collating information in a variety of formats.
Manage CRO (regulatory) in support of the company's approve product in Europe.
Manage and submit electronic EPA product registrations.
Manage and submit regulatory permit and notification applications to USDA to import, move and release regulate plant materials.
Support complaint handling process and screening, ensure FDA 21 CFR compliance.
Close complaints receive from external customers in compliance with FDA, ISO, QSR and other regulatory guidelines.

Chief compliance officer example responsibilities.

Achieve desired results of no material audits or investigations thereafter by CMS or OIG.
Respond to all regulatory inquiries and manage FINRA routine and trading examinations.
Manage successful litigation, arbitration and mediation proceedings, including commercial disputes, product liability, employment and intellectual property.
Work closely with industry-leading securities attorneys in matters of pending litigation, consumer complaints, and regulatory investigations.
Develop, maintain and enforce policies and procedures relate to anti-money laundering, ethics training, and business continuity.
Draft complete sets of HIPAA privacy and security policies and regularly advise clients on state and federal privacy issues.

Regulatory affairs specialist vs chief compliance officer skills

Common regulatory affairs specialist skills

Regulatory Affairs, 10%
FDA, 8%
Regulatory Agencies, 7%
Medical Devices, 6%
Regulatory Compliance, 5%
Regulatory Submissions, 5%

Common chief compliance officer skills

Oversight, 8%
Compliance Issues, 6%
Risk Management, 6%
Ethics, 6%
Regulatory Compliance, 5%
Risk Assessments, 5%

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Regulatory Affairs Specialist vs Chief Compliance Officer

Updated January 8, 2025

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