Security director vs compliance director

The differences between security directors and compliance directors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a security director and a compliance director. Additionally, a security director has an average salary of $114,844, which is higher than the $103,517 average annual salary of a compliance director.

The top three skills for a security director include oversight, security operations and customer service. The most important skills for a compliance director are compliance program, oversight, and ethics.

Security director vs compliance director overview

	Security Director	Compliance Director
Yearly salary	$114,844	$103,517
Hourly rate	$55.21	$49.77
Growth rate	6%	-
Number of jobs	51,781	20,942
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 51%	Bachelor's Degree, 63%
Average age	47	47
Years of experience	4	4

What does a security director do?

A security director is responsible for maintaining the safety and security of the organization's assets, as well as the welfare of employees within the company's premises. Security directors enforce security protocols and policies and conducting training and programs to employees for safety and emergency drills. They also investigate suspicious activities in the organization by checking surveillance equipment and coordinating with law enforcement personnel. They review incident reports, develop security process improvements, and handle budgets and allocate resources for security operations.

What does a compliance director do?

Compliance Directors oversee the adherence of different business units to company policies. They are considered experts on the different processes, policies, and regulatory systems that govern the business's operations, be it internal or external. They also keep themselves updated on the different external regulations and compliance procedures from governing bodies. This helps them ensure that the company is following the current guidelines. Compliance Directors have a say in the different internal company policies while overseeing the compliance to finance, human resources, and other related procedures.

Security director vs compliance director salary

Security directors and compliance directors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Security Director	Compliance Director
Average salary	$114,844	$103,517
Salary range	Between $73,000 And $178,000	Between $72,000 And $147,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	Alaska	California
Best paying company	Conning	McKinsey & Company Inc
Best paying industry	-	Finance

Differences between security director and compliance director education

There are a few differences between a security director and a compliance director in terms of educational background:

	Security Director	Compliance Director
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 51%	Bachelor's Degree, 63%
Most common major	Criminal Justice	Business
Most common college	California State University - Bakersfield	Stanford University

Security director vs compliance director demographics

Here are the differences between security directors' and compliance directors' demographics:

	Security Director	Compliance Director
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 90.7% Female, 9.3%	Male, 53.9% Female, 46.1%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 7.8% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 13.0% Asian, 7.9% White, 65.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 7.8% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 13.0% Asian, 8.6% White, 65.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	10%	10%

Differences between security director and compliance director duties and responsibilities

Security director example responsibilities.

Manage and coordinate all securities lending and match book business within RCap.
Work for and in Devops teams to automate cloud deployments and system processes.
Achieve market leadership, resulting in the top ranking of inter-dealer securities brokers on the street.
Manage supervisors and security officers including selection, scheduling, payroll, development and support.
Maintain full accountability for managing all aspects of day-to-day safety and security activities in accordance with organizational goals and objectives.
Monitor month-end process for global MBS financial reporting group.

Compliance director example responsibilities.

Manage monthly FINRA registration fee allocations and departmental expenses.
Manage Sarbanes-Oxley financial reporting and CAMP+ coverage, and certification process.
Develop strategy to integrate acquired/new operations to achieve company ethics & compliance standards.
Manage senior and junior surveillance/investigation analysts responsible for conducting AML surveillance and investigations.
Develop, manage and implement program governance and structure to ensure major programs are strategically align with organizational objectives.
Provide explanations to families on Medicare and Medicaid billing and benefits.

Security director vs compliance director skills

Common security director skills

Oversight, 7%
Security Operations, 6%
Customer Service, 6%
Risk Management, 6%
Cloud Security, 5%
Security Program, 5%

Common compliance director skills

Compliance Program, 8%
Oversight, 8%
Ethics, 8%
Risk Management, 6%
Compliance Issues, 5%
Risk Assessments, 4%

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Security Director
Security Director vs Compliance Director

Updated January 8, 2025

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