How to hire a senior compliance specialist

How to hire a senior compliance specialist, step by step

Here's a step-by-step senior 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 senior compliance specialist job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new senior compliance specialist
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a senior compliance specialist do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the senior compliance specialist you need to hire. Certain senior compliance specialist roles might require a full-time employee, whereas others can be done by part-time workers or contractors.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

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

   Yes

   No

   Hiring the perfect senior compliance specialist also involves considering the ideal background you'd like them to have. Depending on what industry or field they have experience in, they'll bring different skills to the job. It's also important to consider what levels of seniority and education the job requires and what kind of salary such a candidate would likely demand.

   This list presents senior compliance specialist salaries for various positions.

   Type of Senior Compliance Specialist	Description	Hourly rate
   Senior Compliance Specialist		$23-50
   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
   Compliance Officer	A compliance officer is responsible for monitoring company operations, ensuring that all the processes and members are adhering to the regulatory and procedural policies set by the company. Compliance officers' duties also include proposing compliance programs, reviewing and updating existing company policies with management approval, taking immediate actions for policy violations, and mitigating risks... Show more	$20-46

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Risk Assessments
   • Regulatory Compliance
   • Regulatory Agencies
   • Internal Audit
   • HIPAA
   • Compliance Program
   • EEO
   • ISO
   • QA
   • Management System
   • Compliance Issues
   • Continuous Improvement
   • Government Regulations
   • External Audits

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Assure appropriate licenses are achieve or payments are stop or not allow for any transaction with a possible OFAC issue.
   • Participate in OCC exam preparation and review including research and presentation of documentation to achieve compliance with federal examiner requests.
   • Ensure employee compliance with the healthcare compliance and business ethics policies and guidelines.
   • Arrange HIPAA training for all levels of management, associates and sales staff working with training staff
   • Provide leadership, guidance, support, mentoring, and training for junior level ethics specialist and employee relations specialists.
   • Analyze and review CAPA records ensuring accurate representation of the depth of investigation conduct.

   More senior compliance specialist duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your senior compliance specialist job description is a great way to entice the best and brightest candidates. A senior compliance specialist salary can vary based on several factors:

   • Location. For example, senior compliance specialists' average salary in arkansas is 45% less than in california.
   • Seniority. Entry-level senior compliance specialists earn 54% less than senior-level senior compliance specialists.
   • Certifications. A senior compliance specialist with a few certifications under their belt will likely demand a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for a prestigious company or an exciting start-up can make a huge difference in a senior compliance specialist's salary.

   Average senior compliance specialist salary

   $71,381yearly

   $34.32 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level senior compliance specialist salary

   $48,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 16, 2025

   Average senior compliance specialist salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$101,867	$49
   2	District of Columbia	$81,680	$39
   3	New Jersey	$78,440	$38
   4	Washington	$78,115	$38
   5	Virginia	$77,780	$37
   6	Massachusetts	$76,367	$37
   7	Ohio	$74,807	$36
   8	New York	$73,566	$35
   9	Texas	$73,498	$35
   10	Maryland	$73,384	$35
   11	Illinois	$72,893	$35
   12	Pennsylvania	$72,887	$35
   13	Nevada	$72,637	$35
   14	Michigan	$72,337	$35
   15	Arizona	$69,371	$33
   16	Nebraska	$68,982	$33
   17	Minnesota	$67,077	$32
   18	North Carolina	$66,040	$32
   19	Missouri	$63,204	$30
   20	Florida	$62,463	$30

   Average senior compliance specialist salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Genentech	$106,644	$51.27	9
   2	FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies	$104,188	$50.09	3
   3	Biogen	$102,182	$49.13	1
   4	Bristol-Myers Squibb	$100,187	$48.17	5
   5	BNY Mellon	$98,484	$47.35	8
   6	Medtronic	$98,339	$47.28	203
   7	Boehringer Ingelheim	$97,521	$46.89	6
   8	MTS Systems	$96,995	$46.63
   9	Sysmex	$96,846	$46.56
   10	Zebra Technologies	$95,930	$46.12
   11	Avanade	$95,663	$45.99
   12	Ross Stores	$95,128	$45.73	3
   13	Duquesne Light Company	$94,966	$45.66	1
   14	Southern California Edison	$93,799	$45.10	16
   15	MFS Investment Management	$93,756	$45.08	1
   16	Teva Pharmaceuticals	$92,266	$44.36	2
   17	BioMarin	$91,248	$43.87	1
   18	ICW Group	$91,045	$43.77
   19	Boston Scientific	$90,841	$43.67	4
   20	Southern	$90,713	$43.61	1

4. Writing a senior compliance specialist job description

   A job description for a senior compliance specialist role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's a senior compliance specialist job description:

   Senior compliance specialist job description example

   JOB SUMMARY: The Senior Compliance Specialist performs more compliance testing for defined contribution plans. Verifies the accuracy of plan census data and identifies contributions to be tested for plan year.
   
   Essential Functions Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform these essential functions.
   
   Prepares non-discrimination tests, top heavy tests, coverage tests, 415 annual addition tests with assistance of a Sr. Compliance Analyst. Completes more complex testing, contribution calculations, and plan projections.Reviews legal plan documents, employee census data, and determines participant eligibility.Reconciles all financial activity, prepares government forms and associated schedules for assigned plans in a timely manner with a high degree of accuracy.Processes plan participant distributions, loans, disbursement requests, and assists with special projects as needed.Researches and responds to client inquiries, collaborates with other departments to ensure client concerns are resolved, and participates in client calls as needed.Performs other duties, as assigned, that are related to the essential operation of the department.
   Supervisory Responsibilities (None)
   
   Required Education, Experience and Certificates, Licenses, Registrations
   1-2 years of experience within the retirement sector.Ability to apply advanced mathematical concepts utilizing spreadsheet and accounting database software programs.Strong MS Office skills to include Word and Excel.
   
   Preferred (but not required) education or skills for this role are
   Bachelor's degree in a business-related field or industry experience.ASC experience preferred
   
   Competencies
   IndependentDiplomaticCreative Problem SolverIntegrityAnalytical ThinkerResourcefulTeam PlayerUtilizes Sounds JudgmentResults DrivenExhibits Personal CredibilityWritten and Oral Communication
   
   TRAVEL: Less than 5%.
   
   OTHER DUTIES
   Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice.
   
   EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER
   Newport offers for employment are conditioned upon satisfactory completion of our employment screening process (including, but not limited to, a review of past employment and education records, background investigation, and/or credit check and fingerprints.)
   Newport unequivocally rejects racism and discrimination of any kind and fosters an environment of belonging to provide access and opportunity for all. As an Equal Opportunity Employer we do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identify, gender expression, national origin, age, non-disqualifying physical or mental disability, veteran status, or any other basis covered by applicable law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, merit, and business need.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find senior 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 senior compliance specialists they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level senior 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 senior compliance specialist job on Zippia to find and recruit senior compliance specialist candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit senior compliance specialists, your first interview needs to engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. You can go into more detail about the company, the role, and the responsibilities during follow-up interviews.

   Remember to include a few questions that allow candidates to expand on their strengths in their own words. Asking about their unique skills might reveal things you'd miss otherwise. At this point, good candidates can move on to 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 senior compliance specialist

   Once you've decided on a perfect senior compliance specialist candidate, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, it should include benefits and perks available to the employee. Qualified candidates may be considered for other positions, so make sure your offer is competitive. Candidates may wish to negotiate. Once you've settled on the details, formalize your agreement with a contract.

   You should also follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that you've filled the position.

   To prepare for the new employee's start date, you can create an onboarding schedule and complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9 forms, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Human Resources should also ensure that a new employee file is created.

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 senior compliance specialist?