Management · Holland code CES

Compliance Managers

Plan, direct, or coordinate activities of an organization to ensure compliance with ethical or regulatory standards.

Also called: Compliance Director, Compliance Manager, Environmental Manager, Environmental Program Manager, Accreditation Lieutenant, Accreditation Manager, Compliance Operations Manager, Environmental Health and Safety Director.

O*NET 11-9199.02

At a glance

US median annual pay: $141,900; Middle half earn $102,880 to $186,300. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Most common education: Bachelor's Degree; 63% of workers surveyed by O*NET report this level.
Preparation needed: Job Zone 4 of 5; Considerable preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.

What the work involves

The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.

Report violations of compliance or regulatory standards to duly authorized enforcement agencies as appropriate or required.
Identify compliance issues that require follow-up or investigation.
Discuss emerging compliance issues to ensure that management and employees are informed about compliance reporting systems, policies, and practices.
File appropriate compliance reports with regulatory agencies.
Maintain documentation of compliance activities, such as complaints received or investigation outcomes.
Consult with corporate attorneys as necessary to address difficult legal compliance issues.
Conduct or direct the internal investigation of compliance issues.
Provide employee training on compliance related topics, policies, or procedures.

Skills and knowledge it leans on

Skills

Reading Comprehension4.0 / 5
Critical Thinking4.0 / 5
Active Listening3.9 / 5
Writing3.9 / 5
Speaking3.9 / 5
Active Learning3.8 / 5

Knowledge areas

Law and Government4.6 / 5
English Language4.5 / 5
Administration and Management4.1 / 5
Customer and Personal Service3.7 / 5
Personnel and Human Resources3.7 / 5
Computers and Electronics3.6 / 5

Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.

Who tends to enjoy it

How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.

Realistic15
Investigative33
Artistic0
Social35
Enterprising82
Conventional88

The same work abroad

Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.

European occupation titles (ESCO)

director of compliance and information security in gambling · DE Direktor für Richtlinien und Informationssicherheit beim Glücksspiel/Direktorin für Richtlinien und Informationssicherheit beim Glücksspiel · FR responsable de la sécurité des données dans les jeux de hasard
policy manager · DE Führungskraft im Bereich der Unternehmenspolitik · FR directeur stratégique/directrice stratégique
compliance engineer · DE Compliance-Ingenieur/Compliance-Ingenieurin · FR responsable qualité conformité réglementaire
legal policy officer · DE Referent für Rechtsfragen/Referentin für Rechtsfragen · FR chargé de mission affaires juridiques/chargée de mission affaires juridiques
regulatory affairs manager · DE Regulatory-Affairs-Manager/Regulatory-Affairs-Managerin · FR chef de service juridique
pipeline compliance coordinator · DE Compliance-Koordinator Rohrleitungen/Compliance-Koordinatorin Rohrleitungen · FR coordonnateur de la conformité d’oléoducs/coordonnatrice de la conformité d’oléoducs

Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)

Quantity surveyors (2453)45,300 employed
Quality assurance technicians (3115)36,100 employed
Business, research and administrative professionals n.e.c. (2439)104,500 employed

Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.

Pay across Europe, for the whole group

Median annual earnings of all employees in “Professionals”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.

Median annual earnings, Professionals, by country
Country	Median pay
Belgium	€61,714
Germany	€59,529
Ireland	€56,877
Austria	€55,374
Netherlands	€53,595
Sweden	€43,567
France	€41,515
Spain	€35,735
Italy	€33,649
Portugal	€26,072
Poland	€14,380

Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.

Exposure to AI

This occupation sits in the higher third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of +0.96. The scores are standardized across those occupations, so 0 is the average and a score of 1 is about one standard deviation above it.

Our note on reading it: the dataset links AI applications to the abilities that occupations require, so the score reflects overlap between the two. It is a comparison between occupations, not a forecast about jobs. It does not say whether exposure means tasks are replaced or workers get more done with the tools, and it says little about one employer or one role.

Source: Felten, E., Raj, M., & Seamans, R. (2021). Occupational, industry, and geographic exposure to artificial intelligence: A novel dataset and its potential uses. Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2195-2217. Matched to this page by 6-digit SOC code (11-9199).

Is it a fit for you?

Interest is one input, alongside ability, pay and what is hiring near you. The career interests test takes about thirteen minutes and ranks occupations by how closely their profile matches yours.

Take the career interests test