What is a Compliance Administrator?

If you’re someone who loves processes and has a strong work ethic, a career in compliance might be for you. Your first stop will likely be as a compliance administrator.

The compliance team makes sure a company’s policies and procedures follow relevant laws and regulations. In short, they keep everyone in check.

Read on to learn about compliance administrators and how you can land yourself a role.

• What does a compliance administrator do?
• How do I become a compliance administrator?
• What skills do I need?
• How much does a compliance administrator earn?

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What does a compliance administrator do?

Loads. The typical day-to-day of a compliance administrator is filled with tasks to help the compliance team with its workload. These tasks include everything from general admin to getting stuck in with off-site business visits.

Some tasks include:

• Conducting audits following practice policy
• Perform risk assessments
• Review practice policies as they come in
• Spot areas of concern
• General admin tasks including, sorting and organising mail, sending and replying to emails/reception tasks and taking telephone calls.

Industries you can work in

Because a compliance administrator looks at policies within a business, you’ll find roles in an array of industries. These can include:

• Environmental
• Food
• Health
• HR
• IT/Cybersecurity
• Insurance
• Law
• Non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

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How do I become a compliance administrator?

There are many routes towards becoming a compliance administrator. But having a degree (or equivalent) helps a massive amount, especially if you’re looking for a compliance role within a specific industry.

Employers tend to look for candidates with degrees in risk management, law or business administration. Usually, employers will ask for the following;

• At least three GCSEs, including English and Maths (A*-C/Level 4-9 GCSE) or equivalent
• Admin experience
• High level of attention to detail
• IT skills, with knowledge of Microsoft Word and Excel
• Excellent communication skills; written and verbal
• Independent, intuitive and proactive.

What counts as experience?

If you’ve managed to score yourself a placement or internship in the relevant role/industry, you’re 200% on the right track as that’s exactly what employers are looking for.

In fact, 49% of interns and placement students hired by our Best Student Employers were offered full-time jobs.

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“I’ve learned lots of new skills both transferable and specific to my job role. I have improved my Excel, diary and organisational skills and feel more confident as a result. In my role, I have learned a lot about compliance and had a real insight into the company and the importance of my team’s role.”

Compliance Intern EMEA, The Walt Disney Company

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What skills do I need?

As a compliance administrator, you’ll need a variety of skills that you’ll flex daily. These will be a mix of both hard and soft skills. These can include;

SOFT SKILLS	HARD SKILLS
Communication. You’ll be working across multiple channels. Phone calls, emails, in-person conversations. Great communication skills are a must.	Auditing. This is a huge part of the job. Think of auditing as a kind of detective work. You’ll analyse a business’s accounts and create reports that supplement your work as a compliance administrator.
Critical thinking. This is a super sought-after skill. There’s a lot of data that needs to be analysed which requires people who are sharp and rational.	Gap analysis. You’ll weigh up how a business is doing against its projected goals and find ways to improve and fill in the gaps.
Organisation. You’ll multitask A LOT. So it’s important to make sure your organisation skills are top-notch.	Regulatory knowledge. As a compliance administrator, your knowledge of the industry you work in and its business standards will be like owning a gold mine. If you understand the regulations, it’ll make your job so much easier and you’ll quickly become an industry expert.
Problem-solving. As a compliance administrator, you’ll come across a lot of issues that need to be solved calmly and quickly.	Risk management. Here you’ll be able to identify, assess and control any threats to a company’s capital, earnings and operations. It’s a bit like being a corporate Batman, minus the chaffing outfit.
Teamwork. People skills and teamwork are super important when working as a compliance administrator. You’ll work alongside multiple people in different teams and companies, so you’ll need to come across as a collaborator and trustworthy.	Legal knowledge. While you won’t be training as a lawyer, you’ll need to understand the current rules and regulations to help businesses stay in line and legal.

When it comes to skills, you should always add them to your CV. The best way to do this is to actually describe the skills you have and when you used them.

A good way to find out what skills a job requires is to refer back to the job description. Employers literally tell you exactly what they’re looking for, so take those and highlight past experiences that demonstrate those skills.

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Want to know more about how to show off your skills on your CV? Read 5 Simple Ways To Show Off Your Skills In An Application.

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How much does a compliance administrator earn?

How much you earn totally depends on the employer, your level and experience. However, there is real bank to be made as a compliance administrator.

As an entry-level employee, you could start off on a salary ranging between £23,000 and £30,000 per year. The more experience you get, the more potential there is to move up in your career. Which means more coins in the bank.

If you have your eyes set on a management role, you could be looking at between a very healthy £40,000 and £60,000 per year with the potential to earn up to £100,000 per year as a senior manager.

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Think you’ve potentially found your career as a compliance administrator? There are a few placements and internships available right now! Get started by clicking below.

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