QUESTION
We are looking to
hire a new compliance officer. As we put together the job description, we wanted
to be sure we listed gave a full description of the position. That led us to
your door.
We know that you offer continual compliance support, so you would know
the best way to describe the responsibilities of a compliance officer.
Our plan
is to use the description in our policies and procedures as well as in our job advertisement.
What is a compliance officer and how should we describe the responsibilities?
ANSWER
Thanks for
knocking on our “door!” Yes, we provide on-going mortgage compliance guidance.
In fact, our firm is the first compliance firm in the country to offer low
cost, fixed fee, monthly compliance support, manned by subject matter experts
and supervised by professionals with substantial experience, knowledge, and expertise.
Many companies,
large and small, retain us as an independent adjunct to their compliance
department. Others use us primarily as a proxy for an in-house compliance
department. Whatever the case, we are highly experienced in working with
management and compliance personnel.
I am going to
provide a brief job description for a compliance officer in a format that you can
use both for your policy and procedures and also your job advertisement. I
outline the format according to topical expectations.
Job Description
- Compliance Officer position is designated by the Board of Directors.
- Responsible for establishing and maintaining an ongoing compliance program.
- Administers compliance training program for officers and employees.
- Works closely with internal or external legal counsel, if needed.
- Performs or retains auditors to perform audit programs.
- Reviews audit results and maintains audit standards.
Relationships
- Reports to: Chairman of the Board
- Supervises: Compliance Initiatives
Duties
and Responsibilities
- Develops compliance policies and procedures.
- Responsible for the implementation of new regulations or changes to existing regulations.
- Ensures compliance with legal and regulatory standards for originating loans and mortgage servicing.
- Assists in updating and reviewing bank policies and procedures based on regulatory changes, internal audits, and examinations by regulatory agencies.
- Establishes and maintain an ongoing program for training personnel.
- Monitors the resolution of consumer complaints.
- Prepares for regulatory examinations and ensure an adequate corrective action process.
- Reports compliance activities and audit findings to the Board of Directors.
Authority
- The Compliance Officer accesses all departments and documentation that may be necessary to effectuate compliance responsibilities.
- The Compliance Officer has the authority to implement corrective action upon discovering actual or possible violations.
Accountability
- The Compliance Officer supervises regular audits of all appropriate areas of the bank to determine the degree of compliance with various consumer laws.
- Actual or possible violations and any needed corrective action should be reported to the Compliance Committee, the bank’s legal counsel, and the division and department managers of the area under examination.
- The manager of the area under examination reports to the Compliance Officer all action taken to correct the findings detected in a compliance audit or the Compliance Officer requires the manager to perform in furtherance of the compliance mandate.
Qualifications
- The Compliance Officer is a higher-level officer, familiar with all areas of mortgage banking, and possesses excellent oral and written communication skills.
- Knowledge includes, among other things, deep familiarity with mortgage banking standards, auditing, and consumer compliance regulations.
- Human relations skills are expected to effectively conduct compliance activities throughout the organization.
Jonathan Foxx, Ph.D., MBA
Chairman & Managing Director
Lenders Compliance Group
