Regulatory Compliance Officer

Occupation overview

Well designed and enforced regulation plays a vital role in improving the way markets work for the benefit of business, employees and citizens, supporting sustainable growth, trade and investment and improved social and environmental outcomes. It is well recognised that the regulatory climate is a key contributor to the creation of a positive and supportive business environment whilst also assuring public and environmental protection.

Within the public sector, Compliance Officers either work to perform regulatory services functions within local authorities such as environmental health, fire safety or trading standards but may also work within monitoring compliance teams within national regulators such as the Food Standards Agency (FSA), Health and Safety Executive (HSE), Department for the Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) or the Register of Regulated Qualifications (OFqual). In the private sector officers will typically be involved in supporting compliance activities within a range of businesses and liaising with frontline regulators. Additionally officers will provide monitoring and oversight of the compliance related activities of the wider supply chain to assure product and process quality and safety as well as legality. Typical activities that may be carried out by a fully competent employee include, but are not limited to:

  • Assessing the extent to which a business meets the requirements of the law and/or relevant audit standards
  •  Working with businesses to help them comply with relevant legislation in their sector and/or meet the requirements of private standards e.g. International Organisation for Standardisations (ISO)
  •  Providing information, guidance and advice to businesses on how to comply with legislation or meet audit requirements in their sectors
  •  Collecting and analysing business data to build a picture of business compliance
  •  Conducting risk assessments and highlighting hazards which may result in non compliance by the business
  • Auditing and monitoring business compliance in relation to the regulations which apply to a specific sector
  •  Writing reports following inspections or audits
  •  Liaising with businesses/regulators to resolve any issues of non-compliance
  •  Managing relationships with businesses and providing customer service
  • Dealing with complaints from consumers and other businesses and investigating them

Skills

Deliver a Service

  • Plan and deliver compliance support services in line with business expectation.
  •  Carry out activities in line with their organisation’s regulatory outcomes – ensuring business prosperity and consumer/environmental protection.
  •  Work within the organisation’s policies and procedures and the law

Risk Assess

  • Assess regulatory risks and use risk assessment to guide their activities and target resources.

Collect and analyse data

  •  Gather, analyse, use and share data to inform risk assessment.

Understand businesses they work with

  • Engage constructively with business and tailor their approach to businesses that they interact with.
  •  Take account of the provisions of statutory Codes in order to engage effectively with businesses.

Plan their activities

  • Plan their compliance support activities so as to deliver their responsibilities efficiently.
  • Work as part of a team building and maintaining good working relationships with both business and regulator stakeholders

Choose appropriate interventions

  • Make appropriate intervention choices to have the greatest impact on supporting compliance
  • Take a proportionate approach to intervention choice.
  •  Work effectively with other organisations.

Check compliance

  • Prepare appropriately for checks on compliance.
  • Conduct interventions in a proportionate manner.
  •  Be responsive to the circumstances encountered.
  •  Make informed assessments of compliance and risk.
  •  Follow-up on checks on compliance in an appropriate manner.

 Support compliance

  • Promote the importance of compliance, and their organisation’s role in supporting compliance.
  •  Provide information and guidance that is needed by businesses and/or those they regulate.
  •  Provide the tailored advice that is needed by businesses where appropriate.

Respond to noncompliance

  • Communicate effectively with businesses that have failed to comply.
  •  Work with partner organisations to support proportionate, risk based responses to noncompliance.
  •  Conduct thorough investigations of non-compliance and allegations of non-compliance.
  •  Take actions to deal with non- compliance using a wide range of interventions including advice and guidance, formal letters and notices. Where necessary impose sanctions
  • Provide appropriate support for those adversely affected by non-compliance.

Effective decision making

  • Having sound judgement. This includes making decisions about the relevance, quality and accuracy of the information available and using and sharing it appropriately.

Evaluate

  • Monitor and report on their activities and performance.
  • Evaluate their activities in relation to their regulatory objectives and their organisation’s strategic priorities.

IT and Digital

  • Use IT systems to manage, share and store information in accordance with data protection requirements where appropriate.
  • Use digital technologies to communicate with and support partner organisations and regulated entities.
  • Use digital competencies to support the regulation of online markets

 

Knowledge

Regulation

  • The role of regulation as a tool of Government.
  •  Legal frameworks and powers.
  •  The law and where it applies to businesses customers
  •  The legislation relevant to their regulatory function(s).
  • The role and responsibilities of partner organisations and their interrelationships.
  •  The architecture of regulatory frameworks and their role within it.

Risk Assessment

  • Risk assessment as a tool to support compliance

 Business stakeholders and their compliance needs

  •  Knowledge of the business environment they interact with.
  •  How regulation and the way it is enforced can impact on the businesses regulated.
  •  The factors that affect business approaches to compliance.
  •  The need to provide compliance support to businesses they work with.

Evaluation

  • The value of feedback from those they regulate, and the beneficiaries of regulation such as consumers in informing future activities.

 

Behaviours

Collaboration

  • Working collaboratively and building professional relationships with colleagues and partner organisations.

 Delivery at pace

  • Delivering at pace, working to agreed goals and activities, responding to challenges constructively, for example managing time well and thinking positively.

 Quality service delivery

  • Delivering a quality service by having a customer focussed mindset

Leadership and communication

  • Leading by example. This includes being even-handed, supportive, and not letting personal opinions override business needs, and communicating professionally, openly and honestly.

Change and improvement

  • Being open to change. This includes being creative in supporting continuous improvement or changes to systems or processes.

 

Entry Requirements

Whilst any entry requirements will be a matter for individual employers, typically an apprentice might be expected to have already achieved GCSE Maths and English on entry.

Apprentices without level 2 English and maths will need to achieve this level prior to taking the end-point assessment.

Duration

Typically 24 months. Level 4. Renewal 3 years from date of approval

 

Professional Qualifications / Recognition

This is a Level 4 apprenticeship.

 

Originally published on Gov.uk, this information has been re-used under the terms of the Open Government Licence.

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