Compliance Lead

Governance, Risk & Process Lead

Work Arrangement: Hybrid (Metro Detroit office)

Reporting Relationship: Compliance Leadership

Position Overview

This role supports the execution of an organization-wide compliance and governance program by translating formal requirements into consistent, operationally sound practices. The Governance, Risk & Process Lead focuses on understanding how work is actually performed across the business and ensuring that processes, documentation, and control ownership remain aligned with applicable compliance frameworks.

Rather than conducting audits or issuing compliance opinions, this position strengthens internal readiness and supports successful third-party assessments by maintaining structured governance routines, well-defined processes, and reliable audit artifacts.

Core Responsibilities

Process Mapping & Documentation

• Collaborate with operational, technical, and security stakeholders to uncover undocumented or inconsistently applied processes.
• Lead structured walkthroughs and working sessions to validate real-world workflows.
• Create, update, and maintain standardized operating procedures using established documentation standards.
• Monitor changes in systems, tools, or operations to ensure documentation remains accurate and relevant.
• Identify process improvement opportunities that enhance consistency and control effectiveness.

Governance & Control Oversight

• Maintain a centralized view of internal controls aligned to common compliance frameworks.
• Associate controls with supporting documentation, systems, and accountable owners.
• Facilitate recurring governance activities to support control execution and review cycles.
• Track control outcomes, deviations, and remediation efforts.
• Provide reliable process inputs to support risk assessments and compliance reporting.

Audit Preparedness & Coordination

• Organize and coordinate audit evidence ahead of external assessments.
• Review supporting materials for clarity, completeness, and alignment to documented controls.
• Serve as a primary operational point of contact for auditors, in coordination with compliance leadership.
• Manage audit requests, responses, findings, and follow-up actions.
• Help ensure audit deliverables are structured, repeatable, and sustainable year over year.

Cross-Functional Partnership

• Guide control owners on expectations, responsibilities, and execution standards.
• Reinforce ownership and accountability without directly managing operations.
• Work closely with compliance leadership to prioritize initiatives and address risk areas.
• Promote a practical, embedded approach to compliance rather than reactive audit-driven activity.

Role Boundaries

This position does not:

• Conduct independent audit testing or provide assurance opinions.
• Replace external audit or assessment providers.
• Serve as the final authority on regulatory interpretation or compliance sign-off.
• Manage staff or lead a formal team.

Required Experience

• 5–8 years of experience in governance, risk, compliance, operations, or business process roles.
• Proven ability to document and maintain operational procedures in regulated or controlled environments.
• Experience supporting external audits from an internal stakeholder perspective.
• Solid understanding of control-based compliance models and how they apply to daily operations.
• Strong cross-functional collaboration skills with the ability to influence without direct authority.
• Excellent written and verbal communication capabilities.

Preferred Background

• Experience in service-oriented or data-sensitive environments.
• Familiarity with common compliance and security frameworks.
• Prior experience in senior analyst, GRC, or compliance advisory roles.
• Exposure to building or enhancing governance programs in growing organizations.

Success Profile

• Detail-oriented and process-focused with a practical business mindset.
• Comfortable validating how work is truly performed, not just how it is described.