Title: Compliance Director
Department: Partner Solutions Legal & Compliance
Location: Hybrid, based in Washington, DC or Durham, NC; or Remote in Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, or Virginia
Who We Are
Today’s societal challenges are more complex, interconnected, and urgent than ever. Sunflower Services is comprised of over 220 professionals with deep expertise in the philanthropic sector. We provide support services to fiscal sponsors and intermediaries—and their hundreds of mission-driven projects—that are creating meaningful change. We welcome job seekers who are motivated by results and driven by impact. For a list of current job openings at Sunflower, please visit our LinkedIn page.
Sunflower Services is an independent, nonprofit-owned Public Benefit Corporation dedicated to providing operational excellence to nonprofit and social impact organizations. Sunflower delivers integrated solutions in finance, HR, grants management, compliance, and other administrative areas, helping mission-driven organizations and changemakers focus on what matters most: their impact.
Position Overview
The Compliance Director partners across teams to build systems and relationships to ensure nonprofit clients and fiscally sponsored nonprofit projects uphold compliance laws, regulations, and best practices.
This role is in Sunflower Services’ Legal & Compliance department and reports to the Senior Director of Compliance. Compliance team members collaborate with attorneys and other departments to support Sunflower’s business needs and offer compliance expertise to nonprofit clients across multiple states.
This role is ideal for experienced compliance professionals with a demonstrated ability to build a positive compliance culture by delivering strong client service and policy best practices. This role requires a deep understanding of compliance systems, project and change management, client and staff management, and risk assessment and mitigation. A deep understanding of multi-state nonprofit compliance is preferred, but individuals with transferable skills from other compliance industries may be considered.
What You’ll Do
Compliance Management
- Serve as a senior compliance subject matter expert who partners with colleagues to solve sensitive or complex issues across a wide array of policies and procedures.
- Respond to questions submitted to our compliance case system that require creative solutions and the application of multiple compliance policies and procedures.
- Oversee and approve case responses submitted by junior compliance employees and serve as a thought partner to them.
- Provide Sunflower employees with the compliance support needed to maintain strong client relationships.
- Navigate difficult conversations with stakeholders to help reach consensus and an understanding of compliance requirements.
- Identify risks and offer solutions to mitigate those risks.
- Contribute to a positive compliance culture by maintaining relationships with key stakeholders, understanding stakeholder needs, and remaining accessible and responsive to those needs.
- Report synthesized information, important trends, and outcomes to leadership on the Compliance team.
- Lead cross-team and cross-department initiatives to enhance policies and procedures to ensure greater compliance, client service, efficiency, and effectiveness. Delegate work to others while ensuring the initiative meets goals and timelines.
- Oversee knowledge management initiatives aimed at driving Compliance’s adoption of Sunflower’s Learning Management System, including the production of on-demand content, live training, and process guides.
Team Leadership & Strategy
- Partner with key leaders across the client-facing functions in support of Sunflower’s overall strategic objectives.
- Manage assigned departmental operations (e.g. capacity tracking, identifying professional development opportunities for the team, retreat planning).
- Contribute to and oversee the achievement of assigned team objectives or workstreams.
People Management
- Oversee and manage performance accountability, including setting individualized goals and managing role expectations for each direct report; ensure performance accountability for skip-level direct reports.
- Contribute to professional growth and satisfaction of employees by providing appropriate direction, support, guidance, and mentorship for staff at all levels.
- Promote a company culture that centers equity and belonging; develop and share relevant skills and issue‐area expertise.
What You'll Bring
- 8-10 years of relevant professional experience.
- Compliance or project management certification preferred.
- Experience managing compliance functions and promoting a strong culture of compliance.
- 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) nonprofit compliance expertise is required, and familiarity with fiscal sponsorship is a plus.
- Experience managing nonprofit advocacy compliance, including the rules and regulations surrounding lobbying and political activity, is required.
- The ability to understand and effectively communicate about a wide array of compliance topics and policies.
- The ability to synthesize data to identify and communicate about trends.
- Experience coaching staff and teammates on how to address complex service or compliance challenges.
- The ability to oversee and advise on multiple complex projects, including encouraging workflow and work plan innovations, and ensuring high quality deliverables.
- Excellent written and oral communication skills which allow you to understand various stakeholder perspectives, effectively communicate difficult messages, and represent the company to external audiences.
- Proven ability to guide teams in overcoming collaboration challenges and promote compromise, inclusion, and openness while meeting aggressive timelines and maintaining accountability.
- The ability to foster and promote safe and inclusive environments to build team connections and trust.
Salary Range
The salary range for this position is $118,000 - $128,000. Our salary ranges are based on national compensation benchmarks of similar sized companies in professional services. This position is eligible for an annual bonus at 10% of the annual salary.
We offer a comprehensive benefits package that includes medical, dental, and vision insurance, plus a flexible spending account and health savings account, in addition to a 401k with a company match, and commuter benefits. We give generous paid time off, with 16 days of vacation time, 10 days of personal time, 20 hours of volunteer time, 11 company holidays, and 4 optional holidays. We support work-life balance with parental leave, UrbanSitter membership, Employee Resource Groups, and fitness and telecommunications reimbursements. We value growth and development with options for education reimbursement and professional development. We also offer disability, life insurance, additional voluntary insurances, and access to Teladoc and Health Advocate.
Work at Sunflower Services
Submit a resume and cover letter. The application deadline for this position is Monday, June 15th, 2026. The deadline to apply may be shortened or extended depending on business needs.
Location Requirements
This is a full-time position. The position can operate on a hybrid schedule, based in our Washington, DC, or Durham, NC offices, or it can be fully remote from the following locations: Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, or Virginia.
If a new hire is within proximity of our Washington, DC or Durham, NC offices, the expectation during onboarding (~90 days) is that you come into the office a minimum of 3 days per week. After this onboarding period, employees can then come into the office on a more flexible schedule with the remaining days worked at home/remotely.
Physical Requirements
- Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer
- Must be able to lift up to 10 pounds at a time
We will make reasonable accommodations under the guidelines of the Americans With Disabilities Act.
Sunflower Services is an Equal Opportunity Employer without regard to race, gender, disability status, veteran status, or any other category protected by federal, state, or local law.
Visit our web page to learn more about Sunflower Services and watch this video.
