Risk manager: Job description

Risk managers advise organisations on any potential risks to the profitability or existence of the company. They identify and assess threats, put plans in place for if things go wrong and decide how to avoid, reduce or transfer risks.

Risk managers are responsible for managing the risk to the organisation, its employees, customers, reputation, assets and interests of stakeholders. They may work in a variety of sectors and may specialise in a number of areas including enterprise risk, corporate governance, regulatory and operational risk, business continuity, information and security risk, technology risk, and market and credit risk.

Typical work activities

Specific tasks depend on the industry in which you are working, how specialised your role is and the level at which you are working. Key activities, however, may include:

• planning, designing and implementing an overall risk management process for the organisation;
• risk assessment, which involves analysing risks as well as identifying, describing and estimating the risks affecting the business;
• risk evaluation, which involves comparing estimated risks with criteria established by the organisation such as costs, legal requirements and environmental factors, and evaluating the organisation's previous handling of risks;
• establishing and quantifying the organisation's 'risk appetite', i.e. the level of risk they are prepared to accept;
• risk reporting in an appropriate way for different audiences, for example, to the board of directors so they understand the most significant risks, to business heads to ensure they are aware of risks relevant to their parts of the business and to individuals to understand their accountability for individual risks;
• corporate governance involving external risk reporting to stakeholders;
• carrying out processes such as purchasing insurance, implementing health and safety measures and making business continuity plans to limit risks and prepare for if things go wrong;
• conducting audits of policy and compliance to standards, including liaison with internal and external auditors;
• providing support, education and training to staff to build risk awareness within the organisation.