Roles and responsibilities of a Risk Manager

A Risk Manager job description is held accountable for analyzing, assessing, and handling the risks faced by the organization. They assist the organizations regarding any sort of risks that might affect the profitability of the organization and develop strategies and processes for managing those business risks and ensure successful business continuity. The job role of Risk Manager is quite essential for successful running of a business. 

Risk Manager Job Description 

The foremost task of the Risk Manager is to gather the data and carry out investigations to recognize the risks that an organization might be exposed to. As a part of the investigation process, the Risk Managers should analyze key risk indicators (KRI) and conduct what-if-analyses to determine the concerns if the risks identified in the process are about to occur. A few of the concerns/consequences include threat/leaking organization’s confidential information, financial loss, and damage to the organization’s assets. 

Risk Managers are also involved in implementing control systems and action plans for safeguarding the organization’s assets and resources. This is done through mitigating risks and potential damage caused.

The steps taken by the Risk Manager in mitigating the risk varies from organization to another.  Some of the measures taken include defining crisis management, designing business continuity plans, introducing operation protocols, and insurance coverage, and updating the procedures correlating to the latest best practices. 

Let’s take a look at the Risk Manager role and the types of risks they have to deal with:

The job role of Risk Managers involves identifying and assessing various types of risks that might affect the prevailing business. They design strategies to minimize risk and identify what could go wrong and its impact on the prevailing business.

Educational Requirements and Training Requirements 

To kick start your career as a Risk manager, typically you need to possess a degree in-

  • Statistics
  • Business and Finance 
  • Economics 
  • IT 
  • Mathematics 

In addition to having a degree in the above fields, it’s equally essential to have knowledge in wide areas like corporate governance, internal audit quality assurance, security, regulatory compliance, risk management, and data analytics. This job role requires ample experience in risk management roles.

Organization in the IT and engineering domain requires Risk Managers to have the technical knowledge and specialized qualification in the field.  Risk Managers should think outside the box otherwise the risks might be unnoticeable to others. 

Having a post-graduation can be advantageous though it is not essential. Even if you don’t have a degree still it’s possible to start your career in risk management, but with an administrative role before you start progressing towards higher levels. Employers expect equivalent qualifications/experience to enter this position. 

What Skills do you Need to Become a Risk Manager?

Being a risk manager, you need to thoroughly understand and work with various departments within the company and develop a good rapport with them.

So, now let’s take a look at the specific skills needed to become a risk manager

  • Should possess ample knowledge of risk assessment models.
  • Should possess an awareness of statistical tools and auditing and reporting procedures. 
  • Should possess the ability to execute office automation tools and risk monitoring and testing procedures. 
  • Should possess attention to minute details.
  • Should possess exceptional verbal and communication skills. 
  • Should possess time management and organizational skills.
  • Should possess negotiation and diplomacy skills.

Apart from having these key skills to become a Risk Manager, professionals need to reskill and upskill by taking part in widely-recognized IT Security and Governance courses to gain a competitive edge in the job market and also to have a holistic understanding of enterprise risk management.

Conclusion

The risk management field is indeed a rapidly growing profession with a great number of employers and increased job opportunities.  Risk managers are employed in both private and public sector organizations. 

Some of the popular IT Security and Governance courses are:

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Ingrid Horvath is an IT Security professional with more than five years of experience in risk management, compliance and privacy, crisis management, threats, and vendor vulnerability assessments. She possesses a solid technical knowledge and is gaining expertise in the IT Security and Governance domain. Ingrid focuses on emerging technological problems and privacy concerns at the enterprise level. Ultimately, she provides the best solutions by combining various aspects of IT security, risk management, and compliance privacy. Being a prolific writer, she has a passion for guiding people on security and privacy through her articles.

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