Are you looking to pursue a career as a risk manager?
There’s no doubt you’ve made a smart career decision. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the employment of financial managers, including risk managers, will grow 15 percent through the next decade.
This means there will be plenty of employment positions, and it’s easy to see. Almost every organization, including non-profits, faces a wide range of financial risks. They need risk managers to help control or mitigate these risks.
In this article, we’re delving deeper into the role of a risk manager, as well as how to know whether you’ll excel in the role.
Read on!
What Does a Risk Manager Do?
The core function of a risk manager doesn’t change depending on the workplace or industry. Whether in healthcare, education, government, or manufacturing, he works to identify, assess, and manage the financial risks the organization faces.
Identification typically involves analyzing the internal and external operations of an organization. For example, the manager can identify whether the organization faces a liquidity risk – or the likelihood that it will run out of funds to meets its financial obligations.
If it’s a manufacturing organization that imports and exports, the risks manager will identify whether the organization faces a foreign interest risk.
A big part of a risk manager’s job is to develop risk management policies and strategies that ensure the organization overcomes or prevents those risks. For instance, the manager can recommend that the organization purchases adequate insurance to cover certain types of risks. Or, they can recommend that the organization scales down or ramps up certain operations.
In a nutshell, your job as a risk manager is to make and implement decisions that shield your employer from financial losses.
What Makes a Good Risk Manager?
Of course, not everybody has what it takes to be a good risk manager. As such, it’s important to ensure you have what it takes before starting to actively pursue the career.
To excel in this profession, you need strong analytical and problem-solving skills. The job largely involves assessing and analyzing risks and finding ways to prevent those risks.
Risk managers often lead a team, so you need strong people and communication skills to ensure efficient teamwork and collaboration. A detail to attention is also needed since the job involves working with numbers and lots of information.
You must be wondering how to nurture these skills. Well, all you need to do is pursue the right education. Most risk managers have a bachelor’s degree in finance, economics, or business, but with a concentration in risk management. The program will equip you with the professional knowledge and occupational skills you need to be a competent risk manager.
It’s also highly recommended to take the Financial Risk Manager certification, which is a global accreditation by the Global Association of Risk Professionals. Navigating the FRM course shouldn’t be challenging, but there are lots of resources that can help you.
Pursue a Career in Risk Management
You’ve made a decision to become a risk manager. That’s one half of the job. The other half is taking the steps you need to prepare yourself for employment.
With this guide, you now not only know what this professional does but also what you need to do to get hired.
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