Risk Manager - Career Guide

Risk managers oversee three areas of risk: financial, operational, and strategic. They might recommend a new anti-virus system to prevent data breaches (operational risk), implement liquidity management tools (financial risk), or advise on adapting products to shifting consumer trends (strategic risk).

Their main responsibilities include:

• Auditing risks and opportunities: analysing, prioritising, and monitoring market developments.
• Managing and processing data: designing and executing risk management plans, assessing impacts, and tracking actions.
• Raising awareness: training employees, leading workshops, and improving internal processes. 

Senior risk managers are often responsible for co-developing comprehensive risk management frameworks, particularly in banking and insurance.

Risk managers typically work as employees within dedicated risk management divisions, reporting to senior management. Their role combines office-based analysis with fieldwork, liaising with employees, partners, and stakeholders to gather insights and identify potential threats.

To become a risk manager, you must have a five-year degree from a business school, engineering school or university.

After completing your A-levels, you can begin your training with a bachelor’s degree in accounting or management, or a bachelor’s degree in banking and finance. To enter the profession, you must then obtain a five-year degree. Certain courses are preferred by recruiters:

• Master’s degree in Finance, a Master’s degree in Law and Fiscal Experise  orMaster’s degree in Accounting and Auditing
• Master’s degree in Economic Law
• Engineering degree specialising in risk management

There are also courses that are valued by employers, such as bilingual Master of Science degrees, in particular the MSc in Finance and Risk Management.

This program is available entirely in English: the MSc Finance and Risk Management. ISC Paris offers its programmes on a full-time or work-study basis, for rapid professional integration and greater practical experience.

Within a banking or insurance group, the corporate risk manager or ‘group risk director’ is a management position. They protect the structure for which they work, contribute to its development and act as a coordinator between the various stakeholders involved.

This professional also holds a management position. They audit the various systems in place, leading one or more teams. Their objective? To detect dangers and areas for improvement, often at the head of a team of internal auditors.

After several years in the field, a risk manager may choose to move into consulting. They can do so as an employee of an organisation or as a freelancer working for their own client portfolio.

This banking operations manager ensures the smooth running of the institution in which they work. Credit managers have extensive financial knowledge as well as strong interpersonal and organisational skills.