How to hire an at-risk specialist

How to hire an at-risk specialist, step by step

Here's a step-by-step at-risk specialist hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write an at-risk specialist job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new at-risk specialist
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does an at-risk specialist do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the at-risk specialist you need to hire. Certain at-risk specialist roles might require a full-time employee, whereas others can be done by part-time workers or contractors.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   An at-risk specialist's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, at-risk specialists from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   This list presents at-risk specialist salaries for various positions.

   Type of At-Risk Specialist	Description	Hourly rate
   At-Risk Specialist		$15-49
   Global Risk Management Director	A global risk management director is responsible for the development and administration of risk management programs. They organize and develop programs that cut across their whole organization for risk-free services... Show more	$50-96
   Risk Management Director	A risk management director is responsible for ensuring the safety and security of all the people, assets, and processes across the organization. Risk management directors facilitate risk management programs to mitigate company risks that may affect the organization's reputation and stability... Show more	$45-88

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Risk Management
   • Customer Service
   • Operational Risk
   • Risk Assessments
   • SQL
   • SAS
   • Internal Controls
   • Process Improvement
   • Risk Analysis
   • Credit Risk
   • PowerPoint
   • Data Analysis
   • Regulatory Risk
   • Financial Institutions

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage treasury workstation steering team for automation of core treasury operations for increase reliability of financial reporting and decision making.
   • Focuse on identifying undervalue debt securities, through detail company valuations.
   • Research and addressed any fraudulent activity including identity theft or OFAC violations.
   • Examine commercial real estate, corporate credit, structure securities and other insurance company portfolios.
   • Communicate with third party administrators and insurance carriers to include claims investigation, litigation management and settlement negotiations reducing claim exposure.
   • Identify suspicious debit card activity through customer profiling and account analysis.

   More at-risk specialist duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your at-risk specialist job description is a great way to entice the best and brightest candidates. An at-risk specialist salary can vary based on several factors:

   • Location. For example, at-risk specialists' average salary in wyoming is 51% less than in rhode island.
   • Seniority. Entry-level at-risk specialists earn 68% less than senior-level at-risk specialists.
   • Certifications. An at-risk specialist with a few certifications under their belt will likely demand a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for a prestigious company or an exciting start-up can make a huge difference in an at-risk specialist's salary.

   Average at-risk specialist salary

   $58,801yearly

   $28.27 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level at-risk specialist salary

   $33,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 16, 2025

   Average at-risk specialist salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	District of Columbia	$102,471	$49
   2	Virginia	$102,397	$49
   3	New York	$101,056	$49
   4	New Jersey	$98,645	$47
   5	Connecticut	$94,271	$45
   6	Pennsylvania	$94,173	$45
   7	Massachusetts	$92,860	$45
   8	California	$87,977	$42
   9	Michigan	$80,670	$39
   10	North Carolina	$79,758	$38
   11	Ohio	$77,772	$37
   12	Georgia	$77,019	$37
   13	Nevada	$76,851	$37
   14	South Carolina	$73,097	$35
   15	Washington	$71,573	$34
   16	Texas	$70,122	$34
   17	Arizona	$69,933	$34
   18	Illinois	$69,607	$33
   19	Louisiana	$67,446	$32
   20	Oregon	$66,514	$32

   Average at-risk specialist salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	PayPal	$125,347	$60.26	1
   2	Federal Reserve Bank of New York	$124,065	$59.65
   3	Federal Reserve	$123,153	$59.21
   4	Meta	$122,613	$58.95	5
   5	McKinsey & Company Inc	$115,059	$55.32
   6	Federal Reserve Bank	$107,983	$51.91
   7	Square	$106,442	$51.17
   8	Sutter Health	$105,948	$50.94	2
   9	Cargill	$95,948	$46.13	2
   10	BNY Mellon	$95,814	$46.06	9
   11	Airtable	$94,199	$45.29	3
   12	Morgan Stanley	$93,850	$45.12	28
   13	JPMorgan Chase & Co.	$92,984	$44.70	57
   14	Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria	$91,496	$43.99
   15	Adobe	$88,921	$42.75
   16	Charles Schwab	$88,191	$42.40	4
   17	Teleflex	$87,935	$42.28
   18	Autodesk	$87,599	$42.11
   19	Booz Allen Hamilton	$87,446	$42.04	5
   20	American Family Insurance	$86,963	$41.81

4. Writing an at-risk specialist job description

   A job description for an at-risk specialist role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's an at-risk specialist job description:

   At-risk specialist job description example

   At EMC, you'll put your skills to good use as an important member of our team. You can count on gaining valuable experience while contributing to the company's success. EMC strives to hire and retain the best people by engaging, developing and rewarding employees.
   Essential Functions:
   Performs highly complex catastrophe modeling analysis, planning assigned catastrophe modeling workstreams and managing special projects. Utilizes catastrophe modeling software to estimate losses to the direct portfolio from pending or recent catastrophic events. Assesses financial profitability at various confidence intervals, and the impact on EMC arising from various catastrophic events. Prepares comprehensive modeling report narratives for EMC's property portfolio, as well as individual accounts, detailing the insights to statistical changes or fluctuations in the book. Prepares and reviews communication of significant changes for Actuarial, Corporate Underwriting, Corporate Risk Management, or Branch Operations. Makes recommendations based on analysis results, exposure and loss analytics, and key risk drivers, communicating them with key stakeholders. Assesses exposure data quality and accuracy, making needed corrections for analysis using catastrophe modeling software. Imports exposure data to and produces comprehensive analyses from catastrophe modeling software. Fulfills exposure and related data requests from internal departments and EMC's reinsurance broker. Supports the technical environment, including configuration and implementation of the catastrophe models, by collaborating with internal IT staff and EMC's catastrophe model vendor. Completes various data mapping requests from Actuary, Corporate Risk Management, Underwriting, Branch operations, and other internal departments. Provides expertise for cross-functional projects, including in-depth industry vertical analysis, and independent research and analysis. Serves as a subject matter expert in portfolio optimization responsible for model validation, curve fitting and portfolio roll-up and accumulation activities, including allocation of average annual loss statistics by geographical region, to ensure management has a meaningful update on the EMC property portfolio. Leads model peril research, proposes and maintains model assumptions which dictate pricing assumptions and guidelines. Publishes and presents report detailing specific metrics about EMC's property portfolio, for monitoring and strategy purposes. Peer reviews work to maintain the integrity of the actuarial work product and outlines the timeframes in which the work is completed. Provides knowledge transfer opportunities and actively supports the onboarding of team members in a mentor role. Researches and stays current with model changes. Prepares and reviews internal correspondence to internal customers which identifies impacts of model changes on EMC's current book as they occur. Proactively shares knowledge in catastrophe related areas, creating learning experiences and fostering collaboration within the department.
   
   Education & Experience:
   Bachelor's degree in actuarial science, economics, finance, mathematics, statistics, or related field or equivalent relevant experience Five years of catastrophe modeling experience, predominately in the primary property and casualty insurance environment Insurance designations preferred
   
   Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:
   Excellent knowledge of statistics and probability and computer programming, including SQL, Python, or R Strong knowledge of vendor risk assessment models, such as RMS or AIR Strong knowledge of data visualization and mapping tools, such as ArcMaps or Power BI Thorough knowledge of Microsoft Office Strong analytical, investigation and problem-solving abilities Ability to continually look for ways to improve processes and procedures Strong ability to communicate technical concepts in a non-technical manner, to a wide range of audiences Knowledge of actuarial terminology, concepts and theory preferred
   
   Our employment practices are in accord with the laws which prohibit discrimination due to race, color, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, religion, age, national origin or ancestry, physical or mental disability, medical condition, veteran status, active military status, citizenship status, marital status or any other consideration made unlawful by federal, state, or local laws.
   
   All of our locations are tobacco free including in company vehicles.
   
   To learn more about why you're gonna love it here, watch the video below.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find at-risk specialists for your business, try out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important talent pools for any company is its current employees.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and your current work to ask if they know any at-risk specialists they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level at-risk specialists with the right educational background.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter have more than 3.5 billion users, and they're a great place for company branding and reaching potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your at-risk specialist job on Zippia to find and recruit at-risk specialist candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with at-risk specialist candidates should focus on their interest in the role and background experience. As the hiring process goes on, you can learn more about how they'd fit into the company culture in later rounds of interviews.

   Remember to include a few questions that allow candidates to expand on their strengths in their own words. Asking about their unique skills might reveal things you'd miss otherwise. At this point, good candidates can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new at-risk specialist

   Once you've decided on a perfect at-risk specialist candidate, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, it should include benefits and perks available to the employee. Qualified candidates may be considered for other positions, so make sure your offer is competitive. Candidates may wish to negotiate. Once you've settled on the details, formalize your agreement with a contract.

   It's also important to follow up with applicants who do not get the job with an email letting them know that the position is filled.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new at-risk specialist. Human Resources should complete Employee Action Forms and ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc. They should also ensure that new employee files are created for internal recordkeeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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