How to hire an operational risk analyst

How to hire an operational risk analyst, step by step

Here's a step-by-step operational risk analyst hiring guide:

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

What does an operational risk analyst do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your operational risk analyst job, you should take the time to determine what type of worker your business needs. While certain jobs definitely require a full-time employee, it's sometimes better to find an operational risk analyst for hire on a part-time basis or as a contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

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

   Yes

   No

   You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them an operational risk analyst to have before you start to hire. For example, what industry or field would you like them to have experience in, what level of seniority or education does the job require, and how much it'll cost to hire an operational risk analyst that fits the bill.

   Here's a comparison of operational risk analyst salaries for various roles:

   Type of Operational Risk Analyst	Description	Hourly rate
   Operational Risk Analyst	Operations research analysts use advanced mathematical and analytical methods to help organizations investigate complex issues, identify and solve problems, and make better decisions.	$28-53
   Analyst	Analysts are employees or individual contributors with a vast experience in a particular field that help the organization address challenges. They help the organization improve processes, policies, and other operations protocol by studying the current processes in place and determining the effectiveness of those processes... Show more	$25-47
   Co-Operations Internship	Co-operations interns perform various tasks for an organization. These include troubleshooting computer issues for employees, updating the documentation on internal troubleshooting, and designing and performing clerical tasks such as data entry and making telephone calls... Show more	$13-24

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Risk Management
   • Operational Risk
   • Risk Assessments
   • Strong Analytical
   • Internal Audit
   • Internal Controls
   • SQL
   • Fraudulent Transactions
   • AML
   • Good Judgment
   • Regulatory Risk
   • Process Improvement
   • Mitigate Risk
   • Sarbanes-Oxley

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage and update SQL databases to solve technical problems.
   • Manage treasury workstation steering team for automation of core treasury operations for increase reliability of financial reporting and decision making.
   • Prepare SAR (suspicious activity reports) reports to cases.
   • Apply knowledge of fixed-income securities to structure restrictions on exposure to risk.
   • Review, document & investigate transactions to ensure rules set by BSA are followed.
   • Perform reconciliations to improve efficiency and control of securities, commodities, and futures businesses.

   More operational risk analyst duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your operational risk analyst job description helps attract top candidates to the position. An operational risk analyst salary can be affected by several factors, such as geography, experience, seniority, certifications, and the prestige of the hiring company.

   For example, the average salary for an operational risk analyst in West Virginia may be lower than in Maryland, and an entry-level operational risk analyst usually earns less than a senior-level operational risk analyst. Additionally, an operational risk analyst with certifications may command a higher salary, and working for a well-known company or start-up may also impact an employee's pay.

   Average operational risk analyst salary

   $82,457yearly

   $39.64 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level operational risk analyst salary

   $60,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 5, 2025

   Average operational risk analyst salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$112,158	$54
   2	Maryland	$105,835	$51
   3	New York	$100,627	$48
   4	Ohio	$100,101	$48
   5	New Jersey	$95,129	$46
   6	Illinois	$94,546	$45
   7	North Carolina	$94,407	$45
   8	Texas	$93,257	$45
   9	Delaware	$93,093	$45
   10	Virginia	$90,973	$44
   11	Massachusetts	$82,246	$40
   12	Arizona	$78,889	$38
   13	Colorado	$74,883	$36
   14	Alabama	$74,441	$36
   15	Missouri	$72,644	$35
   16	Florida	$70,477	$34
   17	Iowa	$65,339	$31
   18	Georgia	$61,428	$30

   Average operational risk analyst salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	PayPal	$109,810	$52.79	3
   2	Meta	$105,051	$50.51	20
   3	Microsoft	$98,664	$47.43	3
   4	Western Alliance Bank	$98,149	$47.19	16
   5	Citi	$94,101	$45.24	20
   6	Federal Reserve	$92,243	$44.35
   7	Federal Reserve Bank	$92,035	$44.25	2
   8	Morgan Stanley	$91,376	$43.93	27
   9	Wedbush Securities	$90,459	$43.49	1
   10	Santander Bank	$88,075	$42.34
   11	Toast	$87,623	$42.13
   12	BNY Mellon	$87,238	$41.94	18
   13	JPMorgan Chase & Co.	$87,041	$41.85	75
   14	VanEck	$83,566	$40.18
   15	BRMi	$83,002	$39.90
   16	Rocket Lawyer	$82,190	$39.51
   17	Fifth Third Bank	$82,073	$39.46	4
   18	Finastra	$81,752	$39.30	1
   19	Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group	$81,720	$39.29	1
   20	USAA	$81,578	$39.22	28

4. Writing an operational risk analyst job description

   An operational risk analyst job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. Below, you can find an example of an operational risk analyst job description:

   Operational risk analyst job description example

   + Department: MIT Investment Management Company
   
   + School Area: Executive Vice President
   
   + Employment Type: Full-time (Hybrid)
   
   + Employment Category: Exempt
   
   + Visa Sponsorship Available: No
   
   + Schedule:
   
   Email a Friend Save Save Apply Now
   
   Information on MIT's COVID-19 vaccination requirement can be found at the bottom of this posting.
   
   FINANCIAL REPORTING AND OPERATIONAL RISK (FROR) SENIOR ANALYST, MIT Investment Management Company (MITIMCo), to join a growing team and be primarily responsible for the preparation and review of daily risk reporting, monthly validation of administrator-produced NAV packages, monitoring of regulatory thresholds and the resultant preparation of regulatory filings, supporting the tax preparation cycle and aiding in the review of the resultant returns, and maintaining the operational due diligence cycle. Will also support ad hoc requests. Responsibilities include analyzing and distributing daily risk report for multi-billion-dollar investment partnership, noting any threshold breaches; validating management and incentive fees for separately managed accounts, funds of one, and other fund structures; assisting with the review of monthly NAV packages; monitoring regulatory reporting thresholds that trigger filings; assisting with the preparation and review of regulatory filings; assisting with the migration of books and records from current fund administrator to a successor; facilitating operational due diligence of external managers throughout the investment life cycle; reviewing and approving investment-related expenses submitted for reimbursement; assisting with the analysis and marketing of closed-end fund positions for the secondary market; and other duties as requested.
   
   Job Requirements
   
   REQUIRED: bachelor's degree in accounting or related area; four years' accounting experience within a financial services firm; demonstrated understanding of investment management and financial statements; strong Microsoft Office skills, including advanced-level proficiency with Excel; familiarity with data manipulation tools; strong data analysis, research, communication, and writing skills; ability to work with exercise independent and sound judgment minimal supervision, prioritize own work, meet tight deadlines, work under pressure, and adjust to shifting priorities; attention to detail; and excellent problem-solving skills for resolving ambiguous, complex, and multivariable problems. Job #21389-8 6/6/22

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find operational risk analysts 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 operational risk analysts they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level operational risk analysts 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 operational risk analyst job on Zippia to find and recruit operational risk analyst candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with operational risk analyst 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.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents. You can move on to the technical interview if a candidate is good enough for the next step.

   Sometimes, it's not enough to interview operational risk analyst candidates, so you can ask them to do a test project. If you are not a technical person and don't know what a test project should be, you can use these websites:

   • TestDome
   • CodeSignal
   • Testlify
   • BarRaiser
   • Coderbyte

   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 operational risk analyst

   Once you've found the operational risk analyst candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

   It's also good etiquette to follow up with applicants who don't get the job by sending them an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new operational risk analyst. Human Resources and the hiring manager should complete Employee Action Forms. Human Resources should also ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc., and that new employee files are created.

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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How much does it cost to hire an operational risk analyst?