Risk management director vs risk management specialist

The differences between risk management directors and risk management specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a risk management director and a risk management specialist. Additionally, a risk management director has an average salary of $133,286, which is higher than the $69,819 average annual salary of a risk management specialist.

The top three skills for a risk management director include oversight, risk assessments and governance. The most important skills for a risk management specialist are risk assessments, powerpoint, and patient safety.

Risk management director vs risk management specialist overview

	Risk Management Director	Risk Management Specialist
Yearly salary	$133,286	$69,819
Hourly rate	$64.08	$33.57
Growth rate	17%	17%
Number of jobs	80,337	101,149
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 61%	Bachelor's Degree, 64%
Average age	43	43
Years of experience	6	6

What does a risk management director do?

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. They coordinate with upper management to identify a strategic approach and strengthen risk management policies. A risk management director must have excellent communication and organizational skills, especially in writing and investigating incident reports and resolving internal escalations immediately and efficiently.

What does a risk management specialist do?

A risk management specialist is in charge of performing extensive research and analysis to determine the financial risks that a company may face. Through their expertise, a risk management analyst develops strategies to thwart these risks or lessen its impact and prevent significant financial losses. They may also devise programs and projects, providing support to employees as needed. Furthermore, they must recommend solutions in adherence to the company's policies and regulations, including its vision and mission.

Risk management director vs risk management specialist salary

Risk management directors and risk management specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Risk Management Director	Risk Management Specialist
Average salary	$133,286	$69,819
Salary range	Between $95,000 And $185,000	Between $40,000 And $119,000
Highest paying City	Washington, DC	Hoboken, NJ
Highest paying state	Vermont	New Jersey
Best paying company	Conning	PayPal
Best paying industry	Hospitality	Professional

Differences between risk management director and risk management specialist education

There are a few differences between a risk management director and a risk management specialist in terms of educational background:

	Risk Management Director	Risk Management Specialist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 61%	Bachelor's Degree, 64%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	Stanford University

Risk management director vs risk management specialist demographics

Here are the differences between risk management directors' and risk management specialists' demographics:

	Risk Management Director	Risk Management Specialist
Average age	43	43
Gender ratio	Male, 59.4% Female, 40.6%	Male, 43.6% Female, 56.4%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.6% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 9.6% Asian, 10.0% White, 67.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%	Black or African American, 8.6% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 9.6% Asian, 10.0% White, 67.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage	4%	4%

Differences between risk management director and risk management specialist duties and responsibilities

Risk management director example responsibilities.

Manage budget process and ensure a positive ROI.
Manage all Sarbanes-Oxley, financial, internal and ad-hoc audit activities.
Manage Fujitsu-Siemens relationship for the Americas.
Enhance CRM analytics for managing consumer interactions during multi-channel service transactions.
Manage an establish insurance program, including super vision and oversight of safety management programs.
Manage customer expectations and assist customers and partners in understanding the required project steps and deliverables for a successful CRM implementation.

Risk management specialist example responsibilities.

Lead SOX project planning and implementation, successfully implement the corporate governance policies and internal control framework.
Handle HIPAA compliant requests for medical records.
Provide SAS programming assistance to non-technical members of the team.
Programme with SAS to monitor hedging program and recommend hedging strategy.
Generate scripts from SQL server 2005 and port databases to SQL server 2008 R2.
Upgrade reports and packages as well as applications to SQL server 2008 R2 from 2005.

Risk management director vs risk management specialist skills

Common risk management director skills

Oversight, 11%
Risk Assessments, 8%
Governance, 8%
Risk Management, 7%
Project Management, 5%
Patient Safety, 4%

Common risk management specialist skills

Risk Assessments, 9%
PowerPoint, 8%
Patient Safety, 7%
Enterprise Risk Management, 5%
Cash Management, 4%
Treasury, 4%

Risk Management Director vs. similar jobs

Risk Management Director related careers

Risk Management Director related jobs

What similar roles do

Zippia Careers
Business and Financial Industry
Risk Management Director
Risk Management Director vs Risk Management Specialist

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse business and financial jobs