What does a senior risk analyst do?
A senior risk analyst specializes in performing extensive research and analysis to identify the potential financial losses or disadvantages a company may face when making business decisions. Their responsibilities typically revolve around liaising with clients, coordinating with different departments to gather extensive data, monitoring the stock market, and studying competitors. Furthermore, a senior risk analyst may also prepare documentation and presentation for higher-ranking officials, maintain records of transactions, and serve as a mentor to junior analysts, all while adhering to the company's policies and regulations.
Senior risk analyst responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real senior risk analyst resumes:
- Manage and direct employment relate litigation including discovery, interrogatory responses, settlements and supervision of defense counsel.
- Manage litigation through appropriate selection of counsel, developing strategic action plans a while monitoring an active trial calendar.
- Support implementation of the ERM system globally.
- Develop and maintain strong relationships with stakeholders to help maximize the goals and benefits of ERM.
- Justify the efficiency of options on treasury futures as a short-term proxy for OTC treasury options.
- Support treasury services by reviewing, validating and approving cash forecasts and daily wire transfer activity.
- Oversee quality improvement processes as a result of quality audits, risk incidents, and iso standardization.
- Develop a simulation base model using JAVA for pricing the swing premium for residential customers in ERCOT market.
- Conduct the SAS run for the production model on the UNIX platform and update manual version to match the result.
- Evaluate and monitors reports in the ACH portfolio to ensure the proper use of ACH among each and every customer.
- Develop new reports and modify existing ones by replacing old and inaccurate SAS code with more streamline, macro driven code.
- Coordinate the review and testing of approximately 50 primary SOX 404 controls and 200 secondary controls, processes, and procedures.
- Review and reconcile commodity derivative settlements.
- Develop analytic risk models to value derivative contracts.
- Create layout and update business support validation dashboard reporting SharePoint site.
Senior risk analyst skills and personality traits
We calculated that 20% of Senior Risk Analysts are proficient in Risk Management, SQL, and Portfolio. They’re also known for soft skills such as Computer skills, Interpersonal skills, and Problem-solving skills.
We break down the percentage of Senior Risk Analysts that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Risk Management, 20%
Assisted portfolio management teams in implementing risk management process into their portfolio construction methods by developing and enhancing portfolio modeling tools.
- SQL, 6%
Developed ETL tool and dashboards using SQL, R and Tableau to identify and report business trends across various market segments.
- Portfolio, 6%
Developed a monthly portfolio of over twenty reports that department management used in decision making as well as customer management activities.
- Project Management, 6%
Contributed to project management by recommending processes and procedures for integration of new products and services.
- Risk Assessments, 5%
Performed internal audits and risk assessments of mortgage operations for regulatory compliance and quality control purposes.
- SAS, 5%
Developed new reports and modified existing ones by replacing old and inaccurate SAS code with more streamlined, macro driven code.
Most senior risk analysts use their skills in "risk management," "sql," and "portfolio" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential senior risk analyst responsibilities here:
Interpersonal skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling senior risk analyst duties is interpersonal skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "management analysts work with managers and other employees of the organizations for which they provide consulting services." According to a senior risk analyst resume, here's how senior risk analysts can utilize interpersonal skills in their job responsibilities: "possess excellent interpersonal, analytical, communication and organizational skills with proven ability in team management, customer relationship management"
Problem-solving skills. This is an important skill for senior risk analysts to perform their duties. For an example of how senior risk analyst responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "management analysts must be able to think creatively to solve clients’ problems." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a senior risk analyst: "expanded client relationships by applying knowledge of credit policy, pricing, and structure to create solutions that meet clients needs. ".
Time-management skills. A big part of what senior risk analysts do relies on "time-management skills." You can see how essential it is to senior risk analyst responsibilities because "management analysts often work under tight deadlines and must use their time efficiently to complete projects on schedule." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical senior risk analyst tasks: "plan and oversee monthly risk assessments and ensure deadlines are met. "
Analytical skills. Another crucial skill for a senior risk analyst to carry out their responsibilities is "analytical skills." A big part of what senior risk analysts relies on this skill, since "management analysts must be able to interpret information and use their findings to make proposals." How this skill relates to senior risk analyst duties can be seen in an example from a senior risk analyst resume snippet: "compiled vba code and de shaw api to conciliate data from client and order manager. "
Communication skills. Another skill commonly found on senior risk analyst job descriptions is "communication skills." It can come up quite often in senior risk analyst duties, since "management analysts must be able to convey information clearly in both writing and speaking." Here's an example from a resume of how this skill fits into day-to-day senior risk analyst responsibilities: "coordinate communication between tpg and other financial institutions for recovery of fraudulent funds. "
The three companies that hire the most senior risk analysts are:
- Deloitte404 senior risk analysts jobs
- Molina Healthcare270 senior risk analysts jobs
- Ernst & Young108 senior risk analysts jobs
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Compare different senior risk analysts
Senior risk analyst vs. Analyst lead
The duties of an analyst lead depend on one's line of work or industry of employment. Typically, their responsibilities revolve around performing research and analysis, coordinating with different departments to gather leads and data, reviewing findings, and producing reports and presentations for the stakeholders and other higher-ranking officials. Through the results, an analyst lead can provide advice, devise strategies for business optimization, spearhead the development of processes, identify strengths and weaknesses, and offer recommendations on areas in need of improvement. All of this is done while in adherence to the company's vision and mission.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a senior risk analyst are more likely to require skills like "risk management," "sql," "portfolio," and "risk assessments." On the other hand, a job as an analyst lead requires skills like "analytics," "customer service," "excellent interpersonal," and "java." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Analyst leads earn the highest salaries when working in the finance industry, with an average yearly salary of $110,488. On the other hand, senior risk analysts are paid more in the energy industry with an average salary of $91,198.On average, analyst leads reach lower levels of education than senior risk analysts. Analyst leads are 5.6% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.5% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Senior risk analyst vs. Risk manager
A risk manager is responsible for analyzing potential risks that may affect the organization's operations, reputation, and market credibility. Risk managers identify risk controls and discuss business contingency plans for unforeseen circumstances to prevent delays in operational services. They also develop compliance training and programs for all the employees to provide them the awareness of the safety and security regulations within the company premises. A risk manager must have excellent communication and leadership skills, especially on handling and investigating cases that might compromise the business stability and financial status.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real senior risk analyst resumes. While senior risk analyst responsibilities can utilize skills like "data analysis," "statistical analysis," "visualization," and "vba," risk managers use skills like "oversight," "strong analytical," "patient safety," and "patients."
Risk managers may earn a higher salary than senior risk analysts, but risk managers earn the most pay in the technology industry with an average salary of $119,668. On the other hand, senior risk analysts receive higher pay in the energy industry, where they earn an average salary of $91,198.In general, risk managers achieve lower levels of education than senior risk analysts. They're 6.5% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.5% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for senior risk analysts in the next 3-5 years?
Eduardo Zambrano
Professor of Economics, Orfalea College of Business
Senior risk analyst vs. Data analyst
Data analysts are responsible for interpreting the company's statistics and providing sound recommendations to the organization. They manage the organization's data sets, usually related to market performance, finance, or human resources. They are in charge of studying the available data, spotting trends, interpreting what the data and the trends mean, and recommending suggestions that will help the organization perform better. Their recommendations should also be relevant and backed up with strong analyses. Data analysts are expected to have a good grasp of the current market trends in the industry.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, senior risk analysts are more likely to have skills like "risk management," "sql," "portfolio," and "project management." But a data analyst is more likely to have skills like "python," "power bi," "data management," and "data quality."
Data analysts earn the best pay in the finance industry, where they command an average salary of $86,172. Senior risk analysts earn the highest pay from the energy industry, with an average salary of $91,198.When it comes to education, data analysts tend to earn lower degree levels compared to senior risk analysts. In fact, they're 8.2% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.6% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Senior risk analyst vs. Business operations analyst
A business operations analyst is an individual who identifies and solves issues related to the performance of the business operations. Together with the management and engineering departments, business operations analysts must analyze and review a vast amount of data to identify business opportunities. They must provide recommendations and updated policies so that they can improve the company's business performance. Business operations analysts are also required to create monthly reports and present them to upper management on their key findings and assessments.
Types of senior risk analyst
Updated January 8, 2025
