Chief Risk Officer Job Description

Chief Risk Officer Job Description

A Chief Risk Officer (CRO) is the most senior risk management executive in an organisation — the board or senior management-level professional responsible for identifying, assessing, and overseeing the management of the risks that could affect the organisation’s strategic objectives, financial performance, regulatory standing, and reputation. The CRO role has grown significantly in prominence over the past fifteen years, driven in particular by the expansion of regulatory requirements for financial services firms and the increasing complexity of the risk environments in which businesses operate.

In the UK, the CRO role is most commonly found in financial services businesses regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) — including banks, insurers, asset managers, wealth managers, and other regulated entities — where the CRO may hold a designated Senior Manager Function under the Senior Managers and Certification Regime (SMCR). CRO appointments are also increasing in private equity-backed businesses, large corporates, and any organisation whose risk profile has become sufficiently complex to require dedicated senior risk leadership.

This page provides a comprehensive Chief Risk Officer job description for UK businesses, covering the core responsibilities, qualifications, and competencies of the role. FD Capital recruits Chief Risk Officers and senior risk executives for FCA-regulated firms and large corporates across the UK. Call 020 3287 9501 or email recruitment@fdcapital.co.uk to discuss a CRO requirement.

Chief Risk Officer Job Description Template

The following job description covers the Chief Risk Officer role in a UK business. The responsibilities and requirements should be adapted to reflect the sector, regulatory status, and size of the organisation. For FCA-regulated firms, the additional SMCR-specific requirements are covered in the section below.

Job title: Chief Risk Officer (CRO)

Reporting to: Chief Executive Officer (CEO) / Board of Directors / Board Risk Committee
Direct reports: Head of Risk / Risk Managers / Risk Analysts (depending on organisation size)
Location: [Location] / Hybrid
Engagement: Permanent / Full-Time

Role overview

The Chief Risk Officer is the most senior risk management professional in the organisation, responsible for developing and maintaining the enterprise risk management framework and ensuring that the organisation’s risk exposure is identified, assessed, monitored, and managed within the risk appetite set by the Board. The CRO provides independent oversight of risk-taking activity across all business lines, reports directly to the CEO and the Board Risk Committee, and plays a critical role in embedding a risk-aware culture throughout the organisation. In regulated firms, the CRO provides the second line of defence function that is required by the regulator and, in many cases, holds a designated Senior Manager Function under SMCR.

Chief Risk Officer Key Responsibilities

Enterprise risk management framework

• Developing, implementing, and maintaining the organisation’s enterprise risk management (ERM) framework, policies, and procedures — ensuring it is proportionate to the complexity and risk profile of the business
• Defining and maintaining the organisation’s risk appetite framework in coordination with the Board — including risk appetite statements, risk tolerances, and risk limits across all material risk categories
• Ensuring the ERM framework meets the requirements of the organisation’s regulators, lenders, investors, and other material stakeholders
• Leading periodic reviews and updates of the risk framework as the business’s risk profile evolves

Risk identification, assessment, and reporting

• Overseeing the identification and assessment of material risks across all categories — financial, operational, strategic, reputational, regulatory, cyber, and conduct risk — and maintaining the organisation’s risk register
• Producing regular risk reports for the Executive Committee, Board, and Board Risk Committee — including key risk indicators (KRIs), risk appetite utilisation, emerging risk assessments, and incident analysis
• Challenging the first line of defence on its risk identification, risk assessment, and risk management activity, and escalating concerns to the Board where the first line’s response is inadequate
• Overseeing the organisation’s risk reporting infrastructure — including risk management information systems, dashboards, and data quality

Risk oversight and second line of defence

• Providing effective independent oversight of risk-taking activity across all business lines — functioning as the second line of defence within the three lines of defence model
• Working with first-line business units to ensure risks are identified, assessed, and managed appropriately at the point of origination
• Overseeing model risk, where applicable — ensuring that quantitative risk models are appropriately validated, documented, and used within their limitations
• Overseeing the organisation’s approach to stress testing and scenario analysis, including reverse stress testing where required by the regulator

Regulatory and compliance risk

• Ensuring that the organisation’s risk management practices meet the requirements of applicable regulatory frameworks — including the FCA’s PRIN rules, SYSC requirements, and any sector-specific risk management requirements (ICAAP, ILAAP, ORSA as applicable)
• Engaging with the FCA, PRA, and other regulators on risk management matters, including participating in supervisory discussions, responding to information requests, and representing the organisation in risk-related regulatory processes
• Overseeing the organisation’s management of regulatory risk — identifying emerging regulatory requirements, assessing their impact on the business, and ensuring they are managed effectively
• Working with the Chief Compliance Officer and Legal function to ensure a joined-up approach to regulatory risk and compliance

Operational and conduct risk

• Overseeing the organisation’s operational risk management framework — including the identification and assessment of operational risks, the design of key controls, and the monitoring of control effectiveness through key risk indicators
• Ensuring that the organisation’s approach to conduct risk — the risk of poor outcomes for customers — is embedded in risk management practices and aligned with the FCA’s Consumer Duty requirements
• Overseeing the management of cyber and information security risk, working with the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) or equivalent where one exists
• Overseeing business continuity and operational resilience planning, including the organisation’s Important Business Services (IBS) framework where applicable

Board and governance engagement

• Attending and presenting at Board Risk Committee meetings — providing an independent view of the organisation’s risk position, risk culture, and the effectiveness of risk management activities
• Advising the Board on risk appetite, risk tolerance, and the risk implications of strategic decisions — including M&A, new product launches, geographic expansion, and material operational changes
• Supporting the Board in its annual review and approval of the risk framework, risk appetite statement, and material risk policies
• Providing oversight of the organisation’s risk culture — assessing whether the culture supports effective risk management and escalation at all levels

Risk function leadership

• Building, managing, and developing the risk management function — recruiting, managing, and retaining qualified risk professionals at Head of Risk, Risk Manager, and Risk Analyst level
• Ensuring the risk function has the skills, tools, and data access it needs to perform its oversight role effectively
• Fostering a risk-aware culture across the organisation through training, communication, and visible leadership

Chief Risk Officer Person Specification

Essential qualifications

• Degree-level education; a postgraduate qualification in risk management, finance, law, or a related discipline is common at CRO level
• Professional risk management qualification — such as the PRM (Professional Risk Manager) from PRMIA, the FRM (Financial Risk Manager) from GARP, or the IRM Certificate or Diploma — is desirable and increasingly expected at CRO level
• For CROs in financial services, a professional accountancy qualification (ACA, ACCA) or actuarial qualification (FIA) is common depending on the sub-sector

Essential experience and competencies

• Risk management leadership: Demonstrable experience of leading a risk management function or holding a senior risk role with significant board or executive committee exposure
• Enterprise risk management: Experience of designing, implementing, and operating an ERM framework in a business of comparable size and complexity
• Regulatory knowledge: Deep understanding of the FCA’s risk management requirements (SYSC, PRIN, Consumer Duty) and, for PRA-regulated firms, the PRA’s approach to risk management oversight
• SMCR: For regulated firms, understanding of the Senior Managers and Certification Regime and the obligations attached to the SMF4 (Chief Risk Officer) or other relevant Senior Manager Functions
• Stakeholder management: Ability to communicate complex risk issues clearly and influentially to non-specialist boards, executive committees, and external regulators
• Three lines of defence: Experience of operating within and overseeing a three lines of defence model

Preferred qualifications and experience

• Sector-specific experience: for financial services CROs, experience in the relevant sub-sector (banking, insurance, asset management, wealth management, fintech) is strongly preferred
• Experience of engaging with the FCA and/or PRA in a supervisory context
• Experience of a Section 166 review (Skilled Persons review) — either as a subject or as the CRO managing the organisation’s response
• Experience of managing a significant operational risk event, cyber incident, or conduct risk issue at senior level
• International risk management experience where the organisation operates across multiple jurisdictions

CRO Under SMCR: FCA-Regulated Firms

In FCA Solo-regulated firms of sufficient size and complexity, and in all PRA-regulated banks and insurers, the Chief Risk Officer typically holds the SMF4 (Chief Risk Officer) Senior Manager Function under the Senior Managers and Certification Regime. Holding an SMF requires FCA approval, a statement of responsibilities, and compliance with the FCA’s conduct rules for Senior Managers. The CRO with SMF4 designation has personal regulatory accountability for the firm’s risk management framework and for the oversight of the firm’s risk exposures — a significant personal obligation that requires the individual to be actively involved in the governance and oversight of risk, not merely to hold a title.

For FCA Solo-regulated firms below the SMCR Enhanced Firm threshold, the CRO function may be held by the CFO or another executive rather than a dedicated CRO, though dedicated CRO appointments are becoming more common as regulatory expectations of risk management standards increase across the sector. Our SMCR compliance recruitment page covers the broader senior manager recruitment requirements of the regime.

Chief Risk Officer Salary: UK Benchmarks

CRO compensation in financial services is also subject to the FCA’s remuneration rules — in particular the requirements around deferral of variable compensation for Senior Managers and Material Risk Takers in FCA-regulated firms. See our CRO recruitment page for the full market context.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a Chief Risk Officer and what do they do?

A Chief Risk Officer is the most senior risk management executive in an organisation. Their primary responsibility is to ensure that the organisation’s material risks — financial, operational, regulatory, reputational, and strategic — are identified, assessed, and managed within the risk appetite set by the Board. In FCA-regulated firms, the CRO typically holds a designated Senior Manager Function and has personal regulatory accountability for the firm’s risk management framework.

Does every company need a Chief Risk Officer?

Not every company requires a dedicated CRO. In smaller businesses, the risk management function is typically owned by the CFO or Finance Director alongside their other responsibilities. A dedicated CRO becomes necessary when the organisation’s risk profile becomes sufficiently complex — through scale, regulatory obligations, international operations, or product complexity — that risk management requires dedicated senior leadership. In FCA-regulated firms, the regulator’s SYSC requirements and the SMCR may effectively mandate a CRO function even if not the specific title.

What is the difference between a Chief Risk Officer and a Chief Compliance Officer?

The Chief Risk Officer is responsible for the enterprise risk management framework — identifying, assessing, and overseeing the management of all material risks. The Chief Compliance Officer is specifically responsible for ensuring that the organisation complies with applicable laws, regulations, and internal policies. In practice, the two roles overlap significantly in regulatory risk and conduct risk, and in smaller organisations one individual may hold both functions. In larger regulated firms, the two roles are typically separate, with the CRO and CCO collaborating closely on regulatory risk matters.

How does FD Capital recruit Chief Risk Officers?

Our team recruits CROs and senior risk executives for FCA-regulated firms, PRA-supervised institutions, and large corporates. Our network includes risk professionals from banking, insurance, asset management, wealth management, and fintech backgrounds, including individuals who hold or have held SMCR Senior Manager Functions. We assess candidates specifically against the regulatory requirements of the role and the FCA’s fitness and propriety standards. Call 020 3287 9501 to discuss a CRO requirement or see our Chief Risk Officer recruitment page for full detail.

Related Services

Chief Risk Officer Recruitment | SMCR Compliance Recruitment | Compliance Recruitment | Risk and Compliance Recruitment | MLRO Recruitment | AMLRO Recruitment | Financial Crime Recruitment | Section 166 Review | Recruitment for FCA Regulated Firms | Insurance CFO | Investment Management CFO | Banking CFO | CFO Job Description | Finance Director Job Description