Government Risk Profession

The Government Risk Profession was formally established in 2022 and is working to bring improvement through the Risk Management Strategy and Delivery Plan and beyond. We all manage risk at different levels so need to ensure that effective risk management is part of the way we operate, so that we are taking good risks in pursuit of opportunity. Risk management enables organisations to identify, assess and understand their overall risk profile, so that those risks can then be appropriately controlled. Effective risk management is an important aspect of success within public bodies.

There are a diverse number of challenging and exciting roles available within the risk profession across Government. Risk Management roles vary, but typical responsibilities include creating risk assessments, designing, and implementing risk management processes, carrying out assurance work, and quantifying risk appetite, i.e. the level of risk a public body is prepared to accept in pursuing its objectives. There are currently more than 900 risk professionals working across government. Senior risk management roles in government include, Head of Risk and Chief Risk Officer, who play an important part in advising senior boards on their overall risk management approach.

The Government Risk Profession is supported by the Risk Centre of Excellence (CoE), which is led by the Head of the Government Risk profession. You can contact the COE at riskcoe@hmtreasury.gov.uk and can find additional information on the Government Risk Profession pages at One Finance.