Risk analysis is a critical field in the business world, and if you’re interested in working in it, there are a few things you need to know. In this ELTC guide, we’ll walk you through what risk analysis is, what kind of jobs are available in the field, and how to make a career in risk analysis. So whether you’re just starting out on your career journey or you’re thinking about making a shift to risk analysis, read on for everything you need to get started!
What do Risk Analysts do?
They examine the political climate and social conditions of a particular country, region, or market to determine the level of political risk. They provide information pertaining to government stability, crime levels, currency convertibility, land rights issues, as well as other factors that would affect return on investment. Typically, analysts gather information pertaining to the area of interest, determine the causes, sources, and level of risk, and forward their findings to decision-makers. This might include providing solutions or offer recommendations for overcoming these risks.
Work in political risk management can be quite varied. If you pursue this field, you may find yourself working for international organisations, financial companies, rating services, oil companies, consumer businesses or companies that sell political risk information. You can also work in the political risk divisions of large consulting and insurance companies or within Credit, Fixed Income, or Equities in large banks.
More information can be found:
- Risk management profession explained – Institute of Risk management of South Africa https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVR04akOdbY
- St Andrews Guide to Political Risk Careers
https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/careers/exploring-your-future/career-options/a-z/political-risk-analysis/ - What is Risk? – Professor Terje Aven
https://bit.ly/2PejH9Z
How to get experience?
Accounting and financial skills as well as an understanding of political processes are great basis for entering the field. Internships are strongly recommended for a career in political risk analysis so try to arrange work shadowing and longer placements; these can help you to decide on your career choice and are a real advantage when applying for jobs. You can adopt a speculative approach in seeking these.
Many individuals interested in political risk analysis see the need to focus on a particular angle that will create a pathway to their career. If you’re interested in the Equity Department, take courses in Economics. If you would like to specialise in a particular region, work hard to become an expert on its politics, culture, and economy. If you know that your languages are rusty then think about experience that will help you brush up. You will probably need to be proactive and make speculative applications to organisations that you are interested in and network in order to get that first role.
Useful Resources to build your commercial awareness:
- FTI Consulting – Case Studies
https://www.fticonsulting-emea.com/about/case-studies - Society for Risk Analysis – Resources
http://www.sra.org/resources - Society for Risk Analysis – Foundations of Risk Analysis
http://www.sra.org/sites/default/files/pdf/FoundationsMay7-2015-sent-x.pdf - RiskWorld – Recently Published Books About Risk Analysis
http://www.riskworld.com/books/ - Public Risk Management Association – Publications & Resources https://primacentral.org/content.cfm?sectionid=6
What skills are needed?
Obtaining a job in political risk analysis is by no means a straightforward undertaking. Whatever you choose, you will likely need to create the building blocks of your career through a careful mix of postgraduate training, experience, skills and networking.
Successful analysts are people who can apply their knowledge to understand new and complex situations. They come from all sorts of backgrounds. Analysts usually have degrees in business or international relations or have worked in intelligence, law, journalism or law enforcement. Furthermore, banking experience is useful to those seeking employment at a financial institution. All applicants must have strong research and analytical skills. They need to be good decision-makers and able to communicate well. Potential employers are looking for ‘intelligent risk takers’ who are well-informed and keep abreast of current events. They also want individuals who can write concise and coherent reports. Language skills are an asset but not a requirement in the field. Some positions may expect you to know a particular region in deep so you are able to decipher a balance sheet, understand a country’s economic workings or provide insight into its politics. However, other positions will focus on several areas of the world and therefore do not expect you to be a specialist.
How to get started – Leading organisations
As you begin your career in the industry, it is important to start building a network of contacts and exploring the various opportunities that are available. This list of organisations is a great place to start. By taking the time to explore each website, you will get a better sense of the different types of organisations that exist in the industry, what kinds of opportunities they offer, and what kinds of commercial awareness you can gain from them.. So take your time and explore each organisation on this list; it may just be the first step on your path to success in the industry!
- Aegis (London-based with offices in Afghanistan, Bahrain, Iraq, and the UK) www.aegislink.com/
- AES Corporation (Headquarters in Arlington) www.aes.com/careers/careers-overview/default.aspx.
- AIG (Offices worldwide) www.aig.com/individual
- AKE Group (London-based with offices in Hereford and Singapore) www.akegroup.com/
- Aon Corporation (Offices worldwide) www.aon.com/unitedkingdom/default.jsp
- AXA XL (Offices worldwide) https://axaxl.com/
- BP (Offices worldwide) www.bp.com/
- Business Monitor International (Offices worldwide) www.fitchsolutions.com/bmi-research
- Chevron (Offices worldwide) http://careers.chevron.com/
- Chubb (Offices in over 50 countries) www2.chubb.com/uk-en/
- Cohen Group (Offices in Washington, Beijing, Tianjin, and Haryana) www.cohengroup.net/
- Constellis (Offices in over 20 countries) https://constellis.com/careers
- Control Risks Group (Offices worldwide) www.controlrisks.com/
- Country Watch (Headquarters in Houston) www.countrywatch.com/home
- Duke Energy (Offices worldwide) www.duke-energy.com/home
- EIU (Offices worldwide) www.eiu.com/home.aspx
- Euro-Libyan Trade Center (Headquarters in Tripoli) https://euroly.org/
- ESAI (Headquarters in Boston) www.esai.com/
- Eurasia group (Offices in Brazil, Singapore and US) www.eurasiagroup.net/
- Evolution Markets (Offices in Singapore, US and UK) www.evomarkets.com/
- ExxonMobil (Offices worldwide) http://corporate.exxonmobil.com/en
- Frontier Horizons (Offices in over 10 countries) www.frontierhorizons.org/
- FTI Consulting (Offices in over 20 countries) www.fticonsulting-emea.com/?rl=emea
- Harmattan Risk (Headquarters in London) www.harmattan-risk.com/
- IHS Markit (Offices worldwide) www.fitchratings.com/site/home
- IISS (Offices in Bahrein, Singapore, US and UK) www.iiss.org/
- Inkerman Group (Headquarters in Ashford) https://inkerman.com/
- JLT (Offices worldwide) http://www.jlt.com
- JP Morgan (Offices worldwide) https://careers.jpmorgan.com/careers/global/en/home
- Kreller (Headquarters in Ohio) www.kreller.com/
- Kroll Associates (Offices worldwide) www.kroll.com/en-us
- Mastercard (Offices worldwide) www.mastercard.co.uk/en-gb.html
- MENA Analytica (Headquarters in London and offices in all MENA) https://www.mena-analytica.com/about
- MIGA: Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (Headquarters in Washington) www.miga.org/Pages/Home.aspx
- Moody’s Investors Services (Offices worldwide) www.moodys.com/
- Morgan Stanley (Offices worldwide) www.morganstanley.com/
- NewLink Group (Headquarters in Toronto) www.newlinkgroup.com/
- Nexant (Offices worldwide) www.nexant.com/
- NRG (Headquarters in Houston) www.nrg.com/home.html
- NRG: Nuclear Research & Consultancy Group (Headquarters in Petten) www.nrg.eu/
- OECD: The Organization For Economic Cooperation & Development (Headquarters in Paris) www.oecd.org/careers/
- Oxford Analytica (Offices in New York, Paris and Oxford) www.oxan.com/
- PwC (Offices worldwide) www.pwc.com/gx/en.html
- Rand Corporation (Headquarters in Santa Monica) www.rand.org/
- Risk.net (Offices in over 20 countries) www.risk.net/
- Riskline (Headquarters in Copenhagen) www.riskline.com/
- S&P Global Ratings (Offices in over 30 countries) www.spratings.com/en_US/home
- Smith Brandon International (Headquarters in Washington) www.smithbrandon.com/
- Stratfor (Headquarters in Austin) www.stratfor.com/
- The PRS Group (Headquarters in Syracuse) www.prsgroup.com/
- Verisk Maplecroft (Headquarters in Bath) www.maplecroft.com/
- Zurich Insurance Group (Offices worldwide) www.zurich.com/en/
Making a career in risk analysis can be both challenging and rewarding. In this field, you will have the opportunity to work with businesses and organisations of all sizes to help them understand and mitigate risks. If you are looking for a leading organisation that can provide you with excellent training and mentorship, look no further than our team at The Euro-Libyan Trade Center.
