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Senior Risk Manager Jobs in Chicago, IL (NOW HIRING)

Smarkets

Chief Risk Officer

Chicago, IL · On-site

Senior risk leader with 7+ years of senior experience in risk management, ideally within derivatives markets, exchanges, clearinghouses, or other financial infrastructure providers. * 4+ years of ...

Sidley

AI Operational Risk Management Sr. Lead

Chicago, IL · Hybrid

$170K - $200K/yr

The AI Risk Management Senior Lead is a senior, cross-functional role responsible for owning the firm's AI governance framework, leading the AI Risk Center of Excellence (COE), and ensuring that all ...

Crowe LLP

Third Party Risk Manager

Chicago, IL

Managing, mentoring, coaching, and developing consultants and senior consultants across engagements ... Certified Vendor Risk Management Professional (CVRMP) * Shared Assessments or other vendor risk ...

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Senior Risk Manager information

See Chicago, IL salary details

$23.2K

$121.8K

$216.3K

How much do senior risk manager jobs pay per year?

As of Jul 18, 2026, the average yearly pay for senior risk manager in Chicago, IL is $121,823.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $87,000.00 and $149,400.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

How much do senior risk managers make?

Senior risk managers typically earn between $90,000 and $150,000 annually, depending on experience, industry, and location. They often hold certifications such as FRM or CRM and work in finance, insurance, or corporate risk management environments.

What does a typical day look like for a Senior Risk Manager?

A Senior Risk Manager’s day often includes analyzing complex data to assess potential financial, operational, or strategic risks and developing mitigation strategies accordingly. You’ll regularly collaborate with business leaders across departments, provide expert advice during project planning, and prepare detailed risk reports for executive management or compliance committees. Additionally, you may oversee junior risk team members, guide audit processes, and participate in risk review meetings. This role offers dynamic daily challenges that require both independent analysis and team-oriented communication, making it ideal for those who enjoy both strategic thinking and hands-on collaboration.

What is the highest paying risk management job?

Senior risk management roles, such as Chief Risk Officer (CRO), tend to be the highest paying positions in risk management, often earning six-figure salaries or more depending on the industry and company size. These roles require extensive experience, advanced certifications like FRM or CRM, and strong leadership skills.

What does a senior risk manager do?

A senior risk manager identifies, assesses, and mitigates potential risks that could impact an organization’s financial health, operations, or reputation. They develop risk management strategies, oversee compliance with regulations, and often use tools like risk assessment software. Strong analytical skills and industry certifications such as FRM or CRM are typically required.

What does a Senior Risk Manager do?

A Senior Risk Manager identifies, assesses, and mitigates potential risks that could impact an organization's financial health, operations, or reputation. They develop risk management strategies, ensure compliance with industry regulations, and collaborate with various departments to implement risk controls. Additionally, they analyze market trends and internal processes to proactively address potential threats. Their goal is to minimize risk exposure while supporting business objectives and long-term sustainability.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive in the Senior Risk Manager position, and why are they important?

To excel as a Senior Risk Manager, you need strong analytical capabilities, a deep understanding of risk assessment methodologies, and a relevant degree such as finance, economics, or business administration. Familiarity with risk modeling software, governance frameworks (like COSO or ISO 31000), and industry certifications such as FRM or CRM are highly valued. Exceptional communication, leadership, and decision-making skills help distinguish top performers in this role. These abilities are essential for effectively identifying, evaluating, and mitigating potential risks while supporting organizational objectives.

What is the highest salary for a risk manager?

The highest salaries for senior risk managers can exceed $150,000 annually, especially in large financial institutions or corporations in high-cost areas. Factors such as experience, certifications like FRM or PRM, and industry sector influence top-tier compensation levels.
What are popular job titles related to Senior Risk Manager jobs in Chicago, IL? For Senior Risk Manager jobs in Chicago, IL, the most frequently searched job titles are:
What job categories do people searching Senior Risk Manager jobs in Chicago, IL look for? The top searched job categories for Senior Risk Manager jobs in Chicago, IL are:
Senior Risk Manager jobs near you

Chief Risk Officer

Smarkets

Chicago, IL • On-site

Full-time

Posted 18 hours ago

Job description

Chief Risk Officer
CFTC-Regulated Business Unit
Location: Chicago, IL. Fully remote to start, transitioning to 3 days/week in office.
About Smarkets
Smarkets is a prediction market exchange for sports and political trading that has handled over $50 billion in volume since 2010. We are upending the sports betting industry by growing a platform that offers the best value for traders, with not only the fairest prices but also the best technology, alongside a superior customer experience.
We believe the foundation to our success is attracting the best people to our organisation and creating a high-performance environment where they can thrive. We are searching for an atypical candidate with a wealth of regulated business experience to support the development of our CFTC business.
The Role
This is a senior leadership role sitting within our CFTC-regulated business unit, with responsibility for the enterprise risk management function across our Designated Contract Market (DCM) and Derivatives Clearing Organization (DCO). You will be the most senior risk voice in the business, owning the identification, assessment, and mitigation of every risk facing the entity. This is a founding build: our licensing applications are in-flight and you will stand up the risk management framework from the ground up through to go-live, then operate and mature it as the business scales. You will work directly with the CEO and board, with the support of the Smarkets UK team behind you.
About You
  • Senior risk leader with 7+ years of senior experience in risk management, ideally within derivatives markets, exchanges, clearinghouses, or other financial infrastructure providers.
  • 4+ years of hands-on experience owning enterprise or operational risk within a DCM, DCO, or comparable regulated market infrastructure in the United States, with direct responsibility for risk and system safeguards, not advisory or supporting experience.
  • Entrepreneurial mindset with a proven track record working in a small scale fast-paced creative work environment.
  • Deep understanding of the CFTC's risk and system safeguards expectations, including Core Principle 20 (System Safeguards), stress testing, and operational resilience requirements.
  • Strong background identifying and analysing technology risk, counterparty exposures, and internal control weaknesses, and translating them into a defensible, audit-ready risk framework.
  • Proficiency with established risk assessment frameworks (COSO ERM, ISO 31000) and control testing, applied across financial, operational, and systemic risk. CFA or FRM certification is desirable.
  • Experience partnering with the CEO and board on risk strategy, board-level governance, and risk reporting, including engagement with regulators at an institutional level.

Responsibilities
  • Own the end-to-end enterprise risk management programme for Smarkets Board of Trade (DCM): policies, controls, monitoring, stress testing and reporting, ready for go-live.
  • Establish and maintain risk assessment processes across market volatility and trading disruptions, technology failures and cyber threats, vendor and third-party dependencies, and compliance and internal control weaknesses.
  • Own Core Principle 20 (System Safeguards): embed system safeguards testing, cyber resilience, business continuity and recovery planning into day-to-day operations.
  • Oversee or conduct stress testing and backtesting relevant to market and technology risk, and maintain the risk register with clear escalation of significant events to the CEO and regulatory authorities.
  • Develop risk mitigation strategies and monitor risk indicators across all business units, including those operating across jurisdictions (for example, engineering in the UK).
  • Work in coordination with the CISO and Compliance to ensure regulatory and operational risk is fully embedded across the business.
  • Report on risk exposures and mitigation plans to the CEO, board, and designated risk committees, ensuring documentation, dashboards and controls are audit-ready and CFTC-compliant.
  • Contribute to incident response and recovery planning, with a focus on risk impact analysis and controls testing.

Desirable Attributes
  • Personal interest in sports, exchanges, or trading
  • Experience with system safeguards testing, cybersecurity risk, and business continuity and disaster recovery planning in a regulated trading environment.
  • Experience engaging with self-regulatory organisations (SROs) such as the NFA, and participating in industry working groups.
  • Prior experience at the CFTC as a staff member or examiner, subsequently transitioning to industry, this background is highly valued.
  • Familiarity with event contracts, prediction markets, or similar novel futures products and their treatment under the CFTC framework.

Our Values
  • Push to win
  • Make others better
  • Give a shit
  • Be a pro
  • Bring the energy

Our values are at the heart of everything that we do. We believe these are the fundamentals to ensure we are delivering what's expected of us in the best way possible for ourselves and for those around us.
Benefits
We offer a competitive salary package and benefits, along with a dynamic and collaborative work environment. Your work with us will make an impact and your voice will be heard. We are a diverse team with a strong work ethic and plenty of hunger to win. We have designed our benefits offering around Health, Wealth, Lifestyle and Development.

Apply