Operational Risk Manager

The Opportunity Hub UK Ltd; Manchester; Hybrid; GBP 55,000 - 79,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid working

Equity stake

Learning & development budget

Flat structure

Job summary

The Opportunity Hub UK Ltd in Manchester is seeking an Operational Risk Manager to shape and implement the operational risk framework from the ground up within a fast-growing financial services startup. You’ll partner with founders and department heads to embed risk thinking into day-to-day decisions and regulatory reporting.

With a focus on building risk registers, control assessments and incident reporting, you’ll drive root-cause analysis and deliver practical improvements.

Qualifications

• Solid experience in operational risk management within financial services.
• Working knowledge of relevant UK regulatory frameworks and how they apply in practice.
• Comfortable building processes from scratch.
• Strong communication skills, able to explain risk concepts clearly.

Responsibilities

• Build and maintain the operational risk framework from the ground up, including risk registers, control assessments and incident reporting processes.
• Identify, assess and monitor operational risks across the business as it scales, flagging issues before they become regulatory problems.
• Work directly with founders and department heads to embed risk thinking into day-to-day decisions, not just quarterly reviews.
• Prepare risk reports and management information for senior stakeholders and regulators.
• Lead root cause analysis on incidents and near-misses, turning findings into practical control improvements.
• Support the wider team on regulatory change projects as new requirements land.

Skills

Operational risk management

Regulatory frameworks

Risk reporting

Communication skills

Independent work

Job description

Make your mark as a Operational Risk Manager in the Financial Services sector, based in Manchester.

Financial services firms are under more regulatory pressure than they've faced in years, and the ones scaling fastest are the ones who bring in risk expertise early rather than bolting it on later. This is a young, ambitious financial services company built on that principle. As an Operational Risk Manager here, you won't be inheriting a rigid framework built by someone else. You'll be shaping it.

Here’s what you’ll be doing:

Build and maintain the operational risk framework from the ground up, including risk registers, control assessments and incident reporting processes

Identify, assess and monitor operational risks across the business as it scales, flagging issues before they become regulatory problems

Work directly with founders and department heads to embed risk thinking into day-to-day decisions, not just quarterly reviews

Prepare risk reports and management information for senior stakeholders and, where relevant, regulators

Lead root cause analysis on incidents and near-misses, then turn findings into practical control improvements

Support the wider team on regulatory change projects as new requirements land

Here are the skills you’ll need:

Solid experience in operational risk management within financial services, ideally with exposure to a regulated environment

Working knowledge of relevant UK regulatory frameworks and how they apply in practice, not just in theory

Comfortable building processes from scratch. This isn’t a role where the templates already exist

Strong communication skills. You’ll need to explain risk concepts clearly to people who aren’t risk specialists

A pragmatic, commercial mindset that balances control with the pace a startup needs to move at

Confidence working independently and prioritising your own workload across competing demands

Key perks and benefits:

£54,500 to £78,500, depending on experience

Hybrid working from the Manchester office, with genuine flexibility on hours

Equity in the business. You’ll have a real stake in what you help build

A dedicated learning and development budget to support professional qualifications

A flat structure where your input reaches decision-makers directly, no layers to get lost in

Why pursue a career in Financial Services?

Financial services remains one of the most stable long-term career paths going, and demand for strong operational risk professionals has only grown as regulation tightens. Manchester has become a genuine hub for financial services outside London, with lower costs and a growing cluster of ambitious firms competing for the same talent. Good risk managers are hard to find and even harder to keep, so the ones who are good at this work tend to write their own ticket.