Guest blog Q&A with Opus Energy

Choosing a career is no mean feat, especially when there’s a plethora of paths to choose from.

Today we’re delving into the world of ‘risk management’ – a field you may not know much about. However, if you’ve got numerate or analytical skills, you may find that this type of work is right up your alley.

Matt is an Analyst at B2B energy supplier, Opus Energy. Read on to hear what he has to say about the intriguing field of risk management. 

Hi Matt – to start us off, what exactly is risk management?

Risk management is all about minimising the negative impact that potential events can have.

This involves identifying risks that a particular business may be subject to, and putting into place methods of minimising these risks. This could involve ensuring these risks are avoided completely, transferring the risk elsewhere, or implementing strategies to reduce the likelihood and impact of risk, for example.

What sort of industries are particularly risk management orientated?

The financial, energy and insurance sectors are particularly affected by risk, and have more substantial risk management setups. However risk management is also important in the manufacturing, engineering, and pharmaceutical industries.

What is your role within risk management?

I’m part of the Hedging and Forecasting team in Opus Energy’s Risk Management division. I am responsible for the company’s day to day energy trading; ensuring customers are accurately supplied with the energy they consume.

Our hedging strategy protects against the risk of price movement, to ensure the company does not lose out on the energy it purchases. There is a lot of scope in my role to get involved in coding and modelling as part of the team’s analysis, which I greatly enjoy.

How did you get onto this career path? Do you need certain qualifications or work experience?

I joined Opus Energy shortly after finishing my Physics degree, with no relevant experience or risk management qualifications. I wanted to use the numerical and analytical skills I gained from my degree in an interesting and stimulating role.

In three words, what do you love about what you do?

Dynamic, interesting, varied!

And on the other hand, what challenges might people face in a role such as yours?

From a hedging point of view, trading deadlines mean that I am regularly working under time pressure, which can be challenging. The role can be fast paced and ad-hoc analysis can be required at a quick turnaround time.

Could you give any advice that might help somebody considering moving into risk management?

If you have a numerate background, and enjoy analytical problem solving, risk management is a good career choice. Be prepared to go into some detail of analytical work you have completed in your applications; and be ready to work hard as the learning curve can be steep!

About Opus Energy: Opus Energy is one of the UK’s leading business electricity suppliers, supplying energy since 2002. The company has offices based in Northampton and Oxford. For more information about careers and their graduate programme, visit: www.opusenergy.com/about-us/careers/

DON’T MISS! 

Risky Business event – Weds 20 Jan, 5.30pm. Hear from employers busting a few myths about the risk assessment and insurance industry – you’ll be surprised!