Project, Risk and Safety Management · Awarded by OTHM
Level 7 Diploma in Risk Management
For risk, compliance, audit and resilience professionals who want to move from managing a register to advising a board on the risks that matter.
- LevelRQF Level 7Same level as a master's
- Credits1206 units
- Qualification time1,200 hours600 guided learning hours
- Awarding bodyOTHMRegulated by Ofqual
- Ofqual number603/6782/9Search the Ofqual register
- Duration9 months (standard) or 6 months (fast track)Set by LSPM, confirmed on enquiry
- Study modesonline or blendedLive seminars, evenings and Saturdays
- FeesFrom £999 (9 months, standard) or £1,299 (6 months, fast track)Written quotation on enquiry
- Next intakeRolling intake — course starts when the fee is paidSet by LSPM
- AssessmentAssignmentsNo examinations
Who it is for
Risk and compliance leads moving to strategic advisory roles
The six units of this diploma follow a deliberate arc: Principles of Risk Management, Strategic Risk Management, Responsible Leadership and Governance, Organisational and Environmental Risk, Risk Analysis and Modelling, and Advanced Research Methods. It begins with how risk is framed, moves to how it is governed and ends with how it is quantified.
It suits risk managers and heads of risk in regulated or asset-heavy sectors, compliance and internal audit leads whose remit is widening into enterprise risk, and resilience and business continuity managers who want the strategic layer above their operational work.
It is not a certification from a risk or insurance institute and does not replace one. Nor is it a quantitative finance qualification; the modelling unit is about applying analytical methods to organisational risk, not derivatives pricing.
Structure
Six units, all mandatory
All six units are mandatory. OTHM publishes the diploma's total of 120 credits; the data we hold does not state a per-unit credit value, so the table shows titles only and the specification is the authority.
Mandatory units All six required
| Unit |
|---|
| Principles of Risk Management |
| Strategic Risk Management |
| Responsible Leadership and Governance |
| Organisational and Environmental Risk |
| Risk Analysis and Modelling |
| Advanced Research Methods |
Unit titles: OTHM Level 7 Diploma in Risk Management (OTHM), official specification, Ofqual 603/6782/9.
How LSPM sequences them
Principles of Risk Management runs first, followed immediately by Strategic Risk Management so that the enterprise view is in place early. Responsible Leadership and Governance comes third, because risk appetite is a governance decision before it is a technical one. Organisational and Environmental Risk broadens the scope. Risk Analysis and Modelling is late in the programme, once you know what you are modelling and why, and Advanced Research Methods runs alongside it. The data we hold for this qualification does not include per-unit credit values; the specification is the authority.
Entry requirements
Who can enrol
OTHM sets the entry requirements and London School of Planning and Management, the approved centre, applies them. As published in the specification:
- An honours degree in related subject or UK level 6 diploma or an equivalent overseas qualification
- Mature learners with management experience (learners must check with the delivery centre regarding this experience prior to registering for the programme)
- Learners must be 21 years old or older at the beginning of the course
- English requirements: If a learner is not from a majority English-speaking country must provide evidence of English language competency. For more information visit English Language Expectations page in this website.
How LSPM applies this in practice. Risk professionals who apply generally hold a degree or Level 6 qualification in finance, engineering, law or business. Where there is no degree, LSPM looks at the scope of the risk role you hold and speaks with you before offering a place. Comfort with spreadsheets is assumed for the modelling unit.
Entry requirements from the official specification. If you are not sure whether your qualification counts as equivalent, send us the details and we will ask LSPM to check with the awarding body.
Assessment
Written assignments, no examinations
Assignments are the documents a head of risk produces: a risk framework for an organisation, a strategic risk assessment, a governance review, an environmental risk analysis and a modelled risk scenario with its assumptions made explicit. No examinations.
Your tutor at LSPM marks the work and gives written feedback. OTHM then externally verifies a sample of marked work to confirm the standard is being applied consistently. A unit is passed when all of its criteria are met.
Progression
From diploma to top-up with advanced standing
An MSc in Risk Management or a related master's is the usual destination, and a university may treat the diploma's 120 credits as advanced standing into its final stage. Whether it does is the university's decision alone; neither LSPM nor this site can promise a place.
The diploma is most often used to support a move from risk manager to head of risk or chief risk officer, or from a compliance or audit specialism into enterprise risk.
Progression note for employers. If you are sponsoring a manager with a master's as the eventual goal, budget the top-up separately and check the university's terms before you commit. The diploma stage is where LSPM's fees and timetable apply; the top-up stage is the university's. How the pathway works.
Outcomes
What you will be able to do
- Frame risk for an organisationSet out a risk management framework, appetite and language a board will adopt.
- Manage strategic riskIdentify the risks that threaten the strategy itself and recommend how to treat them.
- Govern responsiblyEvaluate governance arrangements and leadership behaviour against responsible practice.
- Assess environmental and organisational riskAnalyse risks from the organisation's environment and its own structure and culture.
- Model and analyseApply quantitative and qualitative methods to risk and present the results with their limitations.
- Research a risk questionDesign and carry out a piece of research on a risk management problem.
Fit
Likely to suit, and better served elsewhere
Likely to get a lot from it
- Risk managers and heads of risk in regulated or asset-heavy sectors.
- Compliance and internal audit leads whose remit is widening into enterprise risk.
- Resilience and continuity managers who want the strategic layer above their operational work.
Better served by something else
- Anyone seeking a risk or insurance institute certification; this is not one.
- Quantitative analysts wanting advanced financial modelling; the modelling unit is organisational, not derivatives.
- People new to risk; a Level 5 or 6 qualification first.
Real learner quotation to be supplied. This slot must not be published until a named graduate has given written consent.
Programme questions
Frequently asked
How quantitative is the modelling unit?
Moderately. You will use spreadsheet-based methods, scenario analysis and probabilistic thinking, and you will be marked on how well you explain assumptions and limits. You will not need programming or advanced statistics.
Why no credit values against the units?
OTHM publishes 120 credits and 1,200 total qualification time for the diploma. The way credits are shared between the units is set out in OTHM's specification, which is linked above, and until that split is confirmed for this page the unit titles are listed alone.
Is this the same as the Qualifi Risk Management diploma?
No. Same level and credits, different awarding body and different units. The OTHM programme includes a dedicated governance unit and a modelling unit; compare the tables and ask us.
Does it help with a chief risk officer role?
It is the qualification we would recommend to a head of risk preparing for that step, because the arc from principles to governance to modelling matches what boards expect a CRO to bring. It does not on its own make anyone a CRO.
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