The IT Disaster Recovery (DR) Manager is responsible for the technical strategies that ensure the firm's IT systems can be recovered and restored during a disaster or disruption. They oversee creating, testing, and maintaining disaster recovery plans and runbooks and work across technology disciplines to orchestrate recovery approaches. They will collaborate with the enterprise-focused Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery team to ensure consistency of solutions and suitable prioritization. Additionally, they will coordinate with external vendors, train IT employees on disaster recovery procedures, and stay updated on industry best practices to enhance the firm's contingency preparedness.
Essential Duties & Responsibilities- Create and maintain comprehensive disaster recovery plans outlining procedures for various IT disruptions.
- Collaborate with Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) to identify and classify potential risks and threats that may impact IT systems and operations.
- Jointly design, develop, maintain, and advance IT DR policies, plans, and procedures by collaborating with ERM and other stakeholders.
- Work with ERM to coordinate DR exercises and ensure proper involvement from IT department colleagues.
- Test and update disaster recovery plans to verify their effectiveness and accuracy.
- Recommend DR solutions based on factors including criticality of systems or data, stakeholder expectations, and technical capabilities.
- Coordinate the setup and maintenance of redundant infrastructure, ensuring failover capabilities are in place to support disaster recovery.
- Assist with DR incident response during actual IT situations, working with various teams to minimize downtime.
- Ensure disaster recovery plans align with industry regulations and compliance standards.
- Collaborate with external vendors to evaluate disaster recovery services and solutions.
- Champion DR plan awareness efforts with stakeholders and vendors and ensure alignment with business requirements.
Qualifications- Demonstrated experience implementing and supporting various technology solutions
- Proficiency with IT systems, including endpoints, servers, networking, data storage, and cloud services, is essential. Experience with relevant technologies, including backup solutions, virtualization, and cloud resiliency methods, is desired.
- Familiarity with industry standards such as ISO 22301, FFIEC guidelines, NIST SP 800-34, and ITIL.
- Business understanding and the ability to apply technology solutions to business problems.
- Analytical skills and ability to process and break down data into actionable information.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills and capable of presenting to influential audiences.
- Ability to communicate to technical and non-technical audiences and tailor communications appropriately.
- Leadership qualities to guide and motivate teams during recovery efforts and in day-to-day tasks.
- Effective negotiation and vendor management skills.
- Ability to work calmly under pressure and with tight deadlines.
Education & Experience- Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, Information Services, Engineering, or related field.
- 10+ years of technology / IT or Disaster Recovery-related experience
Licenses & Credentials- Preferred:
Certified Business Continuity Professional (CBCP).
Member of the Business Continuity Institute (MBCI).
Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP).
Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA).
Certified Disaster Recovery Engineer (CDRE).
Systems & Technology- Proficient in standard business productivity tools.
- Familiarity with industry-recognized BCM software (Riskonnect, Fusion).
- Experience with governance, regulatory, and compliance tools (GRC).
- Microsoft Visio or other diagramming software.
- Project Management skills.
