Business Continuity Manager needed at Blue Label Telecoms

Job Description
JOB PURPOSE

• Partners at all levels of the organization to develop strategies, implement, and execute the group’s organization business continuity and resilience program. This position ensures the planning, development, program execution, maintenance, and testing of the group’s business continuity, disaster recovery, and crisis/incident management programs.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Strategy Formation and Implementation 
• Develop the strategy for a significant area of responsibility such as a function, anticipating complex issues, challenges, and opportunities. Ensure the strategy is successfully implemented and meets medium-term business needs
• Lead the development and implementation of strategy for the Business Continuity Management Program as well as the Operational Resilience capability to address key responsibility, anticipating complex issues, challenges, and opportunities, and ensuring integration with wider corporate strategy.
• Business Continuity Management
• Develop and maintain an up-to-date business continuity program, including policies, procedures, and plans, in alignment with critical operations of the business, industry best practices, and regulatory requirements
• Lead and provide strategic direction for BLD’s business continuity and resilience program by developing, implementing, embedding, and maintaining standardised processes and practices across BLD’s operations and subsidiaries
• Conduct thorough risk assessments to identify potential threats and vulnerabilities to the organization’s operations, systems, and infrastructure
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure the development and testing of business continuity and disaster recovery plans for critical business functions and systems
• Coordinate and facilitate regular training and awareness programs to enhance the organization’s preparedness and response capabilities
• Establish and maintain effective communication channels and protocols to ensure timely and accurate dissemination of information during a crisis or disruption
• Conduct regular exercises and simulations to assess the effectiveness of business continuity plans and identify areas for improvement
• Monitor and evaluate emerging trends, technologies, and regulatory changes related to business continuity management, and make recommendations for enhancements to the program as necessary
• Serve as a point of contact for internal and external stakeholders during a crisis or disruption, providing guidance and support
• Lead the response and recovery efforts during incidents, ensuring that appropriate actions are taken to minimize the impact on the organization’s operations and reputation
• Prepare and present reports and recommendations to senior management and executive leadership on the status of the business continuity program
• Disaster Recovery
• Ensure key IT DR applications have fully documented, tested, executable plans that contain all the required information
• Review outcomes of Business Impact Analysis (BIA) and aligning to the DR framework, strategy and plans to support business needs
• Design, coordinate and execute BCP/DR annual test exercises for critical business processes, and produce test reports including lessons learned
• Coordinate follow-up on lessons as required
• Develop recovery priorities, timelines, and strategy for proper sequence of recovery components
• Educate and train IT members in practices of technology risk disaster recovery planning
• Review existing and proposed plans for recoverability effectiveness and identify opportunities for improvement
• Assist Crisis Management / Incident Management teams during service disruption events and contribute to process improvement initiatives
• Develop, review, and maintain third-party contracts for hardware and telecom services for Disaster Recovery hardware equipment and location resources
• Operational Resilience
• Transition of the Operational Resilience Program outputs into the Business-as-Usual Operating model. This includes the framework, policies, interaction model, minimum standards, Critical Operations risk and issue management, Critical Operations maintenance procedures and reporting on the Groups’ resilience posture and risk profile
• Provide advice, oversight, and robust challenge of implementation of the Operational Resilience Framework and minimum standards
• Develop and lead a control framework to align the Operational Resilience Operating Model with Enterprise, IT, and 3rd Party Risk Frameworks
• Chair the Operational Resilience Committee (ORC), with a primary focus on managing, monitoring, remediation, reporting, and continuous improvement
• Oversee and approve the development of all regular resilience reporting and associated risks to the Business Continuity Management (BCM) and IT Risk Management Committee, and Board and other forums and committees as required
• Lead in collaboration across the business (custodians of the BLD’s Critical Operations) and the wider Group sharing risks, known gaps and vulnerabilities against the minimum standards, progress of remediation activities and reporting status
• Set direction and provide Subject Matter Expert (SME) input to the Heads of Resilience pillars (Business Continuity Management (BCM), Technology Resilience, Facilities etc.)
• Lead and deliver the annual program of resilience activity including: Resilience assessments (Risk and Control Self-Assessment (RCSA); Scenario planning and Stress testing, (check and challenge the effectiveness of controls)
• Regular review and updates of the population of Critical Operations and the Critical Operations themselves
• Scenario planning and testing of the Critical Operations against defined Risk Appetite and Impact Tolerance
• Where vulnerabilities are identified, track and manage remediation plans to completion
• Reporting of BLD’s Operational Resilience profile
• Effective risk management and mitigation of identified resilience risks across the business
• Maintenance and regular review of all policies, procedures, framework and minimum standards
• Support, provide input to and approve Business Impact Assessment (BIA) and Business Continuity Planning (BCP) activities
• For continuous improvement, develop processes and procedures to ensure BLD is prepared for and can meet regulatory and business requirements for Operational Resilience
• Support new and ongoing programs and projects acting as the lead Operational Resilience SME
• The incumbent will also support the daily processes and activities that alert management about new issues and risks evolution while also managing the day-to-day operations and resources
• Internal Client Relationship Management 
• Lead the development of partnering relationships with senior executives throughout the organization building high levels of professional credibility and mutual trust, and ensuring that internal clients have access to high-quality advice and guidance to support in delivering business strategy and plans.
• Business Planning 
• Develop and gain agreement to annual business plans for a function or substantial business area, ensuring alignment with strategy; quantify business outcomes (i.e. revenues or other key performance indicators); detail expense and headcount budgets; and develop business cases for key projects, ensuring cross-functional integration
• Demonstrate flexibility in balancing achievement of own objectives with abilities to understand and respond to organizational requirements
• Demonstrate good organizational skills, planning, prioritizing and execution
• Demonstrate good time management, essential for good self-management
• Demonstrate good goal-setting skills in maintaining productivity
• Demonstrate good self-motivation to ensure progress on projects and activities

Job Requirements
BEHAVIOURAL COMPETENCIES

• Tech Savvy
• Customer-focused
• Evaluating problems
• Investigate issues
• Information seeking
• Processing details and information
• Communicating information
• Showing resilience
• Adjusting to change
• Learning ability
• Teamwork
• Business knowledge and approach
• Instils Trust
• Plans and Align

EDUCATION

• Matric
• Tertiary qualification in Information Technology preferred
• Bachelor’s Degree in Information Systems/ Information Technology/ Computer Science or related qualification
• Certifications: Member of the Business Continuity Institute (MBCI)

EXPERIENCE

• Minimum 7+ years of Operational Resilience and Business Continuity Management experience, with at least 3+ years in a management role
• Hands on exposure in developing Operational Resilience and Business Continuity frameworks
• Knowledge of business models, processes, and relevant regulatory requirements and industry standards
• Strong understanding of regulatory requirements related to operational resilience and business continuity in telecommunication
• Familiarity with industry standards such as ISO 22301
• Understanding of Principles of Operational Resilience and Principles of Sound Operational Risk Management
• Strong Microsoft Office productivity tools knowledge