Senior Business Continuity Specialist

Role purpose

Program management and readiness

• Manage continuity frameworks, processes, and documentation; lead BIAs, identify dependencies, set recovery priorities, and determine recovery objectives where applicable.
• Maintain the institutional continuity plan and playbooks, aligned with NCEMA requirements, ISO 22301, and institutional policies.
• Guide service owners and department heads, facilitate planning workshops, and promote continuity awareness and preparedness.

Exercises and incident support

• Lead the annual exercise and testing program, coordinate scenario-based exercises and recovery tests, and validate plans, escalation procedures, communications, and decision-making.
• Document outcomes, identify gaps, agree remediation actions with owners, and monitor progress to closure.
• Advise on continuity implications of projects, changes, critical services, technology, and supplier dependencies; support incident recovery and post-incident reviews.

Reporting and governance

• Report on BIA coverage, plan and playbook completeness, exercises, readiness, remediation actions, resilience gaps, and improvement priorities.
• Prepare governance updates, maintain evidence of continuity arrangements, and support regulatory and assurance requests.

Qualifications and experience

• Bachelor’s degree in any discipline.
• At least 7 years of relevant professional experience in business continuity, operational resilience, disaster recovery, or a closely related risk and resilience function.
• Experience leading BIAs and continuity planning; coordinating exercises and incident simulations; advising senior stakeholders; and supporting incident recovery and reviews.
• Working knowledge of ISO 22301, UAE NCEMA requirements, and continuity governance, assurance, and reporting practices.
• A relevant certification or equivalent evidenced experience; certifications in continuity, resilience, crisis management, or risk management are preferred.
• UAE or Middle East experience, complex organization experience, and committee, regulatory review, or assurance support experience are preferred.