Sr. Manager – Business Continuity

Ascensus is the leading independent technology and service platform powering savings plans across America, providing products and expertise that help nearly 16 million people save for a better today and tomorrow.

Section 1: Position Summary

The India Business Continuity Manager is responsible for coordinating with global Risk Management leadership to develop, implement, and manage the organization's business continuity and disaster recovery strategies – leading the program for India and providing support for the global program. This role involves coordinating with leaders across various departments, and vendor partners they rely on to ensure that all critical business functions can continue during and after a disruption. This role will also be responsible for coordinating with in country and global Risk Management and IT teams to conduct tests and on-going monitoring, risk assessments, developing response plans, and leading offshore recovery efforts.

Section 2: Job Functions, Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Business Continuity Planning:

• Work with global Risk Management leadership to develop and maintain comprehensive business continuity plans (BCPs) for Ascensus in India
• Coordinate team level plans as part of overall corporate plan review/update process
• Creation and delivery of tabletop exercises to evaluate plan effectiveness, document results, and prioritize / drive any required remediation
• Coordinate participation in corporate disaster recovery tests, including identification of testing resources and contributing feedback to post-mortem test review

Risk Assessment and Management:

• Conduct risk assessments to identify potential threats and vulnerabilities that could impact business operations
• Develop strategies to mitigate identified risks and ensure business resilience
• Provide administrative support to global Risk Management related to overall corporate BCP/DR plan maintenance

Training and Awareness:

• Develop and deliver training programs to educate employees on business continuity and disaster recovery procedures and responsiveness
• Promote a culture of preparedness and resilience within the organization

Incident Response and Recovery:

• Coordinate Ascensus India response to business disruptions, partnering with business leadership to ensure that critical functions are restored as quickly as possible
• Coordinate local response, in conjunction with India and global leadership, for any business disruption incidents that may occur; ensure clear and timely status information is provided until the incident is addressed / resolved
• Coordinate with India CMT and business heads to assess on incident/ disruption
• Activate BCP call tree and communicate to all the stakeholders through designated channels
• Oversee the recovery process and ensure that lessons learned are incorporated into future planning
• Lead post incident report out and action plan for any learnings to be executed

Compliance and Reporting:

• Ensure that the organization’s business continuity and disaster recovery plans comply with relevant regulations and industry standards
• Prepare and present reports on business continuity activities and incidents to senior management
• Ensure documentation of all business continuity and DR activities, required Recovery Time Objectives (RTOs), Risks, Dependencies, and Recovery Strategies

Vendor and Third-Party Management:

• Partner with India vendor resources, where possible and beneficial, to share and drive leading practice for Ascensus India operational recovery
• Assess the business continuity capabilities of key vendors and third-party service providers including any potential weakness(es)
• Ensure that third-party agreements include appropriate business continuity and disaster recovery provisions

Other Risk Project / Program Support:

• Provide India and global support for additional (non-BCP) risk projects and programs as needed; requires flexibility to extend and develop skills, and at times, support priorities for the global team (e.g. risk assessments, incident management)
• Responsible for protecting, securing, and proper handling of all confidential data held by Ascensus to ensure against unauthorized access, improper transmission, and/or unapproved disclosure of information that could result in harm to Ascensus or our clients.
• At Ascensus we are guided by our Core Values of People Matter, Quality First and Integrity Always®. They inspire us every day to prioritize an environment of respect for those we serve and one another and should be visible in your actions on a day-to-day.

Supervision  

• N/A

Section 3:  Experience, Skills, Knowledge Requirements

• Master’s degree in business administration, Information Technology, Risk Management, or a related field
• Overall experience of 15 to 20 years preferred out of which minimum of 10 years of experience in business continuity, disaster recovery, risk management, or a related field
• Professional certifications such as Certified Business Continuity Professional (CBCP), similar are highly desirable
• Strong and demonstrated knowledge of business continuity and disaster recovery principles, practices, and regulatory requirements
• Excellent leadership, communication, and interpersonal skills
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
• Subject matter expertise in business continuity and disaster recovery principles and practices
• Familiarity with risk assessment and management techniques
• Proficiency in developing and implementing business continuity plans
• Experience with conducting training and awareness programs
• Ability to lead and coordinate incident response efforts
• Strong organizational and project management skills
• Highly mature relationship building and communication skills to drive productive engagement with senior leaders and associates involved in planning, testing, and response

Work Environment:

• This role typically operates in an office environment but may require travel to various company locations
• The Business Continuity Manager will require on-call availability at times to ensure efficient and effective response to incidents outside of regular business hours
• Based in Chennai/Hyderabad, India.

For all virtual remote positions, in order to ensure associates can effectively perform their job duties with no distractions, we require an uninterrupted virtual workspace and there is also an expectation of family care being in place during business hours. Additionally, there is an internet work speed requirement of 25 Mbps or better for individual use. If more than one person is utilizing the same internet connection in the same household or building, then a stronger connection is required. If you are unsure of your internet speed, please check with your service provider. Note: For call center roles specifically, it is a requirement to either hardwire your equipment directly to the internet router or ensure your workstation is in close proximity to the router. Please ensure that you are able to meet these expectations before applying.

We are proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer

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