IT Service Continuity Manager - Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs - SEO

Location

Bristol, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Reading, Warrington, York

About the job Job summary

Defra is the UK government department responsible for safeguarding our natural environment, supporting our world-leading food and farming industry, and sustaining a thriving rural economy. Our broad remit means we play a major role in people's day-to-day life, from the food we eat, and the air we breathe, to the water we drink.

Digital, Data, Technology and Security (DDTS) is the trusted team for digital across the entire Defra Group.

We have around 1000 colleagues across DDTS and our ambition is to make it easier and faster than ever for people to interact with Defra. If you are ready to drive innovation and push boundaries, we want to hear from you. Join us and together we will create a great place for living, and a green and healthy future for all.

Find out more about DDTS:

Defra digital, data and technology blog

LinkedIn

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We are Government Digital and Data Candidate Information Pack V3 - 1

Job description

As a Service Continuity Manager you will play a critical role in ensuring the availability, resilience, and recoverability of Defra and it's associated Arms Length Bodies' IT services, enabling the department to meet its legal and statutory obligations to the public.

The role is responsible for managing and maintaining a rolling programme of service continuity testing for existing services, while also working closely with project teams to enable the delivery of Service Continuity requirements.

Reporting to the Senior IT Service Continuity Manager within DDTS Operations function, you will work collaboratively with a broad range of stakeholders, including Incident Managers, Technical Leads, Service Managers, Architects, and business representatives across the organisation.

This role offers excellent opportunities for professional development and career growth. You will have access to training, the opportunity to lead and contribute to improvement initiatives and projects, and the chance to work closely with specialist teams across the department, enabling you to broaden your skills and expertise.

Person specification

Responsibilities:

• Ensure IT Service Continuity policy, processes, and standards are applied and adhered to for all services across the organisation.

• Engage with the relevant governance structures to ensure new and updated services adhere to IT Service Continuity standards, including return time objectives (RTO) and return point objectives (RPO).

• Facilitate the planning and implementation of regular IT Service Continuity tests for critical services across the Defra estate.

• Work closely with a variety of stakeholders, including suppliers, technical teams, project teams, service management, and senior management, to ensure the IT Service Continuity team's objectives are met.

• Effectively manage IT Service Continuity related risks by maintaining comprehensive documentation, identifying appropriate ownership, and developing mitigation strategies.
• Engage in continuous improvement of Service Continuity, and broader DDTS, policies, processes, and practices.

Skills and experience:

• Experience in a similar IT Service Continuity role.

• Proven track record of planning and implementing successful IT Service Continuity tests.

• Experience of working in large IT organisations with complex, multi-supplier support frameworks.

• Strong understanding of infrastructure, cloud technologies, networking, and application service dependencies.

• Strong stakeholder relationship and communication skills, including the ability to parse technical information into business friendly language.

• Knowledge of relevant standards, such as ITIL and ISO22301.