Head of Business Continuity & Resilience

Mashreqbank PSC; United Arab Emirates; On-site; AED 367,000 - 551,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading banking institution in the United Arab Emirates is seeking a Business Continuity & Resilience leader to develop and execute strategies that ensure effective responses to disruptions and safeguard business operations. The candidate will oversee resilience frameworks, engage with stakeholders, and lead crisis response efforts. Strong leadership, strategic thinking, and crisis management experience are required for this role, which is critical to maintaining the organization's operational integrity during challenges.

Qualifications

• Strong leadership skills to foster resilience practices across teams.
• Ability to influence senior leadership and drive continuity initiatives.
• Experience in crisis response and recovery frameworks.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute a forward-looking enterprise resilience strategy.
• Act as the primary architect of the organization’s resilience framework.
• Lead the integration of operational resilience with business continuity practices.

Skills

Cross-functional team leadership

Risk management

Strategic thinking

Crisis communication

Education

Bachelor's degree or higher in a relevant field

Job description

head - Business Continuity & Resilience will provide strategic leadership in developing, enhancing, and executing enterprise-wide business continuity and resilience strategies. The role ensures the organization’s ability to effectively respond to, recover from, and adapt to disruptions, safeguarding business operations, stakeholders, and organizational reputation.

This role encompasses identifying potential risks, leading cross-functional planning, and embedding resilience into the organization’s strategic goals. Additionally, the incumbent will influence policy-making at the senior level, drive innovation in resilience practices, and oversee the implementation of business continuity frameworks in alignment with regulatory expectations and global best practices

Responsibilities

• Act as the primary architect of the organization’s resilience framework, ensuring seamless integration with risk management and corporate strategies.
• leadership in Business Continuity and Resilience:
• Develop and execute a forward-looking enterprise resilience strategy that ensures the bank’s ability to mitigate disruptions and maintain critical operations.
• Design and implement a comprehensive Operational Resilience Framework, aligned with regulatory guidelines and internal risk appetite
• Embed a culture of resilience across all business groups, aligning continuity practices with organizational objectives.
• Ensure alignment with regulatory requirements and global resilience standards.
• Ensure that resilience plans are regularly reviewed and updated to reflect changes in the business environment and emerging risks
• Increase the organization awareness and importance of Business Continuity and Resilience and provide regular training
• Chair or participate in operational resilience and risk governance committees
• Oversee the development and execution of resilience testing programs, including severe but plausible scenarios

Comprehensive Business Continuity Planning and Oversight

• Identify and map Important Business Services & processes and define impact tolerances in line with regulatory requirements.
• Lead the integration of operational resilience with business continuity, disaster recovery, third-party risk management, and incident response strategies
• Lead the design, implementation, and testing of robust business continuity and crisis management plans across organization.
• Conduct regular business impact analyses to assess the potential impact of disruptions on the organization
• Continuously monitor resilience metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs) to assess the organization's resilience

Risk Assessment and Vulnerability Management

• Conduct enterprise-wide risk assessments to identify potential vulnerabilities that could impact business continuity.
• Develop risk mitigation strategies to enhance operational adaptability and minimize downtime.

Leadership in Crisis Response and Recovery

• Serve as the senior lead during disruptions, facilitating effective decision-making and coordination of recovery efforts.
• Establish and maintain a crisis communication framework to ensure timely and accurate dissemination of information.

Stakeholder Engagement and Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Act as a key liaison with regulatory authorities, auditors, and external stakeholders to align continuity efforts with industry standards.
• Foster collaboration across business units to enhance resilience and ensure seamless integration of continuity practices.
• Engage senior stakeholders across business, IT, risk, and compliance to embed a culture of resilience.
• Deliver training and awareness programs across the organization to improve understanding of resilience responsibilities.
• Coordinate responses to major incidents, including crisis communication and escalation processes
• Collaborate with third-party risk, IT, and cyber teams to assess resilience in technology and vendor ecosystems.
• Ensure contracts and SLAs support continuity and recovery expectations for outsourced services

Continuous Improvement and Innovation

• Leverage emerging technologies and data analytics to optimize business continuity planning and enhance organizational resilience.
• Champion innovation in resilience strategies, ensuring the organization remains agile in response to evolving risks.

People Leadership and Talent Development

• Foster a high-performing team by mentoring and developing talent within the Enterprise Business Continuity and Resilience function.
• Create a culture of accountability and innovation within the team, ensuring delivery of key objectives.

Other Key Result Areas

• Understanding and implementation of the operation risk management framework

Qualifications

• Lead cross-functional teams and influence senior leadership to prioritize and adopt resilience-enhancing practices.
• Drive innovative solutions for complex continuity challenges, balancing organizational priorities with resilience objectives.
• Lead enterprise-wide initiatives to address systemic vulnerabilities and enhance crisis response capabilities
• Empowered to make enterprise-level decisions on continuity and resilience strategies, with a focus on maintaining business operations during disruptions.
• Influence executive decision-making by providing data-driven insights and strategic recommendations on resilience initiatives
• Exceptional strategic thinking, leadership, and communication skills, with the ability to lead high-performing teams and foster a culture of resilience