Business Continuity, Emergency Services and Risk Lead

Optus; Sydney; On-site; AUD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Monthly credit $80

Product discount 25%

Flexible work arrangement

Office campus facilities

Connected leave days

Parental leave 16 weeks

Diversity networks

Free counselling services

Job summary

Optus seeks a seasoned Business Continuity, Emergency Services and Risk Lead to drive proactive resilience and emergency preparedness across Mobile, Fibre, Exchange and Transmission Operations. You will align with operational leaders and contractors to ensure readiness and effective restoration during critical events.

You will coordinate with the Network Operations Centre and emergency services, leading major incident response and driving continuous improvement in risk mitigation and business

Qualifications

• Degree qualifications in Engineering, Telecommunications, Business, Operations Management or a related discipline.
• Significant experience in telecommunications, network or field operations.
• Expertise in operational risk management, business continuity and resilience planning.
• Experience leading major incident response or emergency management.

Responsibilities

• Lead operational resilience, business continuity and disaster recovery planning across Field Operations.
• Oversee risk management from identification to mitigation across Networks.
• Drive preparedness for major incidents, severe weather, natural disasters and disruptions.
• Maintain emergency response plans and restoration capabilities across field operations.
• Coordinate with Government and Emergency Services agencies to build capability.
• Lead incident response and drive post-incident reviews for improvement.
• Partner with NOC to align response priorities and restoration outcomes.

Skills

Operational resilience

Risk management

Emergency response

Stakeholder engagement

Leadership

Network operations awareness

Education

Engineering / Telecommunications / Business / Operations Management degree

Tools

NOC familiarity

Disaster recovery tools

Job description

Business Continuity, Emergency Services and Risk Lead

Lead resilience. Coordinate response. Keep communities connected.

We're looking for an experienced Business Continuity, Emergency Services and Risk Lead to drive proactive and emergency preparedness; lead major incident response across our national Field Operations function, and maintain an ongoing focus onrisk mitigation and building operational resilience into not only our Network but also our practices.

Reporting to the Senior Director, National Field Mobile Operations, this critical leadership role will ensure Field Operations is prepared to respond effectively to major incidents, severe weather events, natural disasters, and network disruptions, while maintaining a strong focus on risk mitiation and management, business continuity and operational readiness.

As the key link between Field Operations and the Network Operations Centre (NOC), you'll provide leadership during emergency activations, coordinate restoration efforts, and help ensure the fastest possible recovery for customers and communities.

About The Role

You will be responsible for leading and embedding a consistent approach to operational resilience, risk management and emergency response across Mobile, Fibre, Exchange and Transmission Operations. You'll work closely with operational leaders, contractors and key stakeholders to ensure preparedness, coordination and effective restoration during critical events.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead operational resilience, business continuity and disaster recovery planning across Field Operations.
• Oversee Risk Management from identification to mitigation, feeding into the broader Networks Risk structure - identifying, assessing and managing operational risks, ensuring effective mitigation strategies are in place.
• Drive preparedness for major incidents, severe weather events, natural disasters and network disruptions.
• Maintain emergency response plans, resource readiness and recovery capabilities across field operations.
• Emergency management - work with Government and Emergency Services agencies to build relations and capability between Optus, utilities and government.
• Act as the field operational lead during emergency events, directing restoration activities and resource deployment
• Partner closely with the Network Operations Centre (NOC) to coordinate response priorities and restoration outcomes.
• Lead major incident response activities and facilitate post-incident reviews to drive continuous improvement.
• Build strong relationships across operational, risk, security and leadership teams.
• Deliver executive reporting and insights on operational readiness, resilience and risk performance.
• Champion a culture of preparedness, accountability and continuous improvement across Field Operations.

About You

You'll be a strategic and operational leader who thrives in high-pressure environments and can confidently lead teams through critical incidents and emergency events.

What You'll Bring

• Degree qualifications in Engineering, Telecommunications, Business, Operations Management, Risk Management or a related discipline
• Significant experience within telecommunications, network operations, field operations or critical infrastructure environments.
• Demonstrated expertise in operational risk management, business continuity, disaster recovery and resilience planning.
• Experience leading major incident response, emergency management or operational recovery programs.
• Strong stakeholder engagement skills with the ability to influence across multiple business functions.
• A strong understanding of network operations and field service delivery environments.
• Experience within telecommunications, utilities or other critical infrastructure sectors.
• Experience working alongside emergency services agencies such as SES, RFS or DFES.
• Familiarity with NOC environments, network restoration tools and workforce management systems.

The good stuff…

• Competitive remuneration, plus $80 monthly credit, 25% off Optus products and exclusive shopping discounts with our retail partners making everyday life a little more affordable.
• - Genuine Flexibility - work three days in the office, two days from wherever works best for you.
• An office campus that has it all - cafes, chill-out zones, GP, post office, gym, and on-site childcare centre. It's built for real life.
• Great leave policies, including additional 'Connected' days to focus on culture, family, health, community, or whatever matters most to you.
• Inclusive, carer-neutral paid Parental Leave of up to 16 weeks, because family comes first.
• Build meaningful connections through colleague-led networks and diversity initiatives including Culture Connect, Elevate Women, Disability Network, and Express Yourself (LGBTQIA+).
• Your wellbeing matters, so we offer free counselling and support services, available 24/7 in-person, by phone, SMS, or video.

At Optus, we are strengthened by others and that means valuing diversity and saying 'yes' to embracing individual differences. We are committed to ensuring that our application process provides an equal employment opportunity to all job seekers, including individuals from diverse gender, cultural and linguistic backgrounds, individuals with a disability, individuals identifying as being part of the LGBTQIA+ community, individuals who may have served in the armed forces or who identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander. We also want to do our best to make our recruitment process inclusive.