Disaster Recovery Manager

Cognizant; Toronto; On-site; CAD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading IT services company is seeking a Disaster Recovery Manager for a full-time position in Toronto, Ontario. This role requires developing and maintaining disaster recovery strategies to ensure organizational resilience. Key responsibilities include conducting risk assessments, implementing disaster recovery plans, and ensuring compliance with policies. The ideal candidate will have over 8 years of experience in disaster recovery and risk assessment, with strong leadership and communication skills. The position supports a healthy work-life balance through various wellbeing programs.

Qualifications

• 8 years of experience with Disaster Recovery, Planning and Execution.
• 8 years of experience with Risk Assessment and Business Impact Analysis.
• Technical expertise in IT, Infrastructure and Cloud.
• Compliance and Regulatory knowledge.
• Strong leadership and Communication skills.
• Understanding of Mainframe skills is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Develop, implement, and maintain disaster recovery strategies.
• Conduct in-depth assessments of existing disaster recovery plans.
• Facilitate the development of the detailed DR test plan.
• Ensure alignment with regulatory and internal standards.
• Document the actual recovery times and identify non-compliance issues.
• Conduct regular disaster recovery drills and simulations.
• Coordinate with IT and business units to ensure alignment.

Skills

Disaster Recovery

Risk Assessment

Business Impact Analysis

IT Infrastructure

Cloud expertise

Strong leadership

Communication skills

Job description

Cognizant is seeking a Disaster Recovery Manager for a full‑time opportunity in Toronto, ON.

About Cognizant’s CIS Practice:

Cognizant’s CIS (Cognizant Infrastructure Services) Practice is a global leader in providing IT infrastructure services. We deliver innovative solutions to optimize and transform IT infrastructure, ensuring business agility and operational efficiency. Our services include cloud computing, data center management, network services, and cybersecurity. We focus on understanding client needs and delivering customized solutions to drive business success.

In this role, you will:

The Disaster Recovery (DR) manager is responsible for developing, implementing, and maintaining disaster recovery strategies to ensure organizational resilience. This role oversees risk assessments, recovery planning, and testing to minimize downtime and data loss during disruptions. The DR Manager works closely with IT, operations, and business units to align recovery efforts with overall business continuity objectives.

• Conduct in-depth assessments of existing disaster recovery plans against established quality benchmarks, identifying areas for enhancement.
• Facilitate the development of the detailed DR test plan, scope, objectives, success criteria (RTO/RPO validation), and required resources in collaboration with application stakeholders.
• Detect inconsistencies, gaps, and non‑compliance issues within DR documentation and processes, ensuring alignment with regulatory and internal standards.
• Deliver detailed feedback and actionable remediation recommendations to LOB owners, supporting plan refinement and risk reduction.
• Generate a comprehensive Post‑Test Report detailing the overall outcome, validating success against defined objectives and RTO/RPO targets, and identifying non‑compliance issues.
• Document the actual recovery times for key milestones, capture evidence, and record all failures, gaps, and issues encountered during the test.
• Conduct regular disaster recovery drills and simulations to validate readiness.
• Develop and maintain comprehensive disaster recovery plans.
• Conduct risk assessments to identify vulnerabilities.
• Test and update disaster recovery procedures regularly.
• Coordinate with IT and business units to ensure recovery plans are aligned.
• Monitor compliance with disaster recovery policies and standards.
• Document and report on all recovery activities and outcomes.
• Assist in the design and implementation of data backup solutions.
• Analyze disaster incidents and develop strategies to mitigate future risks.
• Participate in disaster recovery drills and strive for continual improvement.

What you will need to succeed (required skills):

• 8 years of experience with Disaster Recovery, Planning and Execution.
• 8 years of experience with Risk Assessment and Business Impact Analysis.
• Technical expertise in IT, Infrastructure and Cloud.
• Compliance and Regulatory knowledge.
• Strong leadership and Communication skills.
• Understanding of Mainframe skills is preferred.

Based on this role’s business requirements, this is an onsite role working from Toronto, Ontario. Regardless of your working arrangement, we are here to support a healthy work‑life balance through our various wellbeing programs.

Note: The working arrangements for this role are accurate as of the date of posting. This may change based on the project you are engaged in, as well as business and client requirements. Rest assured; we will always be clear about role expectations.