Business Continuity Manager

Walkers Global; Greater London; On-site; GBP 80,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Walkers Global is seeking an experienced Business Continuity Manager to lead, mature and globalise the firm's continuity and crisis-management capabilities. The role reports to senior leadership and requires stakeholder engagement across Partners, Board, IT, Risk and Compliance worldwide.

The successful candidate will design, implement and continually improve BCPs, DR strategies and crisis capabilities across offices and jurisdictions.

Qualifications

• Experience in business continuity management, operational resilience, or related discipline.
• Sector background in legal, professional services or financial services.
• Certifications such as CBCI, MBCI or FBCI.
• Knowledge of ISO 22301, 27001 and 22361.
• Strong disaster recovery, IT resilience and cloud continuity understanding.
• Regulatory awareness in operational resilience for financial services and offshore jurisdictions.
• Degree-level education or equivalent experience.
• Leadership to drive cross-functional programmes and influence senior stakeholders.
• Excellent communication with Partners, Board and C-suite.
• International mindset with multi-jurisdictional exposure.
• Analytical rigor and ability to prioritise under pressure.
• Adaptability in a fast-paced environment.
• Proven project management across multiple workstreams.

Responsibilities

• Develop, maintain, and regularly test comprehensive Business Continuity Plans across global offices.
• Validate Disaster Recovery strategies with IT to meet RTOs and RPOs.
• Design and run crisis management exercises, tabletop simulations and comms.
• Conduct regular Business Impact Analyses to identify critical functions.
• Advise senior leadership and governance on resilience and risk posture.
• Ensure regulatory requirements and standards (ISO 27001 etc.) are met.
• Provide governance reporting and dashboards on programme status.
• Oversee third-party and supplier resilience programs.
• Develop policies and framework reflecting best practice for a global offshore law firm.
• Lead awareness and training to embed a culture of resilience.
• Monitor threats and regulatory developments to keep the programme current.

Job description

We are a leading international law firm for global corporations, financial institutions, capital market participants and investment fund managers. With a global presence spanning the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Asia, we advise on the laws of Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Guernsey, Ireland and Jersey.

We treat everyone as the intelligent professional they are. Our approach is to trust and empower our people to deliver consistently, and enable them to succeed. Diversity is our secret weapon – it’s the sheer breadth of Walkers people that makes us who we are – gathered from across the globe and fluent in languages, jurisdictions and cultures that help us to mirror our clients and keep our own thinking in tune with the world in which we operate.

Overview of role

Office: London (hybrid 50% required)

We are seeking an experienced and strategic Business Continuity Manager to lead and mature the firm's business continuity and crisis management capability on a global basis. Reporting to senior leadership, this role is critical to ensuring the firm can maintain the delivery of legal services to clients in the face of disruption, whether arising from technology failures, geopolitical events, natural disasters, or other threats.

The successful candidate will be responsible for designing, implementing, and continuously improving business continuity plans, disaster recovery strategies, and crisis management capabilities across all offices and jurisdictions. This is a high-visibility role that requires confident stakeholder engagement at all levels, from Partners and the Board to operational and technology teams worldwide.

Duties, Responsibilities and Person Specification

• Business Continuity Planning: Develop, maintain, and regularly test comprehensive Business Continuity Plans (BCPs) across all global offices, ensuring alignment with the firm's strategic objectives and risk appetite.
• Disaster Recovery Strategy: Work closely with IT and infrastructure teams to validate Disaster Recovery (DR) strategies for critical systems and applications, to ensure recovery time and recovery point objectives are met.
• Crisis Management: Lead and support the design and execution of crisis management exercises, tabletop simulations, comms and live scenario testing to assess and improve the firm's crisis response capabilities.
• Business Impact Analysis: Conduct regular Business Impact Analyses (BIAs) to identify critical business functions, assess potential disruption impacts, and inform prioritisation of recovery efforts.
• Stakeholder Engagement: Act as a trusted adviser to senior leadership, Partners, and governance committees on all matters relating to business continuity and operational resilience. Liaise effectively with operational teams, IT, Risk, Compliance, and Facilities across all jurisdictions.
• Regulatory Compliance: Ensure the firm's business continuity programme meets all applicable regulatory requirements and industry standards, including ISO 27001, and any jurisdiction-specific obligations in offshore financial centres.
• Governance & Reporting: Provide regular, insightful reporting to senior leadership and governance committees, including risk dashboards, programme status updates, and post-incident reviews.
• Third-Party Resilience: Assist where required with ongoing management of third-party and supplier resilience, ensuring critical vendors maintain appropriate continuity and recovery capabilities.
• Policy & Framework Development: Author and maintain business continuity policies, standards, and procedures that reflect best practice and are tailored to the unique operating model of a global offshore law firm.
• Awareness & Training: Champion a culture of resilience by designing and delivering firm-wide awareness programmes and training to ensure all personnel understand their roles and responsibilities during a disruption.
• Continuous Improvement: Monitor emerging threats, industry trends, and regulatory developments to ensure the firm's programme remains current, proportionate, and fit for purpose.

Education, Skills and Experience

• Experience: Recent and relevant experience in business continuity management, operational resilience, or a closely related discipline, with management level experience.
• Sector Background: Demonstrable experience within legal, professional services, or financial services environments. Prior law firm experience is highly desirable but not essential.
• Certifications: Hold one or more of the following (or equivalent);
• Certificate of the Business Continuity Institute (CBCI), Member/Fellow of the BCI (MBCI/FBCI)
• Working knowledge of ISO 22301, 27001 and 22361
• Technical Knowledge: Strong understanding of disaster recovery technologies, IT infrastructure resilience, and cloud-based service continuity.
• Regulatory Awareness: Familiarity with regulatory expectations relating to operational resilience in financial services and offshore jurisdictions (e.g., FCA, CIMA, BMA, JFSC, or GFSC requirements).
• Education: Degree-level education or equivalent professional experience.
• Leadership: Proven ability to lead programmes of work, manage cross-functional teams, and influence senior stakeholders without direct reporting authority.
• Communication: Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to distil complex operational and technical concepts into clear, actionable guidance for non-specialist audiences.
• Stakeholder Management: Confident and credible when engaging with Partners, Board members, and C-suite executives, as well as operational and technology teams.
• International Mindset: Comfortable operating across multiple time zones and cultures, with experience managing business continuity in a multi-jurisdictional or multinational environment.
• Analytical Rigour: Strong analytical and problem-solving capabilities, with the ability to assess complex scenarios, prioritise under pressure, and make sound judgements.
• Adaptability: Thrives in a fast-paced, dynamic environment and can manage competing priorities with professionalism and composure.
• Project Management: Experience managing complex projects with multiple workstreams and stakeholders to successful delivery.

Walkers global is an equal opportunity employer. Equality and diversity are key to our global identity and an integral part of our goal to continue being an employer of choice. We are committed to a work environment that supports all individuals irrespective of gender, ethnicity, nationality, race, religion, marital status, age, disability, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity or any other applicable legally protected characteristics. We make every effort to ensure that employment opportunities are open and accessible to all purely on the basis of personal ability.