Senior IT Service Continuity Manager - Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs - G7
Government Digital & Data -
Location
Bristol, London, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Reading, Warrington, York
About the job
Job summary
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
We are Government Digital and Data Candidate Information Pack V3 - 1
Job description
The Senior IT Service Continuity Manager is responsible for ensuring the organisation’s critical IT services can be recovered and restored in the event of disruption. This role provides strategic leadership across IT Service Continuity Management (ITSCM), developing and maintaining robust resilience capabilities, recovery plans, and governance frameworks.
The post holder will work closely with senior technology leaders, operational teams, suppliers, and business stakeholders to safeguard essential services and uphold agreed Recovery Time Objectives (RTOs) and Recovery Point Objectives (RPOs). Through subject matter expertise and strong communication skills, this post influences and drives the ITSC operational design and improvement of new, existing and changed services.
Person specification
Key Responsibilities:
Strategic Leadership & Governance
• Lead the organisation’s IT Service Continuity strategy, ensuring alignment with business objectives and regulatory requirements.
• Maintain and enhance the ITSCM framework, policies, standards, and assurance processes.
• Provide expert guidance to senior stakeholders on service resilience, recovery risks, and mitigation strategies.
Service Continuity Planning
• Oversee the creation, maintenance, and validation of IT Service Continuity Plans and Disaster Recovery (DR) documentation.
• Ensure RTO/RPO requirements are understood, documented, and met through effective architecture, design, and operational controls.
• Coordinate impact assessments, dependency mapping, and risk evaluations across key services.
Testing & Validation
• Develop and lead an annual programme of DR and continuity testing, including scenario-based exercises, failovers, and tabletop simulations.
• Analyse test results, identify gaps, and drive remediation actions to strengthen resilience and recovery capability.
• Report findings, risks, and progress to senior leadership and governance boards.
Stakeholder Engagement & Collaboration
• Work closely with technical teams, architects, service managers, and suppliers to ensure end to end service resilience.
• Engage with business continuity teams to ensure IT recovery plans support wider organisational continuity objectives.
• Build strong relationships with internal and external partners to maintain cohesive, reliable recovery arrangements.
Continuous Improvement
• Monitor emerging risks, technologies, and industry trends to enhance organisational resilience.
• Provide expert input into post-incident reviews, ensuring lessons learned are embedded into future planning.
• Drive continuous improvement across the ITSCM lifecycle, promoting best practice and compliance with industry standards.
Skills & Experience:
• Extensive experience leading IT Service Continuity or Disaster Recovery functions within a complex technology environment.
• Strong understanding of infrastructure, cloud technologies, networking, and application service dependencies.
• Proven track record of developing and delivering organisation wide continuity and recovery strategies.
• Experience designing and conducting DR tests, simulations, and failover activities.
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to translate technical risks into business aligned insights.
• Strong stakeholder management and leadership capabilities.
• Knowledge of relevant standards (e.g., ISO 22301, ITIL).
