Disaster Recovery IT Practice Owner

University of Rochester•Town of Brighton, NY

About The Position

As a community, the University of Rochester is defined by a deep commitment to Meliora - Ever Better. Embedded in that ideal are the values we share: equity, leadership, integrity, openness, respect, and accountability. Together, we will set the highest standards for how we treat each other to ensure our community is welcoming to all and is a place where all can thrive. Develops, implements, and maintains strategies that ensure the resilience and recovery of IT services in the event of disruptions. Protects business operations by ensuring that IT services can be restored quickly and effectively following outages or disasters. Collaborates with IT, business units, and external partners to design and oversee DR and service continuity plans, perform risk assessments, and lead recovery exercises.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Business Continuity, or related field required.
5 years of experience in Disaster Recovery, IT Service Continuity Management, or a related field required.
Experience with DR tools and technologies (e.g., VMware SRM, Azure Site Recovery, backup and replication solutions) required.
or equivalent combination of education and experience required
Strong knowledge of ITIL framework, ITSM practices, and business continuity methodologies required
Familiarity with cloud and hybrid infrastructure recovery strategies required
Strong project management skills with the ability to lead DR and continuity initiatives required
Excellent problem-solving, analytical, and decision-making abilities required
Strong communication skills with the ability to engage stakeholders at all levels required

Nice To Haves

Experience working in regulated industries (e.g., healthcare, finance, government) preferred
Experience implementing automation for disaster recovery processes preferred
Relevant certifications preferred (e.g., Certified Business Continuity Professional (CBCP), ITIL, ISO 22301 Lead Implementer).
Knowledge of Lean Six Sigma, Agile, or DevOps methodologies preferred
Knowledge of cybersecurity resilience strategies preferred
Certified Business Continuity Professional (CBCP) or Certified Disaster Recovery Engineer (CDRE) preferred
Advanced ITIL certifications (e.g., ITIL 4 Managing Professional, ITIL Service Continuity Management) preferred

Responsibilities

Develops and maintains the organization's Disaster Recovery Plan (DRP) and IT Service Continuity Plan (ITSCP) to ensure alignment with business objectives and risk tolerance.
Defines and manages Recovery Time Objectives (RTOs) and Recovery Point Objectives (RPOs) for critical systems.
Conducts Business Impact Analysis (BIA) to identify critical services, dependencies, and potential risks.
Leads the development and execution of disaster recovery testing and service continuity exercises to validate recovery capabilities.
Works closely with IT teams to ensure effective backup and replication strategies are in place.
Collaborates with business continuity teams to integrate IT service continuity plans into enterprise-wide Business Continuity Management (BCM).
Defines and tracks Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for DR and service continuity effectiveness.
Acts as the Incident Response Lead during disaster events, coordinating recovery efforts and communication with stakeholders.
Supports IT Operations Office On-Call / after-hours support requirements.
Ensures compliance with industry regulations (e.g., ISO 22301, NIST, GDPR, HIPAA) and organizational policies.
Provides training and awareness programs to educate IT and business teams on disaster recovery and continuity best practices.
Partners with vendors and service providers to ensure third-party solutions align with DR and continuity requirements.
Other duties as assigned