IT Disaster Recovery (ITDR) Consultant

About the Role

We are seeking a seasoned IT Disaster Recovery (ITDR) Consultant to join a leading organisation in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. This strategic advisory position will empower you to enhance enterprise resilience by evaluating, designing, and governing robust Disaster Recovery capabilities across the organisation. Your role will focus on governance frameworks, risk management, and stakeholder engagement, ensuring alignment with business continuity objectives and regulatory standards. This is an opportunity to contribute to high-impact initiatives that safeguard critical operations and drive continuous improvement in resilience strategies.

Key Responsibilities

As an ITDR Consultant, you will be responsible for the following core functions:

• Risk Assessment and Maturity Evaluation: Lead enterprise-wide IT Disaster Recovery risk assessments and maturity evaluations to identify vulnerabilities and prioritise resilience efforts.
• Disaster Recovery Planning: Design and develop comprehensive Disaster Recovery Plans (DRPs) that align with business-critical services, ensuring robust protection against disruptions.
• Recovery Strategy Definition: Establish recovery strategies, Recovery Time Objectives (RTOs), Recovery Point Objectives (RPOs), and application recovery priorities to meet operational demands.
• Technology Dependency Analysis: Conduct in-depth technology dependency analysis to develop end-to-end recovery workflows and procedures that address interdependencies across systems.
• Incident Management Framework: Implement a Disaster Recovery Incident Management Framework (DRIMF) that includes incident governance, escalation models, crisis communications, and executive reporting mechanisms.
• Operating Model Development: Create and implement an enterprise IT Disaster Recovery Operating Model that defines governance structures, organisational roles, KPIs, KRIs, service metrics, and frameworks for continuous improvement.
• Stakeholder Engagement: Facilitate workshops with business and technology stakeholders to identify critical systems, dependencies, and recovery requirements, fostering collaborative decision-making.
• Documentation and Governance: Produce high-quality documentation, governance artefacts, standards, policies, and operating procedures to ensure compliance and clarity in recovery processes.
• Regulatory Alignment: Ensure Disaster Recovery capabilities adhere to international best practices and Saudi regulatory requirements, mitigating compliance risks.
• Maturity Roadmaps: Support the development of Disaster Recovery maturity roadmaps and governance initiatives to drive ongoing enhancements in resilience capabilities.

Qualifications and Experience

To excel in this role, you will bring the following qualifications and experience:

• Proven Expertise: Demonstrated experience in delivering enterprise IT Disaster Recovery strategy, governance, and advisory engagements, with a focus on resilience and risk management.
• Risk Assessment and BIA: Strong understanding of ITDR Risk Assessments and Business Impact Analysis (BIA) methodologies to evaluate potential disruptions and their impacts.
• Recovery Planning: Hands-on experience in developing Disaster Recovery Plans, recovery procedures, and governance frameworks that align with business objectives.
• Technical Knowledge: In-depth knowledge of recovery strategies, recovery workflows, RTO/RPO definition and management, critical application recovery mapping, and technology dependency analysis.
• Governance and Compliance: Expertise in designing enterprise operating models, governance structures, steering committees, KPIs, KRIs, and service metrics, with a focus on regulatory reporting requirements.
• Incident Management: Experience in incident lifecycle management, escalation frameworks, incident classification, severity models, and crisis communication strategies.
• Stakeholder Management: Exceptional stakeholder management, facilitation, and documentation skills, with the ability to engage senior business and technology leaders effectively.
• Communication and Presentation: Strong verbal and written communication skills, enabling you to articulate complex concepts clearly and influence decision-making at all levels.

Why This Role Matters

This position offers a unique opportunity to shape the resilience strategy of a leading organisation in Riyadh, contributing to its long-term success and stability. By joining our team, you will play a pivotal role in ensuring business continuity, minimising operational risks, and driving continuous improvement in Disaster Recovery capabilities. Your expertise will be instrumental in safeguarding critical services and maintaining stakeholder confidence in the face of potential disruptions.