The New BCM Manager: What is Your Job Description?

ISO 22301’s Requirements on Roles and Responsibilities

ISO 22301’s requirements state the following about BCM program roles and responsibilities:

Clause 6.2

To achieve its business continuity objectives, the organization shall determine who will be responsible, what will be done, what resources will be required, when it will be completed, and how the results will be evaluated.

Clause 7.2

The organization shall determine the necessary competence of the person(s) doing work under its control that affects its performance and ensure that these persons are competent based on appropriate education, training, and experience.

Where applicable, take actions to acquire the necessary competence, evaluate the effectiveness of the actions taken, and retain appropriate documented information as evidence of competence.

In the BCM Institute, we call this position "Organisation BCM Coordinator (OBC)," but it is usually referred to or renamed the BCM Manager.

Position Objective for Organisation BCM Coordinator

The Business Continuity Manager is responsible for developing, maintaining and testing the Company's BCM program.

The manager will support all business plan activities necessary to enable the Organization to manage a crisis event and meet compliance requirements for BC planning.

The position's primary goals will be to Identify, document and test business needs against the Company infrastructure and identify BC strategies and gaps.

Primary Responsibilities

Work with all functional business areas to develop and maintain a corporate-wide BCM program for business recovery and emergency response management.

Liaise with BU BCM Coordinators to develop effective working relationships and document BC plans.
Liaise with key infrastructure teams to identify gaps, set recovery time objectives and convey business needs/expectations.
Hold business plans to the organisation's BCM goals and challenge business leaders to identify critical functions and needs.
Design and outline the organisation's BCM goals, objectives and scope for business plans and Crisis Management
Support and assist in the development of BC planning and goals
Report to the BCM/ CM Steering Committee Meeting and define ongoing goals, objectives and initiatives
Support senior management in aligning all BC planning, initiatives and goals with Organizational goals and Infrastructure capabilities
Identify and make recommendations for change and adaptation to meet the needs of the business
Identify and make recommendations for solutions to infrastructure obstacles and business challenges
Develop and execute the maintenance and testing programs for all business plans, Websites, and other information/communication tools
Direct and supervise BC plan maintenance processes and execution
Execute the plan as it pertains to website and communication tool requirements during a crisis
Identify and recommend enhanced BC plan maintenance strategies that remain flexible to organizational growth, change and resource capabilities.
Design and facilitate tests and exercises on the business plans and CM execution
Facilitate and support the execution of the plans during a crisis event.
Lead and facilitate execution of the plan and support plan navigation for the business during an event.
Support the CM Committee with the plan's critical components so they can make critical decisions.
Provide visibility and reporting to the CM Committee on the critical functions of the business plans, individuals, and infrastructure.

Key Accountability

Part of a team of BCM-risk management professionals who work with senior management in all lines of business to coordinate BC governance activities.
Contribute to developing and maintaining the enterprise-wide business continuity management program, including developing tools and instructional guides for both businesses.
Continuity planning and event management, development and facilitation of enterprise-wide event exercises, relationship management with external vendors, and development of corporate policy, standards, and guidelines.
Contribute to establishing and maintaining program processes and practices, which
effectively ensure that the enterprise program remains current and incorporates/aligns
with industry standards and practices as appropriate, and adequately covers general
regulatory requirements.
Supports and/or leads processes that support BCM governance requirements as part of the enterprise operational risk framework (as assigned).
In a relationship management capacity, provides guidance and direction to an assigned
clientele to ensure their business continuity
Management processes are based on the organisation's enterprise-wide BCM program and quality standards.
Ensures appropriate integration of requirements and information obtained from various
sources, including external regulators and auditors for all jurisdictions.
Participates as an independent BC professional in support of various other
initiatives to achieve the risk management objectives of ERM
Subject matter expert for business continuity management.
Participates in external BCM organizations and keeps abreast of industry best practices and trends.
Provide 7/24 event management on-call support on a rotational basis.

Are There Any Good BCM References or Guides?

The institute has published a specialized BCM book called "A Manager’s Guide to Implement Your BCM Training and Learning Roadmap." Click the book cover or here to get an overview of this book.

Alternatively, you could purchase from BCM Institute Book Store: A Manager’s Guide to Implement Your BCM Training and Learning Roadmap.

The New Manager Series


	Understand Your Organisation	Build Competency	Common Mistakes to Avoid	Various BCM Roles	Perform a Gap Analysis on Your BCM Program	Improve BCM Competency and Skill

Need to Upgrade Your BCM Competency?

More Information About Business Continuity Management Courses

To learn more about the course and schedule, click the buttons below for the BCM-300 Business Continuity Management Implementer [B-3] course and the BCM-5000 Business Continuity Management Expert Implementer [B-5].