Disaster Recovery Test Manager

Challenge yourself, change lives and help shape the UK’s digital revolution. At CGI, we look to our Disaster Recovery Test Managers to drive change, inspire trust with clients and colleagues, and take responsibility for some of the world’s most ambitious transformation projects.

We offer a competitive salary, excellent pension, private healthcare, plus a share scheme (3.5% + 3.5% matching), which makes you a CGI Partner not just an employee. We are committed to inclusivity, building a genuinely diverse community of tech talent and inspiring everyone to pursue careers in our sector, including our Armed Forces, and are proud to hold a Gold Award in recognition of our support of the Armed Forces Corporate Covenant. Join us and you’ll be part of an open, friendly community of experts. We’ll train and support you in taking your career wherever you want it to.

Your future duties and responsibilities:

• You will play a crucial role in ensuring the resilience of our high profile public sectors clients business operations in the event of an incident or disaster.
• In this role you will be responsible for planning, coordinating, and executing disaster recovery testing to validate the effectiveness of IT recovery plans, minimize service disruptions, and ensure compliance with public sector regulations.
• You will collaborate with IT teams, emergency planning officers, business continuity leads, and external partners to strengthen the authority’s recovery readiness.

Key Tasks:

• Develop and maintain a robust disaster recovery testing framework that aligns with the clients business continuity (BCP) and emergency planning strategies.
• Plan and conduct regular disaster recovery exercises, including: Tabletop tests with key stakeholders, Technical failover tests of IT systems, Full-scale simulation exercises involving multiple departments and external agencies.
• Ensure testing includes essential public services, such as social care and environmental services.
• Document test results, risks identified, and improvement actions to strengthen resilience.
• Work closely with business continuity managers, IT infrastructure teams, and public service departments to align DR testing with operational priorities.
• Ensure DR test plans cover critical services, data protection requirements, and recovery objectives.
• Engage with third-party IT suppliers and partners to validate cloud-based and on-premise recovery solutions.
• Support departments in ensuring continuity of statutory services in the event of IT failures.
• Conduct Business Impact Assessments (BIA) to identify priority services and their IT dependencies.
• Assess potential risks, including cybersecurity threats, natural disasters, and service disruptions.
• Provide recommendations to strengthen IT and operational resilience based on DR test findings.
• Ensure DR testing aligns with relevant regulatory requirements, policies, and frameworks (e.g., (LGA) guidance, Civil Contingencies Act 2004).
• Maintain detailed documentation and reporting for client audits, risk committees, and compliance reviews.
• Provide training and awareness to client teams on DR testing and incident response procedures.
• Work with emergency planning teams, elected officials, and public sector partners to integrate IT recovery within wider resilience and emergency response plans.
• Analyse past incidents and recommend service improvements to reduce downtime and disruption.
• Stay updated with emerging threats and best practices in IT resilience.

Required qualifications to be successful in this role:

• Strong knowledge of disaster recovery (DR), business continuity (BC), and IT service continuity management (ITSCM).
• Experience with IT infrastructure, cloud computing, and cybersecurity resilience.
• Understanding of backup and replication solutions (e.g., Azure Site Recovery, Veeam, Zerto).
• Familiarity with data protection regulations (UK GDPR), critical public services, and emergency planning frameworks.
• Ability to manage DR exercises across multiple service areas, ensuring coordination with IT, legal, finance, and emergency planning teams.
• Strong communication skills to engage with non-technical stakeholders, client leadership, and partner organisations.
• Experience in reporting to governance bodies such as audit committees, risk management boards, and senior council officers.

Desirable Skills:

• Business Continuity Institute (BCI)
• Disaster Recovery Certified Specialist (DRCS)
• ITIL Foundation (for IT service continuity)

Together, as owners, let’s turn meaningful insights into action. Life at CGI is rooted in ownership, teamwork, respect and belonging. Here, you’ll reach your full potential because you are invited to be an owner from day 1 as we work together to bring our Dream to life. That’s why we call ourselves CGI Partners rather than employees. We benefit from our collective success and actively shape our company’s strategy and direction.

Your work creates value. You’ll develop innovative solutions and build relationships with teammates and clients while accessing global capabilities to scale your ideas, embrace new opportunities, and benefit from expansive industry and technology expertise.

You’ll shape your career by joining a company built to grow and last. You’ll be supported by leaders who care about your health and well-being and provide you with opportunities to deepen your skills and broaden your horizons.

Come join our team—one of the largest IT and business consulting services firms in the world.