Job Title: Disaster Recovery Specialist
Overview: The Disaster Recovery Specialist is responsible for analyzing and understanding disaster recovery (DR) needs, recommending DR strategies, and implementing DR plans. This role involves conducting end-to-end DR drills/tests, developing disaster recovery documentation (including DR plans and runbooks), and creating policies, processes, and procedures to ensure the confidentiality, availability, and integrity of the organization’s systems. The role requires a combination of technical expertise, project management, and system analysis skills.
Key Responsibilities:
Develop disaster recovery plans, procedures, and policies for the restoration of critical business applications.
Validate all DR replications for servers and applications.
Assess and analyze DR gaps (RPO, RTO, replication deficiencies) and contribute to the design and implementation of DRP solutions.
Collaborate with the IT department and other key personnel to assess the impact of hardware or software changes on disaster recovery outcomes.
Support technology and infrastructure assessments as part of the business impact analysis process.
Operate within a complex environment, managing global distributed components that depend on various systems and end-users (both internal and external).
Create and maintain DR documentation, including DR maps.
Provide regular DR status reports to the Global Corporate DR Manager.
Ensure all disaster recovery plans are reviewed and updated regularly.
Establish and maintain detailed DR communication and command/control plans through a change management process.
Work with IT technical staff to ensure that disaster recovery solutions are adequate, in place, maintained, and tested as part of the regular operational lifecycle.
Develop, understand, and implement all necessary testing for successful DR execution.
Schedule and lead DR exercises.
Continuously improve and optimize existing DR solutions and services.
Support DR activation and lead drills from preparation to closure.
Required Qualifications:
Experience: 4-8 years of experience in Disaster Recovery, Infrastructure, or Data Center roles is an advantage.
Education & Certifications: A bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Information Security, or a related IT field is required. CBCP or equivalent certification is an advantage. PMP certification is an advantage.
Technical and Managerial Skills:
Strong understanding of on-premises and cloud infrastructure disaster recovery solutions, processes, and best practices. – MUST
Solid knowledge of IT infrastructure. – MUST
Familiarity with Windows, Linux, and other UNIX platforms (RedHat, AIX). – Required
Experience with DRAAS (Disaster Recovery as a Service). – Required
Understanding of virtual infrastructure and cloud technologies (e.g., VMware, AWS, Microsoft Azure). – Required
AWS and Azure foundational knowledge is an advantage.
Familiarity with Jenkins, GitLab, Artifactory, and Nexus is a plus.
Project management skills are an advantage.
Knowledge of high-availability technologies, including servers, networking components, database/storage, and associated replication technologies is an advantage.
Proficiency in Windows (Active Directory, Exchange, Security, NFS) and Linux/Unix solutions is an advantage.
Additional Skills:
High level of proficiency in English (mandatory).
Strong stakeholder management skills (mandatory).
Advanced PC skills, including MS Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) (mandatory).
Familiarity with business continuity program lifecycle plans and deliverables (e.g., risk assessments, BIAs, continuity planning) is an advantage.
Willingness to Travel: Willingness to travel (infrequently) and provide off-hours on-call support as needed (mandatory).
Personality Traits:
Self-starter with a driven, assertive, and positive attitude.
Effective problem-solving skills.
Excellent attention to detail.
Ability to perform under pressure and in stressful situations.
Capable of efficiently coordinating work with business partners in remote locations.
Ability to work collaboratively within a global team.
Capable of handling multiple tasks simultaneously.
Excellent organizational skills and ability to interact with individuals at all levels of the organization.
Strong oral and written communication skills to effectively convey plans, exercises, and activities.