Program Manager, Emergency Management & Business Continuity

The function of the Program Manager, Emergency Management & Business Continuity (EMBC) is to:

Strengthen the Governance of the Emergency Management (EM) and Business Continuity Management (BCM) Program by planning, developing and maintaining the EMBC Policy, Framework and Strategies.

Align the Emergency Management and Business Continuity Management activities with recognized standards (i.e. ISO 22301) used to develop, implement and maintain EM and BCM programs in accordance with recommended best practices.

Proactively strengthen the emergency response capability for the safety and well-being of employees, clients and protection of assets through a risk based plan developed and maintained to respond to an emergency or disruptive event.

Mitigate the impact(s) of future disruptions through a comprehensive EMBC program that includes the assessment of hazards/loss scenarios, likelihood and impact of potential losses to the enterprise and development of strategies to address various loss scenarios.

Provide EMBC subject matter expertise, consultation and strategic support to maintain WSIB’s critical business operations during a disruptive event.

Promote proactive organizational resilience, and ensure the necessary steps are taken to strengthen WSIB’s ability to continue to provide critical business processes during a disruptive event.

Manage and support the annual maintenance of enterprise-wide business continuity plans and completion of business continuity plan exercises (including annual Executive Committee exercise), as part of a comprehensive business continuity management life cycle.

Major Responsibilities:

1. Business continuity program planning, development and maintenance

• Lead and execute the work required to complete the annual BCM Life Cycle including: Threat Risk Assessment, Business Impact Assessment, annual BCP and Executive Committee exercises, BCP updates and Cluster Health Check reporting.
• Proactively lead reviews of critical processes and BCPs in preparation for the Executive and Branch level exercises.
• Develop and facilitate annual exercises, complete After Action Reports and make recommendations to improve BCPs and the organization's resiliency stance.
• Plan, schedule and facilitate workshops and thematic meetings to advance exercise findings into comprehensive objectives, activities and strategies to be incorporated into the BCPs.
• Ensure BCPs are aligned to the standards of the EMBC program and capture all required data points (i.e. vendors, applications, internal/external dependencies).
• Conduct awareness and training activities with BCP owners and key stakeholders.
• Lead the assessment and validation of business continuity capabilities for vendors and third party providers supporting critical WSIB processes and operations.

2. Emergency Management program design and implementation

• Update and maintain the Enterprise Response Plan (ERP) and procedures, lines of authority, and threat escalation processes for the structured command, control, management and coordination of internal resources for immediate response to an emergency or disruptive event.
• Manage and maintain membership of Incident Management Team (IMT) members.
• Provide training and exercises to test response, resources and the WSIB’s overall preparedness in responding to emergencies or disruptive events.
• Provide status updates to WSIB Executives, employees, internal and external stakeholders during emergencies or disruptive events.
• Maintain and utilize a mass notification system during emergencies and exercises to validate notifications, plans and procedures.
• Maintain the Information Hotline for internal stakeholders during emergencies or disruptive events.
• Act as the IMT Assistant to coordinate activation and management of business continuity plans and/or the ERP.
• Act as the alternate/back-up to the Director, EMBC during the invocation of the ERP and/or business continuity plans.
• Lead the development, implementation and maintenance of Emergency Specific Protocols.

3. Floor Warden program leadership

• Liaise with property management Chief Floor Wardens to coordinate training, annual tests of the Fire Alarm, and evacuation exercises to test building occupant responses and WSIB’s overall response to emergencies.
• Review and support the Persons Requiring Assistance (PRA) list and evacuation procedures in cooperation with the WSIB’s Healthy Workplace Centre.
• Provide expertise, reporting, information and support to key partners/stakeholders across the organization.
• Support the development and reporting on EMBC program status regularly.
• Engage as a lead and/or subject matter expert in EMBC for projects, initiatives and committees across the organization.
• Provide expert advice and guidance to BCP owners and key stakeholders on emergency management and business continuity strategies.
• Prepare reports on emergency management and business continuity incidents, including After Action Reports and Lessons Learned Reports.
• Act as the liaison between the WSIB and Emergency Management Ontario, the Provincial Emergency Operations Centre and Ministry/Agency counterparts in matters related to Business Continuity and Emergency Management.

4. Support IT Risk Management and Resiliency

• Support and coordinate alignment of disaster recovery capabilities with critical business process recovery time objectives.
• Participate in the assessment of DR capability and resiliency of critical applications and provide recommendations for risk and loss mitigation strategies.
• Develop EMBC playbooks and plans related to IT and cyber events.

Job Requirements:

1. Education requirements

• University degree or College diploma
• DRI - Certified Business Continuity Professional (CBCP) or Associate Business Continuity Professional (ABCP) working towards their CBCP designation or BCI’s Master of Business Continuity Institute certification (MBCI) or Associate Member of the Business Continuity Institute (AMBCI) working towards their MBCI designation.

2. Experience

• Business continuity (3+ years) and Emergency management (3+ years) required.

Preferred Level

• Business continuity (5+ years) and Emergency management (5+ years) experience in aligning the implementation of EMBC programs with relevant standards and legislation.

Working Conditions:

• Occasional travel to regional offices within Ontario.
• On-call responsibilities with the Director in case of emergency.
• Possible after-hours or weekend work for emergency/disruptive events (low frequency).