IT Incident Response and Recovery Lead at SkyAlyne Canada Limited Partnership

Job Title: IT Incident Response and Recovery Lead

Position Reports To: Manager, IM&T Operations

Job Location: Ottawa - Hybrid

Salary: $85,000 - $100,000 CAD

About SkyAlyne

SkyAlyne is a team of defence, training, simulation, and aviation industry experts assembled from across Canada, working to prepare the next generation of RCAF Pilots and Aircrew as the Future Aircrew Training (FAcT) program provider for the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). SkyAlyne was formed in 2018 as a partnership between CAE and KF Aerospace, two Canadian aviation, training, and defence leaders. The partnership was built to jointly answer the call for the Government of Canada’s FAcT program. In 2023 SkyAlyne was named the preferred bidder, and in 2024, was officially contracted to partner with the RCAF and deliver the FAcT program. We are now building a new team to deliver the FAcT program.

The scope of the FAcT program includes all training and in-service support requirements needed to prepare Pilots, Air Combat Systems Officers, and Airborne Electronic Sensor Operators to meet the future aerospace requirements of the RCAF. The FAcT program is overseen from a Joint Management Office at SkyAlyne’s Ottawa headquarters in Kanata, with three operational bases: Moose Jaw, SK, Southport, MB, and Winnipeg, MB.

In collaboration with the Government of Canada and several major Canadian subcontractors, Team SkyAlyne will provide live-flying, simulator and classroom-based training, facilities construction and management, information management and information technology support, site support services, aircraft maintenance and much more.

SkyAlyne offers competitive compensation and benefits and believes strongly in a safe, diverse, equitable, inclusive, and environmentally friendly workplace.

Job Overview

The IT Incident Response and Recovery Lead is responsible for leading SkyAlyne’s IT incident response and recovery activities to ensure timely resolution, system resilience, and minimal operational disruption.

This role plays a pivotal part in coordinating both internal and external teams and vendors to achieve rapid containment, effective recovery, and continuous improvement following incidents. The successful candidate will foster strong collaborative relationships with key technology and service partners, ensuring that SkyAlyne’s operational resilience posture continues to evolve in alignment with industry best practices and organizational goals.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Lead and coordinate the end-to-end management of major IT incidents, acting as Incident Commander during critical events.
• Oversee identification, assessment, escalation, containment, and resolution while directing internal and external response teams.
• Serve as the central communication point for incident-related updates, ensuring consistent, transparent and actionable communication across technical teams, vendors, and stakeholders.
• Drive root cause analysis and corrective actions by conducting hands-on investigations during outages and coordinating vendor-led reviews and ensure findings are documented, and corrective measures are implemented to prevent recurrence.
• Provide timely situation reports, detailed incident summaries, and concise executive briefings during and following major incidents.
• Monitor incident trends and vendor performance metrics, conduct after-action reviews, and analyze recurring issues to identify emerging risks, lessons learned, and opportunities for process improvement.
• Recommend mitigation strategies and ongoing training requirements to strengthen incident response capabilities.
• Ensure all incidents are classified, prioritized, and resolved in accordance with ITIL best practices and established Service Level Agreements (SLAs).
• Maintain, refine, and test incident response playbooks, incorporating vendor engagement and continuous feedback.
• Establish and maintain strong relationships with vendors, service providers, and Managed Service Partners (MSPs) collaborating with procurement and vendor management to integrate them into incident response and recovery frameworks.
• Manage vendor engagement throughout the incident lifecycle, including coordinating investigations, recovery efforts, and post-incident reviews.
• Ensure compliance with contractual obligations, SLAs, and recovery objectives (RTOs/RPOs), while driving root cause analysis, implementing corrective actions, and identifying opportunities for long-term improvement.
• Lead and coordinate recovery operations to restore critical services and ensure data integrity, collaborating with internal teams and vendors to test and enhance disaster recovery (DR) and business continuity (BC) capabilities.
• Maintain comprehensive documentation recovery procedures, test plans, and lessons learned, clearly outlining vendor dependencies and shared responsibilities.
• Facilitate training sessions and contribute to the ongoing development of incident response policies, standards, and playbooks to enhance preparedness and align with industry best practices
• Stay informed on emerging threats, evolving technologies, and industry best practices, recommending innovative tools and approaches.
• Other duties as assigned

Qualifications and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Cybersecurity, or a related field.
• Minimum of five (5) years of progressive IT experience, with a focus on incident response, service delivery, or operational resilience.
• Proven experience coordinating multi-vendor incident response or disaster recovery activities.
• Experience with business continuity, disaster recovery planning, and response testing.
• Strong understanding of vendor governance, SLA management, and service delivery best practices.
• Strong understanding of ITIL-based incident, problem, and change management processes.
• Proficiency with ITSM, SIEM, and monitoring platforms (e.g., ServiceNow, Splunk).
• Knowledge of cybersecurity frameworks such as NIST, ISO 27035, and SANS incident handling methodologies.
• Certification in ITIL v4, Certified Incident Handler (GCIH), CISSP, or CISM, as well as Business Continuity or Disaster Recovery certification such as CBCP or DRII, will be strongly preferred.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills in a fast-paced environment.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder coordination abilities.
• Proven vendor relationship management and negotiation skills.
• Collaborative approach to leading cross-functional and cross-organizational response teams.
• Experience in the Defence and Aerospace industries would be an asset.
• Be able to hold a Government of Canada Security Clearance (Secret level) and Controlled Goods Clearance.
• Eligible to work in Canada.
• Strong oral and written English language capabilities.
• Fluency in French would be an asset.
• Occasional travel may be required.

What We Offer

• A competitive compensation mode.
• Extended health and dental benefits.
• Short and long-term disability coverage.
• Paid vacation.
• Pension matching plan.
• Employee and family assistance program.

At SkyAlyne, we are dedicated to building a team that reflects the rich tapestry of our society. Diversity is not just a goal; it's our strength. We welcome candidates of all genders, races, ethnicities, sexual orientations, religions, abilities, and backgrounds to join us in creating a workplace where everyone feels valued, respected, and empowered to thrive.

We especially recognize the unique perspectives and contributions that women and Indigenous persons bring to the table, and we actively encourage individuals from these communities to apply for this position. Indigenous candidates are especially encouraged to send a copy of their application to [email protected].

Come be a part of our inclusive community and help us shape a brighter future for all.

If you are contacted as part of our selection process, we encourage you to notify us of any adaptive measures or accessibility needs and we will make every effort to accommodate these.