G7 Head of Digital Resilience and Business Continuity (BCDR)

Job summary

The Insolvency Service requires a Head of Digital Resilience and Business Continuity to manage preparedness against major disruptions, ensuring essential public services continue during crises such as cyber-attacks, infrastructure failure, or pandemics. This role guarantees compliance with government security standards, manages risks to critical assets, and develops response strategies.

The Insolvency Service is a leading government agency which plays a crucial role in providing essential services to the public and to business. The work we do is important to the proper functioning of markets, the economy in general and support for thousands of people each year who are in financial difficulty.

Inclusive and diverse teams are important to us. We welcome and encourage applications from everyone, including groups underrepresented in our workforce. The Insolvency Service strives to ensure that the agency is a safe, inclusive, and welcoming place for everybody to bring their true self to work and to help the agency to achieve its diversity objectives. We have 9 active employee network groups available to join or become an ally, these include, Carers Network, Disability network group, Employee Assistance, Representatives, FACES Network Group, LGBT+, Mind Matters, Part Time Workers, The Shed - Men’s Network Group and Women’s Network Group.

We offer full-time, part-time, job share and flexible ways of working. We value capability, technical skills and experience and we place great emphasis on lifetime development to support our people. We encourage our employees to become more involved in areas they feel strongly about, whether it be for the benefit of the agency, through our Engagement network or in their own local communities via volunteering opportunities.

The Insolvency Service is a great place to work, learn and grow your career!

If you would like to find out more about the role, the team and what it's like to work at the Insolvency Service, we are holding a Hiring Manager Q&A session for this role where you can virtually meet the team on 5th October at 14.00-15.00. Please click here to reserve your place.

Job description

Change and Technology Services (CTS) is responsible for the delivery of all the agency’s information and communications technology services. We are modernising our resilience posture and seek a G7 Head of BCDR to build and lead an agency‑wide capability that extends current Azure backup strategies and delivers orchestrated recovery of public‑facing services using Azure Site Recovery (ASR). You will own strategy, delivery and assurance of disaster recovery across multiple subscriptions and suppliers, embedding a sustainable programme of planning, testing and audit aligned to government standards.

Responsibilities

• own the BCDR strategy and roadmap; integrate with ISMS incident processes and SIMP/Gold Command activation
• design and deliver Azure‑to‑Azure DR using ASR (replication policies, target‑region readiness, Recovery Plans/runbooks)
• design and deliver DR‑ready networking/identity in the secondary region (VNets/subnets, DNS, private endpoints, routing, firewalls)
• establish a rolling test regime (table‑tops, component tests, non‑disruptive test failovers and full rehearsals) with auditable evidence
• set and assure supplier and third‑party BCDR requirements (immutability, Geo-Redundant Storage/ Cross-Region Restore, cadence of testing) across all managed subscriptions
• maintain the BCDR risk register; quantify inherent vs residual risk; provide regular governance/ELT reporting
• support business case development and investment options for resilience improvements
• the postholder will work closely with the Physical Security and Resilience Team (PSRT) to ensure effective alignment between cyber resilience, physical security, and wider business continuity arrangements
• the role will actively support joined up planning and testing, to identify synergies between cyber and physical resilience activities, and contribute to strengthening the agency’s overall capability to prevent, respond to, and recover from disruptive incidents

Person specification

Essential

• Cloud-based Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery experience.
• Strong cloud backup and recovery knowledge.
• Experience integrating BC activities with incident response.
• Excellent stakeholder engagement and communication.
• Supplier/vendor management.
• Ability to operate strategically and technically.

Desirable

• Azure Site Recovery experience.
• Azure recovery services knowledge.
• CISSP certification.
• ISO27001 exposure.
• Experience with government BC audit requirements.

SELECTION PROCESS

Sift stage

As part of the application process, candidates will be asked to upload a CV outlining their experience, skills and suitability for the role, and complete a multi-stage screening process. Candidates who are longlisted will be invited to complete a short, pre-recorded video screening interview. Alternatively, written responses may be provided in place of the video interview. Our recruitment partner (Inspire People) will assess applications against the essential criteria to produce a shortlist, which will then be reviewed by Insolvency Service hiring managers. Successful candidates will be invited to interview.

CV Guidance

Your CV should provide a clear overview of your employment history, key responsibilities, relevant qualifications, and the skills and experience you’ve gained throughout your career including any notable achievements.

Note: Your CV will be scored as part of the assessment process and will be assessed against the criteria outlined in the job advert.

Initial sift

Should a large number of applications be received, an initial sift may be conducted using the CV, assessing candidates against the essential criteria. Only those who meet the essential criteria at this stage will proceed to a full assessment of their application. If a candidate does not meet the minimum requirements during the initial sift, the remainder of their application will not be reviewed. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift or progressed straight to interview.

Benchmark

Where high volumes of strong applications are expected or received, we may raise the ‘benchmark’ minimum score required at the sift stage. If a high volume of candidates meet the benchmark score, we may further raise the score required for interview selection. Scores will be applied fairly and consistently. Applicants eligible under a recruitment scheme may, where appropriate, continue to be considered against the agreed ‘benchmark’ score, to support the purpose of the scheme.

Sift waitlist

Candidates who pass the sift but are not offered an interview due to higher-scoring applicants, may be placed on a successful sift waitlist for up to 12 months.

Interview stage

If successful at the sift stage, at interview, you will be assessed on the following:

• behavioural Competencies - assessed through:
  • behaviour 1 - seeing the big picture
  • behaviour 2 – making effective decisions
• technical Skills – assessed through:
  • technical skill 1 – Azure Site Recovery (ASR end-to-end design (multi-subscription, public-facing services)
  • technical skill 2 – secondary-region networking and identity readiness (making failover work)
  • technical skill 3 – RTO/RPO, testing strategy, and audit-grade evidence (CAF / GovS 007 / ISO 27001)

National security vetting

Please note that the successful candidate will need to pass the Security Check level of National Security Vetting prior to commencing employment.

From 1st October 2026, applicants will be required to meet nationality and residency requirements so that National Security Vetting (NSV) checks can be conducted. If you want to learn more, visit NSV national requirements (opens in a new window).

Location information

Please note: This vacancy is advertised across 11 locations; however, Stratford and Croydon are only available to current Insolvency Service Staff. The advertised salary includes London weighting, which is only applicable to internal candidates.

Expected timeline (subject to change)

Sift – w/c TBC

Interview – w/c TBC

Location - MS Teams

Your interview will be conducted by video. You will be notified of this if you are selected for interview. Candidates are asked to note the above timetable, exercising flexibility through the recruitment and selection process.

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Seeing the Big Picture
• Making Effective Decisions

Technical skills

We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

• Azure Site Recovery (ASR) end-to-end design (multi-subscription, public-facing services)
• secondary-region networking and identity readiness (making failover work)
• RTO/RPO, testing strategy, and audit-grade evidence (CAF / GovS 007 / ISO 27001)

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £57,367, Insolvency Service contributes £16,619 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).

We want you to have a good work-life balance and want to support you in all that you do, so we offer a great benefits package including:

• flexible working arrangements and flexi-time
• full time new entrants to the Civil Service and those Civil Servants on modernised terms and conditions will be entitled to 25 days leave increasing on a sliding scale to 30 days after 5 years’ service
• in addition to this you are entitled to 8 public/bank holidays plus an additional day of privilege leave
• competitive maternity, paternity and parental leave
• 5 days paid leave for learning and development
• 5 days paid for volunteering
• a Cycle to work scheme
• staff have access to an employee assistance programme, Workplace Wellness, for confidential, independent support and advice during difficult times in either their professional or personal life

Your pension is a valuable part of your total reward package where the employer makes a significant contribution to the cost of your pension. Your contributions come out of your salary before any tax is taken. This means, if you pay tax, your take-home pay will not be reduced by the full amount of your contribution; and your pension will continue to provide valuable benefits for you and your family if you are too ill to continue to work or die before you retire. For more information, visit www.civilservicepensionscheme.org.uk

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Experience and Technical skills.Please refer to person specification.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window).

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window).People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see theCivil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

• Name : Libby Leagas-Martin
• Email : libby@inspirepeople.net

Recruitment team

• Email : HR.recruitment@insolvency.gov.uk

Further information

A candidate can raise a complaint to the Insolvency Service by emailing the contact point for applicants (as listed on the vacancy advert), if they think that: They have been discriminated against under the Equality Act 2010 there have been procedural irregularities at any stage of the recruitment process All complaints must be received by the contact point for applicants within 24 hours from the date the applicant is advised of their non-success at sift, assessment or interview. Complaints will be considered by an independent third-party outside of recruitment campaign. The decision will be conveyed to the applicant, in writing, within 5 working days of receipt of the complaint. The recruitment process will usually be put on hold until the complaint has been resolved. Complaints may also be made to the Civil Service Commission at any time if the individual believes their application has not been treated in accordance with the recruitment principles (appointment on merit through fair and open competition). However, complaints must first have been raised to the Insolvency Service

Attachments

Applying for a Job - A Candidate Guide (1) Opens in new window (pdf, 3061kB)Insolvency Candidate Information Pack ppt Opens in new window (pdf, 6509kB)Success Profiles - candidate overview Opens in new window (pdf, 635kB)