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Business Continuity Planners

People classed as Business Continuity Planners develop, maintain, or implement business continuity and disaster recovery strategies and solutions, including risk assessments, business impact analyses, strategy selection, and documentation of business continuity and disaster recovery procedures. With a code of ECI, this is mostly a job for people drawn to leading, persuading and making business decisions. Conventional interests also help, rated 5.1 out of 7. The preparation level is considerable preparation, typically a bachelor’s degree plus a period of work experience. O*NET’s skill data points to judgment and decision making, critical thinking, and complex problem solving as the ones to build. The job can ask you to develop emergency management plans for recovery decision making and communications, continuity of critical departmental processes, or temporary shut-down of non-critical departments to ensure continuity of operation and governance. If you want leading, persuading and making business decisions, keep it on your list. If you need creative work with room for original expression, it may feel thin.

What they do

Develop, maintain, or implement business continuity and disaster recovery strategies and solutions, including risk assessments, business impact analyses, strategy selection, and documentation of business continuity and disaster recovery procedures. Plan, conduct, and debrief regular mock-disaster exercises to test the adequacy of existing plans and strategies, updating procedures and plans regularly. Act as a coordinator for continuity efforts after a disruption event.

Main tasks

  • Develop emergency management plans for recovery decision making and communications, continuity of critical departmental processes, or temporary shut-down of non-critical departments to ensure continuity of operation and governance.
  • Test documented disaster recovery strategies and plans.
  • Develop disaster recovery plans for physical locations with critical assets, such as data centers.
  • Establish, maintain, or test call trees to ensure appropriate communication during disaster.
  • Identify opportunities for strategic improvement or mitigation of business interruption and other risks caused by business, regulatory, or industry-specific change initiatives.
  • Maintain and update organization information technology applications and network systems blueprints.

Skills

  • Judgment and Decision Making
  • Critical Thinking
  • Complex Problem Solving
  • Active Listening
  • Writing
  • Systems Evaluation

Who this career fits

May suit you if

  • You like taking the lead and making the call.
  • You like clear rules and getting the details right.
  • You are ready to spend around four years on a degree, then build experience.
  • You are comfortable relying on judgment and decision making and critical thinking.

May not suit you if

  • You would rather not persuade, sell or manage other people.
  • You need creative expression to be a big part of your day. Artistic rates 1.7 out of 7 here.
  • You want to avoid a four-year degree or its equivalent.

Interest profile

O*NET rates each occupation from 1 to 7 on six interest types. The code ECI takes the three highest, and Enterprising comes first here.

Preparation

Considerable preparation. Most jobs here ask for a bachelor’s degree, and employers usually expect a few years of related experience as well.

Most-reported requirement in the O*NET survey: Bachelor's Degree. This reflects what workers reported most often and is not a legal minimum. Licensing rules can differ by state or industry, so confirm what applies where you plan to work.

Also called

  • Business Continuity Administrator (Business Continuity Admin)
  • Business Continuity Analyst
  • Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Consultant
  • Business Continuity Consultant
  • Business Continuity Coordinator

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This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.