Business Continuity Resilience, Response & Recovery Officer

Job Introduction

Are you ready to make a real impact on organisational resilience at the West Midlands Combined Authority?

We’re looking for a Business Continuity, Resilience, Response and Recovery Officer to help strengthen WMCA’s ability to prepare for, respond to and recover from disruption. In this role, you will play a key part in developing, maintaining and embedding our approach to business continuity and incident management across the organisation.

This role sits within a newly established and evolving function, created to strengthen WMCA’s resilience capability. While the foundations are already in place, you’ll have a unique opportunity to help shape how the team operates contributing ideas, influencing ways of working and supporting the development of tools, systems and processes as the service matures.

What you will be doing.

• Lead the Business Continuity Management System, ensuring documentation is auditable and up to date.
• Prepare, maintain, and test WMCA’s business continuity plans with subject matter experts for peer review.
• Recommend improvements to WMCA’s BIAs and broader Business Continuity, resilience, response, and recovery plans and its supporting framework strategy.
• Manage and update Business Impact Assessments (BIAs) across WMCA to ensure accuracy and relevance.
• Adjust and update BIAs as needed when changes occur and create new BIAs for new areas or departments within WMCA.
• Lead incident response coordination with WMCA leads, offering subject matter expertise for detailed planning.
• Engage with SME operational plan owners s across WMCA to ensure a coordinated and intelligence-led approach to BC planning.
• Conduct post-incident and operational plan reviews to implement improvements and update response strategies.
• Work with WMCA directorates, risk, and info security teams to proactively plan for potential risks and incidents.
• Collaborate with plan leads within WMCA to coordinate responses to incidents impacting the authority.
• Assist in recovery efforts and coordinate responses for significant incidents.
• Lead WMCA’s training and exercise and validation plan, ensuring preparedness and awareness of emergency response among colleagues.

What’s essential.

• Experience in Event, Emergency or Business Continuity Planning
• Experience of working with multiple stakeholders and managing that interface.
• Experience of continuous improvement and identifying where efficiencies can be made.
• Business Continuity, Resilience, Response and Recovery planning
• knowledge and practices Sound working knowledge and good understanding of the corporate environment
• Excellent communication skills both written and verbal.
• BC/EP qualification or equivalent experience.

Please note that a full list of duties and essential / desirable criteria can be found in the Job Description attached.

Location.

The location for this role is 16 Summer Lane, Birmingham, B19 3SD with at least 2 days a week spent in the office.

How to apply.

Applying for a role with WMCA is straightforward. Follow these steps to get started.

• Create your Careers Account. Register with your name, email address, and a password.
• Build your Profile. Upload your CV to help populate your career and education details.
• Write your Supporting Statement. Make sure to address each of the required essential criteria.
• Submit your application. Do one final check and once complete, click submit.

Please note, we reserve the right to close any vacancy from further submissions when we have received sufficient applications from which to make a shortlist. Please apply without delay if you wish to be considered for this role.

Anonymised Applications.

Your uploaded CV won’t be visible after submission. Our process is anonymised, and only the information in your profile is used for shortlisting. Be thorough in each section. It’s your chance to showcase your skills and experience.

Using Artificial Intelligence (AI)

We cannot stop anyone from using AI to help write application content. Used right, it can be a great tool. If you choose to use AI, then use it as a helper rather than relying on it wholly to write your application.

Applications that rely too heavily on AI may be rejected during shortlisting. For help on how to write a supporting statement, please visit the FAQs section of our careers site.

Reasonable adjustments.

If you have an accessibility need, disability, or condition that means you might require changes to the application or recruitment process, please get in touch with our Recruitment Team (careers@wmca.org.uk).

Salary and benefits.

We advertise salary ranges, with new appointments typically starting at the lowest salary point. In exceptional cases, the salary point may be adjusted to secure the best candidate. This approach allows for potential year-on-year salary increases, offering progression and appropriate rewards to employees. Requests for salaries above the maximum advertised range will not be considered.

We offer a comprehensive benefits package that includes:

• Local Government Pension Scheme (one of the most generous pension schemes in the UK).
• Shared Cost Additional Voluntary Contribution scheme where you can build an additional pot of money alongside your pension with contributions exempt from Income Tax and National Insurance contributions (NICs).
• 28 days paid annual leave (with an option to purchase more) + Statutory days.
• EV car benefit scheme
• Healthcare plans.
• Discounted gym membership, will writing, and mortgage advice.
• An option to buy a bicycle, including e-bikes and adapted pedal cycles, at a discounted rate.
• 3 days of paid leave each year to volunteer.
• Interest-free financing through SmartTech to buy the latest technology
• Discounted shopping with over 2,000 big-name retailers, and more. You can now also obtain a Costco membership through the WMCA.
• Boundless unlocks unlimited entry to top-rated UK attractions and loads of extra benefits and discounts.
• Eye Care Scheme, offering a free eye test and a financial contribution towards your glasses.

For more information, please visit the benefits page on our career site.

Why join WMCA?

WMCA is laser-focused on improving the West Midlands, bringing economic growth, jobs, homes, and better journeys to the region. We target local needs where it matters most, ensuring everyone has a job that pays well and has access to safe and affordable places they can call home.

We put people and place at the heart of everything we do, working hand in hand with our partners to direct funding where it's needed most. What you do, really matters. Your expertise will help make a big difference, improving people's lives, every day.

Our Values and Behaviours.

Fostering an environment where people feel valued, included, supported, and proud to contribute to our region is important to us at the WMCA. Our behaviours are more than statements; they guide how we work, make decisions, and treat one another - they set the standards we hold ourselves to and the experience we want others to have.

• 
  Collaborative - We work as one organisation. Together we build trust, connection and shared purpose across teams, partners and residents to create the biggest impact for our region.
  
• Driven - We are focused on outcomes. We perform at our best to unlock productivity and delivery, achieving the greatest regional impact.
  
• Inclusive - We value difference. Creating an environment where people belong, and feel psychologically safe, so we can all thrive and shape a West Midlands built for everyone.
  
• Innovative - We are courageous. We embrace new ideas and challenge the status quo to continuously improve and shape the future of the West Midlands.

Creating an inclusive workplace.

WMCA holds diversity accreditations, such as the RACE Code Quality Mark, Armed Forces Covenant (Gold status) and has been recognised as one of the Inclusive Top 50 Employers and The Times Top 50 Employers for Women. We’re a Disability Confident Employer with ‘Leader’ status, committed to interviewing applicants with disabilities who meet all the essential role criteria.

We are also proud to be a Ban the Box employer, which means we do not ask about criminal convictions at the initial application stage, and will only ask after an offer is made as part of our onboarding checks, which helps us remove barriers for people with past convictions and supporting fair opportunities for all.

We recognise that certain groups, such as women and people of colour, may be less likely to apply for roles if they feel they do not meet all the requirements. However, we encourage individuals who are passionate about the role and want to make a difference to still apply. We value potential and encourage applicants to highlight their skills, including transferable ones, even if they don't fit the traditional "perfect candidate" mould.

We gladly consider part-time, flexible, and job share arrangements, so please don't let these factors deter you from applying

Right to Work in the UK

Proof of Right to Work in the UK will be required for all applicants in accordance with UK Home Office requirements, before any employment offer can be confirmed.

Non-UK applicants (excluding Ireland) would be required to hold a relevant Visa from the UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI).