Head of Business Continuity, Office of the Chief Operating Officer, AO, 1FTE, Permanent

Applications are invited for an appointment as Head of Business Continuity, Administrative Officer, 1 FTE, permanent post in the Office of the Chief Operating Officer at University of Galway.

Information on the University's Strategic Plan is available at: Strategy | Straitéis 2025-30 - University of Galway

For informal enquiries, please contact [email protected]

Salary: €86,087 - €109,815 per annum pro rata for part time/short term roles (applicable to new entrants effective from January 2011) and in accordance with the terms and conditions of the QA321 University’s Remuneration & Payroll Policy.

This appointment will be made on the Administrative Officer pay scale in line with current Government pay policy.

Closing date for receipt of applications is 17:00 (Irish Time) on Thursday 29th October 2026. It will not be possible to consider applications received after the closing date.

Garda vetting may apply.

Appointments will be conditional on work authorisation validation. Further details are available at www.dbei.ie

For more information and Application Form please see Jobs - University of Galway. Applications should be submitted online. Please see further information on how to apply here: E-Recruit - University of Galway and Guidelines for On-line Applications (universityofgalway.ie)

Please note that appointments to posts advertised will be dependent upon University approval, together with the terms of the Employment Control Framework for the higher education sector.

University of Galway is an equal opportunities employer.

Post Title & Subject Area: Head of Business Continuity Unit: Office of the Chief Operating Officer Post Duration: Permanent FTE: 1 FTE Grade: Administrative Officer Reports to: Chief Operating Officer Comp Ref: 011986

1. Job Advertisement

Applications are invited for an appointment as Head of Business Continuity , Administrative Officer, 1 FTE, permanent post in the Office of the Chief Operating Officer at University of Galway.

Information on the University's Strategic Plan is available at: Strategy | Straitéis 2025 -30 - University of Galway

For informal enquiries, please contact [email protected]

Salary: €86,087 - €109,815 per annum pro rata for part time/short term roles (applicable to new entrants effective from January 2011) and in accordance with the terms and conditions of the QA321 University’s Remuneration & Payroll Policy.

This appointment will be made on the Administrative Officer pay scale in line with current Government pay policy.

Closing date for receipt of applications is 17:00 (Irish Time) on Thursday 29th October 2026. It will not be possible to consider applications received after the closing date. Garda vetting may apply.

Appointments will be conditional on work authorisation validation. Further details are available at www.dbei.ie

For more information and Application Form please see Jobs - University of Galway. Applications should be submitted online. Please see further information on how to apply here: E-Recruit - University of Galway and Guidelines for On-line Applications (universityofgalway.ie)

Please note that appointments to posts advertised will be dependent upon University approval, together with the terms of the Employment Control Framework for the higher education sector.

University of Galway is an equal opportunities employer.

2. Role Relationships

Reporting directly to the Chief Operating Officer the post holder will have specific daily contact with: • The Chief Operating Officer (COO), Office of the COO staff, and Units reporting to the COO. • University Business Continuity and Incident Response Teams. • Business Continuity Lead Planners.

The post holder has general contact with: • Academic, research and professional services leaders. • Business Continuity Steering Group. • Risk Management Group and Risk Officer. • Enterprise risk management, IT disaster recovery, information security, insurances services, emergency management, safety management, security, and the procurement function. • Members of the Crisis Management, Crisis Coordination, and Crisis Communications Teams. • External agencies—emergency services, local authority, sector networks, relevant regulatory bodies, peer institutions.

Organisation chart to illustrate position of job holder:

3. Main Purpose of Job Reporting to the Chief Operating Officer, the Head of Business Continuity will lead business continuity management, incident and crisis management and operational resilience for the University of Galway. The successful candidate will shape, drive and oversee the implementation of the University’s resilience strategy, and will further develop and mature the University’s business continuity and incident response capability.

This role will ensure that the University can anticipate, respond to, and recover from disruptive events while safeguarding people, critical operations, services, and reputation. As a senior leader, the role will deliver the University’s business continuity objectives, influence executive decision-making, and embed a culture of resilience across academic, research and professional services functions.

The post holder will also be the University Duty Officer, act as the University’s first point of escalation for any disruptive incident that might trigger the activation of incident response or crisis teams. (Note that this does not infer an on -call requirement). The postholder will be contacted outside of normal contracted hours only in exceptional circumstances and would be expected to undertake a brief assessment of the scale and severity of the incident and, if warranted, escalate further to the appropriate senior University leader, i n accordance with the University’s Crisis Management Plan. The post holder will s upport incident response, crisis teams, and other University staff who may be responding to a disruptive incident, as appropriate.

4. Main Duties and Responsibilities Leadership • Develop and lead the University of Galway’s resilience strategy, ensuring alignment with the University’s strategic priorities and objectives. • Lead business continuity management at the University and develop, and deliver, an annual Business Continuity Programme of resilience projects to include analysis, planning, exercising, training, assurance, embedding, and continuous improvement activities, as prioritised and overseen by the University’s BC Steering Group. • Own, lead, maintain and oversee the review of the University’s Crisis Management Plan and its supporting procedures, tools, templates, and resources, and further develop the capability and preparedness of the University’s crisis teams, through a structured programme of training and simulation exercises. Ensure secure off -site and offline accessibility to the CM Plan and related resources. • Lead long -term resilience planning, including prioritisation, resourcing, and capability development. • Lead horizon scanning as it pertains to potential serious operational disruption. Provide authoritative guidance on emerging opportunities, risks, threats, and industry trends, and develop proactive responses to maximise preparedness, including contingency planning, further training, and increased awareness. • Assume a key role in the University’s incident management structure as University Duty Officer.

• Lead business continuity assurance activities, including but not limited to, performance evaluation of the University’s resilience (against its BCM Maturity Model); and business continuity / incident response plan maintenance performance evaluation. • Working with key University supplier relationship owners, University Procurement & Contracts Office and service users, lead supplier resilience initiatives, including but not limited to, performance assessments of the resilience arrangements of suppliers o f the University’s critical supplies and services, and follow -on improvement actions. Further embed business continuity in our procurement, tendering, and contract review processes. • Develop and lead University-wide business continuity awareness and embedding campaigns and targeted activities aimed at specific functions and groups within the University. • Act as the University’s lead subject matter expert on all aspects of business continuity management, incident response, crisis management and operational resilience, advising and guiding staff at all levels of the organisation, and reporting to senior lead ership and committees of the University. • Lead a network of BC Planners from across the University’s Colleges and Units to deliver the University’s business continuity, incident management, and crisis management, in keeping with the decisions of the BC Steering Group. Act as a key interlocutor to positively influence senior leaders within the University to advance support for, and the development, maintenance and continuous improvement of, resilience across the University. • Lead and Chair the Business Continuity Planners Forum, which provides a platform for University BC Lead Planners to share skills, knowledge, insights, and experiences of business continuity and incident response management in a supportive and collaborative environment. • Effectively manage and optimise the central resources assigned to business continuity management and resilience activities, including pay and non-pay budgets. • Support incident response, crisis teams, and other University staff who may be responding to a disruptive incident, as appropriate

Business continuity planning

• As part of the annual Business Continuity Programme, oversee the development of business continuity planning across the University’s critical academic, research, and professional services functions, ensuring alignment with the University’s BC Policy and BC Management System and with industry best practice standards (BCI GPG and ISO23301). • Deliver the guidance, training, challenge, exercising, and performance evaluation required to ensure that such plans are fit -for-purpose, consistent, relevant, and effective in maintaining critical operations during disruptive events. • Collaborate with University academic, research, and professional services units to develop effective business continuity and incident response capability and to embed resilience considerations into key functions and activities. Identify and maximise opport unities for cross-functional partnerships, knowledge sharing, resource sharing, and continuous improvement. • Develop and maintain the tools, templates, guidance, and resources for business continuity planning, plan maintenance, and continuous improvement, in line with best practice. • Lead the mandatory annual review cycle of completed Business Continuity and Incident Response Plans, as part of the Plan Maintenance programme. • Prepare and deliver quarterly reports on progress against BC Programme objectives to the Business Continuity Steering Group and to the Risk Management Group.

• Present a detailed Annual Report on Business Continuity to the University’s Business Continuity Steering Group and to the Risk Management Group, and other senior leaders, as required, to include metrics pertaining to continuous improvement, maturity against industry standards, capability maturity levels, performance against BC objectives, etc. • Oversee the provision of third-party business continuity consultancy and advisory services to the University.

Training & Exercises

• Develop an annual multi -tiered programme of business continuity and incident response exercises, appropriate to the capability development objectives of each response team, and including walkthroughs, table -top exercises, scenario -based coached exercises, and major simulations. • Oversee the delivery of the exercise programme and the performance evaluation of response teams. Capture lessons learned and drive the implementation of continuous improvement actions arising from the exercises. • Contribute to the design of complex simulation exercises; facilitate their delivery; and provide input to the post-exercise review and reporting process in order to identify and address gaps in plans, capability, performance and overall resilience. • Design and oversee the delivery of a targeted training programme to enhance resilience capabilities and reinforce a culture of preparedness across all staff levels. • Leverage technology, artificial intelligence, and automated tools, as appropriate, to design business continuity training modules and scenario -based table-top exercises for delivery in - house.

Continuous Improvement

• In accordance with the University’s established business continuity continuous improvement process, drive and embed continuous improvement across all aspects of business continuity management, ensuring that lessons learned and improvement actions are captu red, prioritised, and implemented. • Hold senior University leaders accountable for delivering improvements arising from the exercise programme. • Commission audits, maturity assessments, and other external reviews, as appropriate, to drive business continuity continuous improvement. • Report annually to the Business Continuity Steering Group on continuous improvement metrics.

Collaboration, Awareness, & Advocacy

• Ensure effective collaboration and integration with key internal stakeholders and processes, including the enterprise risk management function, IT disaster recovery, information security, insurances services, emergency management, safety management, securi ty, and the procurement function. • Collaborate with the University’s Risk Manager to ensure that the annual Business Continuity Programme is consistent with risk appetite, criteria and metrics, and that business continuity addresses and mitigates relevant business continuity risks on the University Risk Register.

• Build strong relationships with academic, research and professional services leaders, with BC Leads, and with all University incident response teams to embed effective business continuity and incident management. • Promote a culture of resilience across the University, influencing behaviours and attitudes across all levels and among diverse cohorts of staff. Influence senior University leadership to champion business continuity planning within their respective areas of responsibility. • Strongly advocate for the University’s investment in the financial, human, and technological resources required to effectively deliver business continuity management and major incident preparedness. • Design and deliver high impact business continuity awareness initiatives aimed at promoting a resilience culture. • Establish strong relationships with external stakeholders and agencies such as the emergency services, local authority, sector networks, relevant regulatory bodies, and peer institutions. • Represent the University of Galway at sector, industry, national and international business continuity / resilience forums and events, as necessary and appropriate. • Remain knowledgeable on current and emerging business continuity management standards, industry best practices, and relevant regulations and legislation. • Participate, as appropriate, in continuing professional development opportunities in business continuity management, and related disciplines, to ensure the enhancement of skills, knowledge, and learning.

5. Requirements for the role:

The successful candidate will demonstrate the eligibility requirements below in terms of qualification, skills and experience:

Essential Criteria

• A primary Honours Degree (QQI Level 8 or international equivalent) in Business Continuity Management, Risk Management, Emergency Management, or a related area, or an equivalent senior-level professional credential in business continuity (such as MBCI or CBCP). • A minimum of 5 years’ experience leading the operational resilience / business continuity management function at a senior level in a large organisation, ideally in a large public sector or higher-education environment. • A proven track record of successfully leading the development and implementation of business continuity management and crisis management in a complex organisation, in line with best practice standards. • Significant experience of supporting the effective management of major disruptive incidents and crisis response. • Demonstrated practical experience of business continuity planning and delivery. Demonstrated track record in adapting concepts and theory into bespoke, pragmatic, practical implementation programmes. • Demonstrated experience of developing impactful training and exercise programmes aimed at enhancing resilience and ensure organisational preparedness for disruption. • Strong familiarity with BCI Good Practice Guidelines technical practices and ISO 22301, 22313, or equivalent recognised standards, with practical experience of translating these into policies, procedures, and plans.

Desirable Criteria

• Experience in leading business continuity management, incident management and/or emergency management in the higher education sector. • Demonstrated practical experience of establishing, implementing, maintaining, and continually improving a business continuity management system. • Training in crisis leadership or emergency management. • Strong risk management abilities.

The above criteria will be utilised to shortlist and select candidates for interview.

Person Specification

• Strong leadership skills with the proven ability to influence stakeholders at all levels, including those at executive level, and a demonstrated ability to drive cultural change and embed resilience. • Strong analytical and problem-solving skills. • Ability to operate strategically in a large, complex organisation. • High levels of emotional resilience, with the ability to remain calm, to lead through ambiguity, and make effective decisions under pressure. • Ability to manage across organisational boundaries, demonstrating excellent communication and interpersonal skills in building relationships and collaborating effectively with stakeholders. • Excellent project management, ICT, reporting and presentation skills. • Ability to communicate business continuity technical concepts clearly and pragmatically to those unfamiliar with the subject matter. • Ability to strongly motivate others without direct authority, to champion and advocate for business continuity management, and to constructively challenge. • Flexibility as the University’s first point of escalation for any incidents that might trigger the activation of response / crisis teams. (Note that the postholder is not required to be on call outside of contracted hours).

Application A. Existing University of Galway employees

If you are an existing University of Galway employee, please use the University of Galway Core Portal to apply for this post. The following is a link to the Core Portal http://ess.universityofgalway.ie. Core Portal user guides can be found at https://www.universityofgalway.ie/human-resources/employeeselfservice/. Please ensure that you read the attached guide prior to applying for this post and allow sufficient time to make your online submission in advance of closing date. Please note that closing dates/times cannot be extended for user error.

Unfortunately, late applications cannot be accepted.

Please note agency staff will need to have three months’ continuous service at the closing date of the advertised post. Further information on CORE portal can be found here CorePortal User Guide - University of Galway.

Employment permit restrictions apply for this category of post.

The completed application document must be submitted online to reach the Human Resources Office no later than 17:00 (Irish Time) on Thursday 29th October 2026.

B. All applicants will receive an acknowledgement of application.

If you do not receive an acknowledgement of receipt of your application or if you have any other queries regarding the application process, please contact [email protected] or telephone 091-492151.

C. Incentivised Scheme for Early Retirement (ISER):

It is a condition of the Incentivised Scheme for Early Retirement (ISER) as set out in Department of Finance Circular 12/09 that retirees, under that scheme, are debarred from applying for another position in the same employment or the same sector. Theref ore, such retirees are ineligible to apply for this position.

D. Pension Entitlements:

This is a pensionable position. Details of the applicable Pension Scheme will be provided to the successful candidate. The Pension element of this appointment is subject to the terms and conditions of the Pension scheme currently in force within the Univer sity. This Scheme may be amended or revised by the Irish Government or its agents at any time.

The Public Service Superannuation (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2004 set a minimum retirement age of 65 and removed the upper compulsory retirement age for certain New Entrants to the Public Sector on or after 1 April 2004. Effective from 1st January 2013, The Single Public Service Scheme applies to all first -time new entrants to the public service, as well as to former public servants returning to the public service after a break of more than 26 weeks. Compulsory retirement age will be 70.

F. Collective Agreement: Redundancy Payments to Public Servants:

The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform letter dated 28th June 2012 to Personnel Officers introduced, with effect from 1st June 2012, a Collective Agreement which had been reached between the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and the Publ ic Services Committee of the ICTU in relation to ex -gratia Redundancy Payments to Public Servants. It is a condition of the Collective Agreement that persons availing of the agreement will not be eligible for re-employment in the public service by any publ ic service body (as defined by the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Acts 2009 – 2011) for a period of 2 years from termination of the employment. Thereafter the consent of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform will be required p rior to re -employment. People who availed of this scheme and who may be successful in this competition will have to prove their eligibility (expiry of period of non-eligibility) and the Minister’s consent will have to be secured prior to employment by any public service body. Please refer to Revenue circular https://www.revenue.ie/en/tax-professionals/tdm/income- tax-capital-gains-tax-corporation-tax/part-05/05-05-19.pdf for information on revised tax arrangements which may apply on rehire if you have previously received a redundancy payment from University of Galway.

G. Department of Health and Children Circular (7/2010):

The Department of Health Circular 7/2010 dated 1 November 2010 introduced a Targeted Voluntary Early Retirement (VER) Scheme and Voluntary Redundancy Schemes (VRS). It is a condition of the VER scheme that persons availing of the scheme will not be eligibl e for re - employment in the public health sector or in the wider public service or in a body wholly or mainly funded from public moneys. The same prohibition on re -employment applies under the VRS, except that the prohibition is for a period of 7 years, aft er which time any re-employment will require the approval of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform. People who availed of either of these schemes are not eligible to compete in this competition.

H. Declaration:

Applicants will be required to confirm whether they have previously availed of a public service scheme of incentivised early retirement and/or the collective agreement outlined above. The above represents the main schemes and agreements restricting a candi date’s right to be re - employed in the public service. However, it is not intended to be an exhaustive list and candidates should declare details of any other exit mechanism they have availed of which restricts their right to be re -employed in the public service. Applicants will also be required to declare any entitlements to a Public Service pension benefit (in payment or preserved) from any other Public Service employment and/or where they have received a payment-in-lieu in respect of service in any Public Service employment.

J. Work Permits:

Work permits are permits which are granted to non -EU/EEA Citizens to allow them to work in Ireland legally. It's an illegal offense to work in Ireland without a work permit and both the employer and the employee are held responsible. For more information on work permits and for future updates, visit the Enterprise, Trade and Employment website www.djei.ie. Please see

list of ineligible categories for work permits at https://dbei.gov.ie/en/What-We-Do/Workplace- and-Skills/Employment-Permits/Employment-Permit-Eligibility//

Assessment Procedure

A. Board of Assessors

Applications will be considered by a Board of Assessors, who will shortlist and interview candidates. All applications and other materials submitted by applicants will be treated in strict confidence by all panel members and others involved in the administration of the recruitment. No information about the identity of applicants, or details of their applications, will be released to others, except where it is necessary as part of the selection process.

B. Interview Dates

Candidates will be advised of arrangements in due course. We endeavour to give as much prior notice as possible for interview dates etc. Candidates should make themselves available for interview and presentation on the date(s) specified by the University. Candidates who do not attend for interview or other test when and where required by the University or who do not, when requested, furnish such evidence as the University requires in regard to any matter relevant to their candidature, will have no further claim to consideration.

C. Referees

Referees listed on the application form of the successful candidate will be contacted following interview, with the exception of academic posts.

D. Offer

All candidates will in due course be notified of the outcome of their application. The Human Resources Office will offer the post to the candidate appointed once the appointment has been made by the University Appointing Authority. The successful candidate will be required to submit evidence of age, original qualifications and may be required to complete a medical examination. Once a conditional job offer has been made, the candidate will be asked to complete a confidential pre -employment health questionnaire that the University’s Occupational Health Service will use in order to assess medical fitness to undertake the duties of the post. The information provided on the questionnaire will be used (i) to assess the candidate’s medical capability to do the job applied for; (ii) to determine whether any reasonable adjustments may be required to accommodate any disability or impairment which the candidate may have; and (iii) to ensure that none of the requirements of the job for w hich the candidate applied would adversely affect any pre -existing health conditions the candidate may have.

Human Resources Office.