Business Continuity Manager, Wellington
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Wellington City Council

Business Continuity Manager

  • Posted Today
  • On Site
  • Full Time

Wellington

Job Description

Kia mahi ngātahi mō Pōneke mō tōna āpōpō | Working together for Wellington's future

Shape how Wellington City Council prepares for and maintains critical services through disruption.


Wellington City Council is strengthening how it prepares for, responds to and recovers from disruption. We are looking for an experienced business continuity leader to lead Council’s enterprise Business Continuity Management (BCM) capability and help ensure the services Wellingtonians rely on can continue or recover when significant disruption occurs.


This is a senior enterprise role responsible for Council’s BCM framework, Crisis Management Plan and independent assurance. You will set clear expectations, work alongside leaders and operational teams to strengthen capability, give decision-makers an honest view of whether Council is prepared, and support senior leaders to build the capability needed to lead through a crisis.

You will join a newly forming City Resilience and Emergency Management leadership team and help shape an integrated approach spanning risk and resilience, business continuity, emergency management and recovery. Success will require collaborative leadership, practical judgement and the ability to build trusted relationships across the team and wider Council.


Ngā Taipitopito Tūranga | Role details

This role reports to the Manager City Resilience and Emergency Management.


You will:

  • lead and continuously improve Council’s enterprise BCM framework, including policy, standards, methodologies, tools and guidance;
  • provide independent (second-line) assurance on business continuity – monitoring coverage, maturity, compliance and significant continuity risks, and leading reviews, assessments, reporting and escalation of gaps;
  • own Council’s Business Impact Analysis methodology and oversee the identification and prioritisation of critical services and recovery requirements;
  • coordinate business continuity testing and exercises and ensure lessons are captured and improvements implemented;
  • own and maintain Council’s Crisis Management Plan, crisis governance arrangements and readiness programme, including crisis simulations and executive exercises that build senior leadership capability;
  • provide expert advice to senior leaders, the Executive Leadership Team and governance forums on continuity, resilience and crisis risks; and
  • work across Council and with the Wellington Region Emergency Management Office (WREMO), the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), critical service providers and resilience networks to strengthen organisational resilience.


The role will work closely with Emergency Management and Recovery, as well as ICT, Property, Finance, People and Capability and Communications, ensuring business continuity is connected to Council’s wider resilience arrangements.


Ngā tohu me ngā wheako | Qualifications and experience

We are looking for a practical, people-focused business continuity and resilience leader who can turn sound frameworks into capability that works in the real world. You will be comfortable working with senior leaders, listening to operational teams, challenging constructively and helping people take ownership of continuity – not simply producing plans or reporting compliance.


You'll bring:

  • a collaborative, adaptable leadership style, with the judgement and self-awareness to build trust, contribute to a newly forming team and work effectively across professional boundaries;
  • significant experience (typically 10 or more years) in business continuity, emergency management or a closely related resilience field;
  • extensive experience leading enterprise business continuity programmes;
  • sound knowledge of ISO 22301 and contemporary BCM practice, with evidence of applying it proportionately in a complex organisation;
  • experience providing credible, constructive assurance – testing what is happening in practice, communicating gaps clearly and helping leaders improve;
  • experience developing and exercising crisis management and business continuity arrangements, and supporting senior leaders through significant disruption or crisis events;
  • a track record of connecting risk, governance and assurance with operational realities, and of influencing senior leaders and operational teams without relying on direct authority; and
  • a relevant tertiary qualification in business continuity, emergency management, public administration or a related discipline, or equivalent professional experience at a recognised level.


Experience in local government or the public sector, and knowledge of the New Zealand emergency management environment, would be advantageous. Membership of, or involvement with, recognised business continuity or resilience professional bodies would also be beneficial.


Strong business continuity and resilience leaders develop through different career paths. If your experience is transferable and you can demonstrate practical judgement, collaborative leadership and the technical depth to lead the framework credibly, we encourage you to apply.


Nōu te rourou | What's in it for you

This is an opportunity to help build a newly forming team and shape how New Zealand’s capital city keeps critical services running through disruption. You will work directly with Council’s senior leaders on crisis readiness, with real scope to make assurance useful rather than a compliance exercise.

Working for the Council offers you a range of benefits including 5 weeks annual leave, flexible working options, health and wellbeing support, Council staff discounts and a range of learning and development programmes and opportunities.

View our Employee Value Proposition Video to see what our employees say about working at WCC.


Diversity:

We want your application to enable you to portray the real you. Skills are gained across many areas of our life, not just formal employment. If you can demonstrate the skills listed in the advert through whānau life, community or mahi aroha (volunteering) we encourage you to apply and share your story with us in your cover letter.

We welcome applications from all people and like our workforce to reflect the diverse communities we serve.


Accessibility Support:

We want to make sure any accessibility requirements you may have, are well supported so the selection process is equitable for everyone. Please let us know if there are any adjustments or support, we can offer to make our process more accessible to you by emailing: recruitment@wcc.govt.nz


Applications close 20 October 2026. Please note that we may engage with applicants prior to the vacancy closing and/or close applications ahead of this date so we encourage you to submit your application as soon as possible.

All applications must be submitted online and must have the right to work in New Zealand – we will not accept emailed applications.

All employees must undergo a Criminal Conviction Check prior to employment.

If you have questions, please contact Phil Becker, Manager City Resilience and Emergency Management, phil.becker@wcc.govt.nz

Desired Hard Skills

  • Policy Development
  • Crisis Management
  • Assurance
  • Business Continuity Management
  • Risk Management

Desired Soft Skills

  • Communication
  • Judgement
  • Collaboration
  • Adaptability
  • Leadership

Benefits & Perks

Culture

  • 🤱 Extended Parental Leave
  • 🏛 Fully Paid Jury Service
  • 🏘 Work from Home
  • 🧕 Inclusive Workspace
  • ❤ Care and Appreciation
  • ⚖ Work-Life Balance Support
  • 🧠 Mental Health Workshops
  • 💚 Counselling Services
  • 💪 Physical Health Workshops
  • 🌿 Wellness Program
  • 🏥 Subsidised Health Insurance
  • 📈 Professional Development
  • 🏎 Competitive Salary
  • 🎉 Employee Discounts and Rewards
  • 🎖 Long Service Rewards
  • 💻 Company Supplied Technology
  • ⏰ Flexible Work
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  • 🧠 Neurodiverse
  • 💰 Wage Equality
  • 🏃 Women Leadership
  • 👩 Woman CEO
  • 💸 Living Wage
  • 🤝 Unionisation
  • 🙌 Community Focused
  • 🌐 INZ Accredited Employer
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