Business Continuity Manager

Career Guide
A Business Continuity Manager helps an organization keep critical services running during disruptions such as cyber incidents, technology outages, supplier failures, and natural disasters. The role plans for interruptions, tests readiness, and coordinates recovery so the business can operate safely and meet customer and regulatory expectations.

Key Responsibilities

  • Identify critical business services and key dependencies
  • Lead business impact assessments to understand operational and financial risk
  • Create and maintain business continuity plans for teams and sites
  • Coordinate disaster recovery planning with technology teams
  • Define recovery time targets and recovery point targets
  • Run tabletop exercises and simulation tests to validate plans
  • Track issues found in tests and drive corrective actions to closure
  • Develop crisis management processes and escalation paths
  • Train employees on roles, procedures, and communications during incidents
  • Manage continuity risks from vendors and third parties
  • Report readiness metrics to leadership and audit teams
  • Support incident response with structured coordination and documentation

Top Skills for Success

Risk Assessment
Business Impact Analysis
Business Continuity Planning
Crisis Management
Stakeholder Management
Program Management
Incident Coordination
Vendor Risk Management
Disaster Recovery Fundamentals
Policy Writing
Training Design
Executive Communication

Career Progression

Can Lead To
Business Continuity Analyst
Risk Analyst
Security Governance Analyst
Operations Program Manager
IT Service Management Analyst
Transition Opportunities
Senior Business Continuity Manager
Business Resilience Lead
Crisis Management Lead
Operational Risk Manager
Enterprise Risk Manager
Information Security Manager
Director of Business Continuity
Head of Resilience

Common Skill Gaps

Often Missing Skills
Business Impact AnalysisCrisis CommunicationsDisaster Recovery FundamentalsTesting and ExercisesVendor Risk ManagementMetrics and ReportingRegulatory Compliance Knowledge
Development SuggestionsStart by mapping the most critical services and running a simple impact assessment with one business unit. Build a short continuity plan, then run a tabletop exercise to validate roles, communications, and recovery steps. Partner with technology teams to learn recovery concepts and translate them into business-friendly actions. Create a small set of readiness metrics and report them consistently to leadership.

Salary & Demand

Median Salary Range
Entry LevelUSD 80,000 to 105,000
Mid LevelUSD 105,000 to 140,000
Senior LevelUSD 140,000 to 185,000
Growth Trend
Stable to growing demand, driven by cyber risk, stricter regulatory expectations, and increased reliance on technology and third-party vendors.

Companies Hiring

Major Employers
JPMorgan ChaseBank of AmericaWells FargoCitiGoldman SachsUnitedHealth GroupCVS HealthKaiser PermanenteAmazonMicrosoftGoogleWalmartExxonMobilShellAT&TVerizon
Industry Sectors
Financial ServicesHealthcareTechnologyRetailManufacturingEnergyTelecommunicationsGovernmentEducationLogistics

Recommended Next Steps

1
Create a sample business impact assessment template and complete one assessment
2
Draft a continuity plan for one critical process and get it reviewed by stakeholders
3
Run one tabletop exercise and document gaps with owners and due dates
4
Build a vendor continuity questionnaire for key third parties
5
Develop a one-page crisis communications checklist for leaders
6
Track readiness using three to five simple metrics and share monthly updates
7
Pursue training in business continuity and operational risk fundamentals