Director of Crisis Response, Planning and Recovery - Nashville, United States - AllianceBernstein Holding LP

Description

Who We Are:

As a leading global investment management firm, AB fosters diverse perspectives and embraces innovation to help our clients navigate the uncertainty of capital markets.

Through high-quality research and diversified investment services, we serve institutions, individuals, and private wealth clients in major markets worldwide.


Our ambition is simple:
to be our clients' most valued asset-management partner.

With over 4,400 employees across 51 locations in 25 countries, our people are our advantage.

We foster a culture of intellectual curiosity and collaboration to create an environment where everyone can thrive and do their best work.

Whether you're producing thought-provoking research, identifying compelling investment opportunities, infusing new technologies into our business, or providing thoughtful advice to clients, we're looking for unique voices to help lead us forward.

If you're ready to challenge your limits and build your future, join us.


Who You'll Work With:

We are seeking a Nashville based Director of Crisis Response, Planning and Recovery to join our Infrastructure Risk Management team in Global Technology & Operations reporting directly to the Chief Security Officer.

The Infrastructure Risk Management (IRM) is a department within Global Technology and Operations (GTO) that operates an enterprise-wide integrated infrastructure risk management program which employs a holistic approach to manage cybersecurity, information security, data privacy, physical security and business continuity led by the Chief Security Officer.

What You'll Do:

AB Infrastructure Risk Management is searching for a qualified candidate to serve as the Director of Crisis Response, Planning and Recovery responsible for developing and implementing strategies to ensure the firm is prepared for and can effectively respond to crisis or disruption to its operations.

This role will require a deep understanding of the firm's business operations, risk management, and regulatory requirements.

The Director of Crisis Response, Planning and Recovery will work with global strategic business units, corporate risk, corporate IT, infrastructure services, identity access operations, data privacy, business continuity and other business areas across the firm.

The role reports to the Chief Security Officer.

Key job responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Lead a holistic responses and crisis management service for the firm.
• Develop and maintain a comprehensive crisis management plan that outlines the firm's response to various types of crises, including cyber-attacks, natural disasters, and other disruptions to operations.
• Conduct regular crisis management exercises to test the effectiveness of the firm's crisis management plan and identify areas for improvement.
• Develop and maintain relationships with key stakeholders, including regulators, law enforcement, and other financial institutions, to ensure effective communication and coordination during a crisis.
• Strive to embed resilience in day-to-day functions to ensure systems and operations can adapt to identified disruptions.
• Partner with business units in support of operational resilience strategies to ensure the firm's critical business functions can continue in the event of a disruption.
• Monitor and assess emerging risks and threats to the firm's operations, and work with the appropriate control and business functions to mitigate those risks.
• Monitor regulatory requirements that impact crisis management and business recovery, continuity and support in meeting the requirements.
• Provide regular reports to senior management on the firm's crisis management and recovery activities.
• Ensure that direct and dotted-line crisis management team members are trained and prepared to respond to a crisis.
• Work closely with the strategic business units on understanding business changes and their potential impacts on crisis management.
• Participate in exercises/tests and validate reporting.
• Analyze and evaluate the potential impacts of different scenarios and events on the business operations, assets, and reputation.
• Assist in updating AB policies, procedures and frameworks that align with industry standards and best practices.
• Conduct regular training and awareness sessions for the staff and management on business recovery and crisis management concepts.
• Assist in the development of all program reporting.
• Coordinate mass notification testing with internal teams globally.
• Participate in industry-wide exercises and tests.
• Participate in the definition and implementation strategy for the organization's emergency notification system, and other related tools/services.
• Participate in the organization's incident and crisis management programs and guide the organization in response to incidents and crises.
• Identify and make recommendations to crisis processes and procedures adapting to meet the needs of the business.
• Gain a deep understanding of the firm's recovery plans, capabilities, and requirements.
• Design and facilitate tests and exercises on business recovery plans and crisis management execution.
• Facilitate and support the execution of the plans at the time of a crisis event.
• Maintain program metrics, KPIs and overall tracking of program plans and test schedules.
• Plan and host tabletop exercises.
• Manage scenario testing and recovery testing tracking.
• Facilitate formal incident postmortems.
• Partner with the Director of Business Continuity Management and assume the role of incident commander at time of disaster. The role will also serve as the backup to the Director of Business Continuity Management.
• The role will be based in our Nashville, TN headquarters.

What makes this role unique or interesting (if applicable)?

This is a role for someone that enjoys working across teams in a global organization, roll up their sleeves to develop and maintain good processes, work with technology, has an analytical mind, and has a continuous appetite to learn and adapt to the ever-changing growing business and operational crisis management landscapes.

In addition, shows pride in the overall program journey as well as finished products and of course have fun doing so.

Professional development value of this role (i.e., what learning and professional growth does the role offer the candidate?)

This role will provide the successful candidate future growth opportunities within IRM department and the broader GTO organization as their business acumen, tech skills and experience develop within AB's technology and operations areas.

What We Are Looking For:

• Strong organizational and interpersonal skills.
• Exceptional ability to remain confident and calm under stress.
• Excellent team skills, both as a leader and as a team player.
• Ability to coordinate activities and build strong relationships within the team and the broader staff, and external vendors.
• Excellent communication skills, especially related to facilitation, documentation, and reporting.
• Ability to liaise with individuals across a wide variety of operational, functional and technical disciplines o Expert persuasion and negotiation.
• Advanced knowledge and experience of Business Continuity Management methodology, and current practices and impacts of applicable domestic and international regulations.
• Participate in the co-ordination of regulatory engagements and responses, including the preparation of materials regarding the Firms testing, response and recovery capabilities.
• Knowledge of and experience with current industry standards.
• Strong interpersonal and indirect influencing skills, with a demonstrated ability to gain the confidence of stakeholders at various organizational levels.
• Direct and supervise BC plans maintenance processes and execution.
• Must participate in "24/7 on-call" duties in support of exercises and real-life events.
• Prior experience in Business Recovery, Crisis Management and/or Risk Management, Business Continuity, Disaster Recovery, in a regulated industry is a plus.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills with the ability to cater communication to a wide range of technical, business, and cultural backgrounds.
• Able to think and operate independently with limited guidance.
• Excellent program management, prioritization, and organizational skills.
• CBCP (Certified Business Continuity Professional), CFCP (Certified Functional Continuity Professional).
• Bachelor's degree in business administration, information systems, risk management, or a related field or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

Desired Skills:

• Managing global programs.
• Risk assessment and project management skills.
• Communication and interpersonal skills.
• Analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Working technical knowledge of IT systems and infrastructure.
• Knowledge of regulatory and compliance requirements.
• Crisis management and emergency response skills.
• Business acumen and strategic thinking.
• Training skills to help ensure staff are prepared for emergencies and disasters.
• Ability to stay calm when managing a crisis.
• Ability to facilitate crisis response meetings.
• Able to understand and work in a global corporate culture.
• Ability to lead a program and influence partners, stakeholders and peers across the enterprise.

Special Knowledge (where applicable)

• Experience with BCM standards and regulations such as Digital Operational Resilience Act, ISO 22301, NIST SP
• Any industry certifications, such as CBCP, CCM, ABCP, CFCP or others within crisis management or business continuity field is a plus.
• Global company enterprise experience is helpful.

AB does not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, ancestry, national origin, sex, age, disability, marital status, citizenship status, sexual orientation, gender identity, military or veteran status or any other basis that is prohibited by applicable law.

AB's policies, as well as practices, seek to ensure that employment opportunities are available to all employees and applicants, based solely on job-related criteria.

Nashville, Tennessee