Data Resilience Technology Specialist

This review provides an in-depth look at the Data Resilience Technology Specialist position, designed to help prospective candidates understand the scope of the role, its benefits, and key considerations for their career growth.

About the Opportunity:

The Data Resilience team represents an exciting new initiative within the Chief Data and Analytics Office (CDAO). This team is at the forefront of defining and implementing strategies, operating models, and control frameworks crucial for protecting the Bank's critical data services. The core mission is to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements for operational resilience, as set forth by the Bank of England, FCA, and PRA, thereby safeguarding customers, colleagues, and the market.

This role offers a unique opportunity to be instrumental in building and maintaining robust data resilience capabilities. You will directly contribute to fulfilling the intent of key regulatory frameworks such as PRA SS1/21, FCA PS21/3, and DORA.

Key Responsibilities and Career Growth:

As a Data Resilience Technology Specialist, your responsibilities will be diverse and impactful, offering significant opportunities for skill development and career advancement:

• Infrastructure Resilience: Design, implement, and maintain infrastructure resilience solutions across both on-premises and cloud environments. This hands-on experience will broaden your expertise in modern IT infrastructure.
• Strategy and Planning: Define and deliver hosting and recovery strategies for critical platforms and services. Evaluating and recommending architectures based on Recovery Time Objectives (RTO), Recovery Point Objectives (RPO), cost, and performance will hone your strategic thinking.
• Automation and Orchestration: Develop and automate recovery runbooks for infrastructure and application services. Execute and orchestrate restore workflows, integrity checks, and cutover processes. This focus on automation is a critical skill in today's tech landscape.
• Disaster Recovery Leadership: Lead and run disaster recovery drills in collaboration with Network, Infrastructure, Platform, and Data teams. Capturing findings and driving remediation efforts will enhance your project management and problem-solving skills.
• Data Protection: Protect core platforms including databases, messaging queues, batch schedulers, and file/object stores. Standardize and optimize backup and snapshot strategies across multiple technologies, deepening your understanding of data management.
• Process Integration: Integrate resilience processes with ServiceNow (Incident, Change, Problem), enhancing your proficiency in IT Service Management tools.
• CMDB Management: Maintain Configuration Management Database (CMDB) accuracy for infrastructure, backup tools, storage, and network components, developing a holistic view of the IT estate.
• Performance and Compliance: Track and report on key resilience metrics (backup success, recovery success, RTO, RPO, Mean Time To Recover - MTTR). Present performance and risk reduction to senior leadership, developing your communication and reporting abilities. Ensure compliance with resilience standards and regulatory requirements, feeding outcomes into Data Resilience Assessments.

Advantages for Candidates:

This role presents several compelling advantages for ambitious professionals:

• Impactful Work: You will be part of a new and critical team shaping the future of data resilience, directly contributing to the stability and trust of a major financial institution.
• Cutting-Edge Technology: Opportunity to work with and implement solutions across hybrid cloud environments, keeping your skills current and relevant.
• Career Development: The emphasis on automation, strategic planning, and stakeholder engagement provides a strong foundation for career progression within data resilience, IT infrastructure, or broader technology leadership roles.
• Regulatory Focus: Gaining hands-on experience with key regulatory frameworks like DORA and PRA SS1/21 is invaluable in the current financial services landscape.
• Flexible Working: The organization actively supports flexible working arrangements, including flexibility in when hours are worked, hybrid working, job sharing, and reduced hours, promoting a healthy work-life balance.
• Competitive Remuneration and Benefits: A strong salary range (£81,999 - £91,110 for London, with a slightly adjusted range for other locations) is complemented by a comprehensive benefits package, including a generous pension contribution (up to 15%), annual bonus, share schemes, ample holiday, and various wellbeing initiatives.
• Inclusive Culture: The organization is committed to fostering an inclusive environment that celebrates diversity and supports employees from all backgrounds. Initiatives like a menopause health package and a dedicated Working with Cancer initiative underscore this commitment.
• Growth and Transformation: Be part of an organization investing significantly in people, data, and technology, offering ample opportunities for learning and development.

Key Considerations for Candidates:

To ensure this opportunity aligns with your career aspirations, consider the following:

• Technical Proficiency: A strong foundation in hands-on delivery of infrastructure resilience and recovery solutions is essential. Candidates should possess expertise in both cloud and on-premises environments, covering compute, storage, networking, segmentation, and connectivity.
• Disaster Recovery Experience: Proven experience in automated restore, rebuild, and cutover processes, as well as robust backup and recovery for various data types (databases, messaging queues, batch jobs, large-scale data stores), is critical. Experience in end-to-end execution of disaster recovery drills, including audit trails and RTO/RPO compliance, is also highly valued.
• ITIL and ServiceNow Knowledge: Familiarity with ITIL principles, particularly in Major Incident, Problem, and Change management, is important. Experience with ServiceNow, including CMDB modelling, Discovery, Flow Designer, and workflow automation, will be a significant advantage.
• Automation Skills: Proficiency in scripting and automation languages such as PowerShell, Python, or Terraform is a key requirement for streamlining processes and enhancing efficiency.
• Stakeholder Management: The role demands effective engagement with a wide range of stakeholders, including CISO, Platform, Network, DBA, and Risk teams. Strong communication and interpersonal skills are therefore vital.
• Regulatory Acumen: Awareness of relevant financial regulations such as PRA SS1/21, FCA PS21/3, and DORA, along with practical understanding of IBS and impact tolerance, is crucial for success.
• Security Mindset: A security-first approach, including understanding encryption, key rotation, secrets management, and dual control, is paramount given the nature of data protection.

This Data Resilience Technology Specialist role offers a challenging yet rewarding path for professionals looking to make a significant impact in a vital area of the financial sector. If you possess the required technical expertise and a passion for safeguarding critical data, this opportunity could be an excellent step in your career journey.