Senior Cybersecurity Disaster Recovery & Contingency Planning SME

Attain Talent seeks a senior-level Cybersecurity Disaster Recovery and Contingency Planning (DRCP) Subject Matter Expert (SME) to lead and manage a nationwide Business Impact Analysis (BIA), Disaster Recovery Planning (DRP), and contingency planning program.

This position provides strategic, technical, and program leadership for the development, implementation, quality assurance, and continuous improvement of BIA, DRP, Information System Contingency Planning (ISCP), and related continuity activities across applicable facilities nationwide. The successful candidate will bring deep expertise in cybersecurity, disaster recovery, business continuity, contingency planning, risk management, and federal information security requirements, along with demonstrated experience leading and managing multiple teams and geographically dispersed stakeholders.

The ideal candidate will have extensive experience applying NIST SP 800-34, NIST SP 800-37, NIST SP 800-53, NIST IR 8286D, and NIST IR 8179 within federal or similarly regulated environments and will be comfortable translating complex cybersecurity and continuity requirements into practical, actionable program strategies.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and manage nationwide BIA, DRP, ISCP, and contingency planning initiatives from program planning and rollout through implementation, quality assurance, approval, and final delivery.
• Lead and manage multiple teams, including geographically dispersed and cross-functional teams, by establishing priorities, coordinating resources, monitoring progress, and ensuring timely completion of deliverables.
• Develop and execute national implementation and rollout strategies, including standardized methodologies, templates, procedures, schedules, training, communications, milestones, and completion criteria.
• Coordinate with facility leadership, business owners, system owners, IT personnel, cybersecurity teams, COOP personnel, and executive stakeholders to obtain required information and ensure successful program implementation.
• Track nationwide BIA and DRP completion, identify gaps and risks, resolve issues, and provide program status reporting and escalation to senior leadership.
• Lead the development, review, and maintenance of Business Process Analysis (BPA), BIA, DRP, ISCP, and related continuity documentation.
• Analyze facility-level BIA results to identify critical business functions, systems, dependencies, recovery priorities, Recovery Time Objectives (RTOs), Recovery Point Objectives (RPOs), Maximum Tolerable Downtime (MTD), and enterprise-wide risks.
• Serve as a senior cybersecurity subject matter expert for DRCP and continuity activities, ensuring recovery strategies appropriately address cybersecurity risks, system dependencies, data protection, access controls, and critical technology requirements.
• Develop and maintain cybersecurity and DRCP policies, SOPs, procedures, standards, templates, and governance documentation in accordance with applicable federal and organizational requirements.
• Apply NIST SP 800-34, NIST SP 800-37, NIST SP 800-53, NIST IR 8286D, and NIST IR 8179 to contingency planning, business impact, system criticality, risk management, and recovery activities.
• Plan, facilitate, and document tabletop exercises, contingency and continuity tests, disaster recovery exercises, and plan reviews, including findings, corrective actions, and remediation through closure.
• Perform quality assurance and technical reviews of facility-level documentation and support audits, assessments, compliance reviews, evidence collection, findings remediation, and executive reporting.
• Develop technical reports, executive briefings, policy memoranda, status reports, meeting materials, and other communications for technical and executive audiences.
• Maintain program schedules, repositories, inventories, dashboards, and other tools supporting recurring DRCP reviews, exercises, testing, and program activities.

• 10+ years of progressively responsible experience in cybersecurity, information security, disaster recovery, business continuity, contingency planning, risk management, or a related field.
• Significant cybersecurity experience, with demonstrated ability to apply cybersecurity principles to disaster recovery, contingency planning, business continuity, and organizational resilience.
• Demonstrated experience leading and managing multiple teams, including cross-functional and/or geographically dispersed teams.
• Experience leading large-scale, multi-site, regional, or nationwide BIA, DRP, ISCP, or contingency planning programs.
• Hands-on experience developing, implementing, reviewing, and finalizing BPA, BIA, DRP, ISCP, and related continuity documentation.
• Demonstrated ability to manage complex programs from initial planning and rollout through final submission, quality assurance, approval, and completion.
• Strong working knowledge of NIST SP 800-34, NIST SP 800-37, NIST SP 800-53, NIST IR 8286D, and NIST IR 8179.
• Experience with cybersecurity, disaster recovery, contingency planning, business continuity, COOP, risk management, and organizational resilience.
• Experience developing and implementing cybersecurity and DRCP policies, SOPs, procedures, standards, templates, and governance documentation.
• Experience conducting or facilitating tabletop exercises, contingency and continuity tests, disaster recovery exercises, plan reviews, and corrective-action activities.
• Experience supporting audits, assessments, compliance reviews, evidence collection, and remediation of findings.
• Strong technical writing, editing, analytical, organizational, facilitation, and communication skills, with the ability to communicate complex cybersecurity and continuity concepts to technical and executive audiences.
• Bachelor’s degree or higher in Cybersecurity, Information Assurance, Information Security, Information Technology, Computer Science, Management Information Systems, Business Continuity, Emergency Management, Risk Management, Business Administration, Technical Communication, or a related technical or management discipline.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience supporting HHS, IHS, or another U.S. federal agency.
• Experience managing nationwide or geographically dispersed federal BIA, DRP, ISCP, COOP, cybersecurity, or continuity programs.
• Knowledge of NIST Risk Management Framework (RMF), NIST Cybersecurity Framework (CSF) 2.0, FISMA, federal continuity requirements, and the NIST IR 8286 series.
• Relevant certifications such as CISSP, CISM, CRISC, CBCP, CBCI, PMP, or equivalent.
• Experience integrating cybersecurity risk management with business continuity, disaster recovery, and contingency planning.
• Advanced proficiency with Microsoft Office and tools used to manage, track, analyze, and report nationwide program implementation and deliverables.
• Master’s degree in Cybersecurity, Information Assurance, Information Technology, Risk Management, Business Continuity, Emergency Management, Business Administration, or related discipline.