IT Disaster Recovery Specialist at World Vision Kenya

This role provides technical leadership in designing, implementing, and continuously improving enterprise disaster recovery capabilities across WVI’s global technology environment. The IT Disaster Recovery Specialist ensures that critical systems, cloud platforms, and applications are resilient and recoverable, aligned to defined RTO and RPO targets. The role drives adoption of DR frameworks, testing programmes, and recovery practices to minimize business disruption and strengthen organisational resilience.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor’s degree in information technology, Computer Science, Engineering, or related field • ITIL Foundation (minimum); ITIL Intermediate or ITIL 4 Managing Professional is an advantage
• Relevant certifications in cloud platforms (Azure, AWS) or disaster recovery / business continuity (e.g., DRII, CBCI) are desirable
• 5+ years’ experience in IT Disaster Recovery, Infrastructure Operations, or Business Continuity roles
• Proven experience designing and implementing enterprise disaster recovery strategies across cloud (Azure/AWS), hybrid, and on-prem environments
• Hands-on experience with DR technologies (e.g., Azure Site Recovery, AWS DR patterns, backup/replication tools)
• Experience defining and operationalizing RTO / RPO for critical services
• Experience leading DR testing (failover, tabletop, live recovery drills) and recovery execution
• Exposure to hybrid environments (cloud + on-prem infrastructure)
• Experience integrating DR with ITSM processes (Incident, Major Incident, Change, Problem Management).

This position is eligible for Remote or Hybrid-Work based dependent on the country of hire. It involves continuous collaboration with global teams across various time zones. The position requires ability and willingness to travel domestically and internationally if needed.

Technical & Functional Skills

• Strong understanding of disaster recovery frameworks and standards (e.g., ITIL, ISO 22301, NIST)
• Experience designing DR architectures including failover, geo-redundancy, and backup strategies
• Knowledge of infrastructure resilience across compute, storage, network, and identity layers
• Experience with automation and infrastructure-as-code (e.g., Terraform) for repeatable recovery environments
• Familiarity with cybersecurity incident response and ransomware recovery integration
• Experience with dashboards, reporting, and DR readiness tracking

Core Competencies:

• Strong analytical thinking with ability to assess recovery risk and design mitigation strategies
• Structured, process-driven mindset with focus on governance, documentation, and audit readiness
• Strong collaboration across infrastructure, cloud, security, and application teams
• Ability to lead calmly and decisively during incident recovery scenarios
• Continuous improvement mindset with focus on resilience, readiness, and operational maturity
• Customer-focused approach, ensuring minimal business disruption and reliable service recovery

CONTINUATION OF MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES:

DR Strategy, Framework & Governance

• Define and maintain enterprise DR policies, standards, and governance framework
• Establish and refine RTO/RPO targets aligned to business criticality
• Ensure DR documentation is audit-ready and integrated with ITSM processes
• Align DR practices with business continuity strategy

DR Architecture & Implementation

• Design DR solutions across cloud (Azure/AWS), hybrid, and on-prem environments
• Implement failover, geo-redundancy, and backup strategies
• Embed DR requirements into solution architecture and project delivery
• Evaluate DR tools and vendor capabilities.

Testing, Exercising & Validation This includes but not limited to the following:

• Plan and execute DR drills, failover tests, and tabletop exercises
• Validate RTO/RPO compliance for critical systems
• Document outcomes and track remediation actions
• Drive continuous improvement based on test results.

Incident Recovery & Coordination

• Act as technical authority during major incidents and recovery scenarios
• Coordinate recovery across infrastructure, cloud, and application teams
• Maintain DR runbooks and recovery playbooks
• Support PIR and integrate lessons learned.

Stakeholder Enablement & Reporting

• Train teams on DR practices and readiness
• Engage business stakeholders on recovery requirements
• Maintain DR dashboards and reporting
• Collaborate with security, cloud, and platform teams.