What are the responsibilities and job description for the Major Incident Response & Operational Readiness Specialist position at SR Talent Solution Inc.?
Title: Major Incident Response & Operational Readiness Specialist
Location: New York, NY
Schedule: Hybrid – 1 day a week on Wednesday. (for first 1-2 months, he wants them onsite 2-3 days for training). Additional on-site support may be required during major incidents or disaster recovery events.
Duration: 6 months/contract to hire
Position Summary
We are seeking an experienced Major Incident Response & Operational Readiness Manager (AROD) to serve as the central command and escalation point during enterprise technology incidents and disaster recovery events.
This individual will lead real-time response efforts, coordinate cross-functional teams, manage executive communications, and drive rapid restoration of critical business services. The ideal candidate has extensive experience operating in high-pressure environments, making time-sensitive decisions, and orchestrating incident response across infrastructure, application, security, and business teams.
The AROD serves as the single point of command and escalation during major incidents and recovery events, ensuring consistent execution, stakeholder alignment, and operational governance throughout the incident lifecycle.
Key Responsibilities
Major Incident Command & Response
- Serve as Incident Commander during enterprise-wide major incidents and disaster recovery events.
- Declare incident severity levels and initiate escalation procedures.
- Lead incident bridge calls and coordinate technical response teams.
- Drive service restoration efforts while maintaining alignment across technical and business stakeholders.
- Ensure incident management processes are followed consistently throughout the lifecycle of an event.
Crisis Leadership & Escalation Management
- Act as the primary escalation point during critical service disruptions.
- Determine when executive leadership, vendors, and business stakeholders should be engaged.
- Balance competing priorities and make informed decisions in rapidly changing situations.
- Coordinate recovery activities across infrastructure, application, security, and operational teams.
Executive Communications
- Translate technical issues into business-impact messaging.
- Deliver timely updates to executive leadership and key stakeholders.
- Ensure consistent communication throughout incident and recovery activities.
- Facilitate stakeholder alignment during critical events.
Problem Management & Governance
- Lead post-incident reviews and After Action Reports (AARs).
- Coordinate Root Cause Analysis (RCA) efforts with service owners and technical teams.
- Track corrective actions through completion.
- Facilitate governance meetings related to incident and problem management.
- Identify opportunities to improve operational readiness and response effectiveness.
Continuous Improvement
- Analyze incident trends and operational performance metrics.
- Recommend process improvements that reduce service disruption and improve response efficiency.
- Support organizational operational readiness initiatives.
Required Qualifications
- 7 years of experience in Major Incident Management, IT Operations, IT Service Management, or Operational Readiness.
- Proven experience serving as Incident Commander or leading enterprise major incident response activities.
- Strong background in crisis management, escalation management, and stakeholder communications.
- Experience facilitating Root Cause Analysis (RCA) and post-incident reviews.
- Ability to lead cross-functional teams during high-pressure situations.
- Excellent executive communication and presentation skills.
- Strong understanding of ITIL Incident and Problem Management practices.
Preferred Qualifications
- Healthcare or hospital industry experience.
- Experience supporting mission-critical environments.
- Familiarity with ServiceNow or similar ITSM platforms.
- Experience working within regulated enterprise environments.