Certified Lead Crisis Manager

Participants should have:

• A fundamental understanding of crisis management concepts and principles
• Basic knowledge of crisis management frameworks, processes, and governance structures
• Familiarity with risk management, business continuity, resilience, or emergency management concepts is beneficial
• An interest in strengthening organisational preparedness and response capabilities

Target audience

This course is designed for:

• Individuals responsible for delivering crisis management capabilities within an organisation
• Professionals implementing crisis management plans, processes, and structures
• Crisis leaders, decision-makers, and senior managers involved in crisis response
• Members of crisis management teams and emergency response teams
• Security consultants and resilience advisors supporting crisis preparedness and response initiatives
• Professionals seeking to build or advance a career in crisis management
• Individuals wishing to gain a detailed understanding of ISO 22361 guidelines on crisis management

By the end of this course, learners will be able to:

• Explain the fundamental concepts and principles of crisis management based on ISO 22361
• Establish, maintain, and continually improve a crisis management framework
• Develop leadership, governance, competence, and organisational structures that support crisis management
• Anticipate, assess, and prepare for potential crises and disruption scenarios
• Implement practices that help reduce the impact of crises on organisational operations and stakeholders
• Coordinate crisis response and recovery activities effectively
• Evaluate crisis management performance and identify opportunities for improvement
• Apply recognised good practices to strengthen organisational crisis management capability

Module 1 - Introduction to ISO 22361 and crisis management

Develop a strong understanding of crisis management principles and the guidance provided by ISO 22361.

• Overview of crisis management concepts and terminology
• Introduction to ISO 22361 guidance
• The role of crisis management within organisational resilience
• Crisis characteristics and lifecycle stages
• Governance, leadership, and accountability
• Benefits of a structured crisis management capability

Module 2 - Understanding crisis environments and organisational context

Explore the factors that influence crisis management planning and decision-making.

• Internal and external organisational context
• Stakeholder expectations and communication requirements
• Emerging threats and disruption scenarios
• Regulatory and governance considerations
• Risk-informed decision-making principles
• Organisational culture and crisis readiness

Module 3 - Establishing the crisis management framework

Learn how to build and maintain a crisis management capability that supports effective decision-making and coordination.

• Crisis management governance structures
• Defining roles, responsibilities, and authorities
• Crisis management policies and procedures
• Developing crisis management teams
• Building leadership competence and capability
• Resource planning and preparedness

Module 4 - Crisis anticipation and preparedness

Develop the ability to identify potential crises and prepare the organisation to respond effectively.

• Threat identification and environmental scanning
• Crisis risk assessment approaches
• Scenario planning techniques
• Crisis preparedness planning
• Escalation criteria and activation procedures
• Readiness assessment and capability reviews

Module 5 - Crisis prevention and mitigation

Explore strategies that help reduce the likelihood and impact of crisis events.

• Preventive controls and mitigation strategies
• Building organisational resilience
• Risk reduction planning
• Protecting critical services and operations
• Stakeholder engagement and awareness
• Monitoring indicators and early warning mechanisms

Module 6 - Crisis response management

Learn how to coordinate and manage crisis response activities during rapidly evolving situations.

• Crisis response principles
• Decision-making under pressure
• Command, control, and coordination structures
• Managing information and situational awareness
• Crisis communications and stakeholder engagement
• Supporting executive leadership during crises

Module 7 - Crisis recovery and organisational learning

Understand how organisations recover from crises and use lessons learned to improve future performance.

• Recovery planning and coordination
• Business restoration priorities
• Post-crisis reviews and evaluations
• Lessons learned processes
• Corrective and preventive actions
• Strengthening future preparedness

Module 8 - Practical exercises and application

Apply crisis management principles through realistic incident and major incident scenarios and facilitated activities.

• Scenario-based crisis simulations
• Crisis leadership exercises
• Decision-making workshops
• Crisis communication activities
• Response and recovery planning exercises
• Group discussions and peer learning activities

Exams and assessments

This course includes practical exercises, quizzes, scenario-based activities, and facilitated discussions designed to reinforce learning and prepare participants for certification.

The PECB Lead Crisis Manager examination is taken after the course and assesses learners across four competency domains covering crisis management principles, framework implementation, preparedness activities, and response and recovery practices.

For candidates attending through a PECB Partner, the course fee includes the first exam attempt, one free retake, the certification application fee, and the first year of the Annual Maintenance Fee. All certification activities must be completed within 12 months of the course completion date.

Hands-on learning

This course provides extensive practical learning opportunities through realistic crisis management scenarios and interactive exercises.

Hands-on activities include:

• Crisis management framework design exercises
• Crisis anticipation and risk assessment activities
• Scenario planning workshops
• Crisis response simulations
• Decision-making and leadership exercises
• Crisis communication planning activities
• Recovery planning exercises
• Lessons learned and continual improvement workshops