Certified Lead Operational Resilience Manager

The Certified Lead Operational Resilience Manager course equips professionals with the knowledge and practical skills required to develop, implement, and continually improve operational resilience across an organisation. As organisations face increasing disruption from cyber threats, supply chain challenges, regulatory change, natural disasters, and geopolitical uncertainty, operational resilience has become a critical business capability.

Over four instructor-led days, learners will explore the principles, frameworks, and practices that help organisations prepare for, respond to, recover from, and learn from operational disruptions. The course focuses on identifying critical business functions, understanding organisational interdependencies, conducting business impact analyses and risk assessments, implementing resilience controls, and embedding a culture of continuous improvement.

Successful completion of the course prepares learners for the PECB Certified Lead Operational Resilience Manager examination and supports the development of practical skills that can be applied across resilience, risk, business continuity, and governance functions.

Prerequisites

Participants should have:

• A fundamental understanding of operational resilience concepts and principles
• A basic knowledge of business continuity and risk management practices
• Experience working within governance, risk, compliance, continuity, security, or operational functions is beneficial
• An interest in strengthening organisational resilience and disruption preparedness

Target audience

This course is designed for:

• Managers responsible for organisational resilience and disruption preparedness
• Business continuity professionals seeking to expand their operational resilience capabilities
• Risk managers responsible for identifying and mitigating operational risks
• Security consultants supporting organisations in resilience improvement initiatives
• Individuals responsible for promoting resilience across an organisation
• Governance, compliance, and assurance professionals
• Professionals seeking to develop expertise in operational resilience management

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

• Explain the fundamental concepts, principles, and objectives of operational resilience
• Identify critical business functions, services, and organisational interdependencies
• Define impact tolerances and resilience objectives for key business operations
• Conduct business impact analyses and operational risk assessments
• Develop and implement operational resilience management frameworks and practices
• Integrate digital, cyber, and third-party resilience considerations into resilience strategies
• Plan and execute resilience testing, assessments, and performance measurements
• Establish a culture of continual improvement to strengthen organisational resilience

Module 1 - Foundations of operational resilience

Build a strong understanding of operational resilience principles and why they are essential for modern organisations.

• Introduction to operational resilience
• Key concepts, terminology, and principles
• Operational resilience versus business continuity
• Regulatory drivers and industry expectations
• Benefits of operational resilience programmes
• Understanding disruption scenarios and organisational impacts

Module 2 - Planning the operational resilience management framework

Learn how to establish a structured and sustainable approach to operational resilience.

• Operational resilience governance and leadership
• Defining resilience objectives and strategic priorities
• Identifying important business services and critical functions
• Mapping organisational processes and dependencies
• Defining impact tolerances
• Resource planning and resilience capability development
• Integrating resilience into organisational strategy

Module 3 - Business impact analysis and risk assessment

Develop the skills required to assess organisational vulnerabilities and prioritise resilience efforts.

• Business impact analysis methodologies
• Identifying operational risks and threats
• Assessing likelihood and impact
• Evaluating vulnerabilities and dependencies
• Risk treatment and mitigation planning
• Aligning risk management and resilience objectives

Module 4 - Establishing operational resilience management practices

Explore the practical controls and activities that support resilience across the organisation.

• Designing resilience management processes
• Establishing resilience operating models
• Incident response and disruption management
• Crisis management principles
• Resource management and continuity planning
• Roles and responsibilities during disruption events
• Monitoring resilience performance

Module 5 - Business resilience, digital resilience, and cyber resilience

Understand how resilience practices support critical business operations in an increasingly digital environment.

• Business resilience fundamentals
• Digital resilience principles
• Cyber resilience planning and preparedness
• Managing technology dependencies
• Protecting critical systems and services
• Coordinating resilience activities across business and technology teams

Module 6 - Third-party resilience management and organisational culture

Learn how to manage resilience risks that originate outside the organisation and build resilience awareness internally.

• Third-party risk management
• Supplier and vendor resilience assessment
• Managing outsourcing and dependency risks
• Building resilience accountability across the organisation
• Leadership engagement and sponsorship
• Developing a resilience-focused culture
• Awareness and training initiatives

Module 7 - Testing and assessing operational resilience

Develop confidence in evaluating resilience capabilities through structured testing and validation.

• Resilience testing frameworks
• Scenario-based exercises and simulations
• Tabletop exercises
• Testing critical services and recovery capabilities
• Assessing resilience effectiveness
• Identifying gaps and improvement opportunities

Module 8 - Continual improvement and resilience optimisation

Learn how to sustain and enhance resilience capabilities over time.

• Performance measurement and reporting
• Lessons learned and post-incident reviews
• Corrective and preventive actions
• Continuous monitoring and improvement
• Adapting resilience programmes to emerging risks
• Maintaining long-term organisational resilience

Exams and assessments

This course includes interactive exercises, knowledge checks, multiple-choice quizzes, and scenario-based activities designed to reinforce learning and prepare participants for certification.

The PECB Certified Lead Operational Resilience Manager exam is taken after the course and is included in the course fee. The examination assesses learners across five competency domains covering operational resilience principles, framework development, resilience practices, organisational culture, and continual improvement.

Certification and examination fees are included in the course price. Participants who attend the course receive an attestation of course completion worth 31 Continuing Professional Development credits. Candidates who do not pass the exam on their first attempt may retake it free of charge within 12 months of the initial examination date.

Hands-on learning

This course incorporates practical exercises and scenario-based activities that enable learners to apply operational resilience concepts in realistic organisational contexts.

Hands-on learning includes:

• Business impact analysis exercises
• Operational risk assessment activities
• Organisational dependency mapping
• Impact tolerance definition workshops
• Scenario-based resilience planning
• Resilience testing and assessment exercises
• Incident response and disruption management discussions
• Continual improvement planning activities