IT Network Operations Manager

The Position:

Reporting to and partnering closely with the VP of IT/CIO, the IT Network Operations Manager leads the networking team consisting of Enterprise, Field / Communications, and Broadband network staff to deliver secure, reliable IT services and excellent support that enable our coworkers to serve our members effectively and provide broadband services to our subscribers. The ideal candidate will have comprehensive network skills including design, deployment, and lifecycle management of various network topologies.

The IT Network Operations Manager maintains relationships with business owners to ensure that the needs are being met and to plan for continuous improvements and efficiencies, as well as vendors to support the needs of the organization. The Network Operations Manager creates a strategic plan for the networking team that supports the organizations plan and is a significant contributor towards the strategic goals of the entire IT department, which includes systems engineering, service desk, software solutions and information security. This position is highly focused on the overall success of the IT department and the organization.

Job Responsibilities:

• Works with stakeholders and team members to develop strategic plans that ensure the reliability, security and effectiveness of IT networks.
• Leads network design, participates in deployment and maintenance as needed. Guides team, ensuring team members have skills needed to maintain network infrastructure.
• Operationally responsible for the design, implementation, maintenance and continued improvement of Broadband network. Work with team to build broadband networking skills to produce highly cross-functional team.
• Establishes rapport with senior management and key stakeholders within the organization. Checks in with peers and stakeholders to ensure their expectations are met. Acts as IT representative in business meetings. Communicates to staff on behalf of IT about significant changes, outages and other IT news.
• Manages network infrastructure team. Hires and develops high performing team members, sets clear expectations, equips employees with the tools, knowledge and skills they need to succeed. Conducts regular 1:1s and performance reviews with direct reports. Ensures subordinate supervisors conduct performance management duties.
• Manages the capital and expense budget for Network Operations. Submits business cases for new projects. Submits and approves requisitions for new purchases and approves invoices. Manages department purchasing card and reports expenses.
• Provides tools and guidance for using best in class tools for network documentation and ensures that goals for documentation continue to be met. Ensures the team tracks work in the work management system. Manages large team projects, including requirements gathering, planning, execution and closure.
• Establishes guidelines and practices for internal and external documentation. Ensures documentation is clear, concise, current, organized and accurate.
• Ensures that the need for security is woven into all aspects of IT work, ensures operational compliance with NHECs security program, assists with security audits, collaborates with stakeholders and peers to establish security policies and practices that balance risk with business impact.

The Person:

Education and Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or related field preferred plus 10 years of experience in network engineering or 15 years equivalent experience, in total, in lieu of bachelors degree.
• Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP) certification or equivalent experience. CCIE will be considered in lieu of a CCNP.
• Extensive experience with enterprise, operational (ICS), and broadband network technologies. Proficient in network concepts and protocols including BGP, IP routing, NAT/CGNAT, VLAN, PON, HA, and Cisco ASR. Working knowledge of systems concepts and protocols including virtualization, backup and recovery, cloud services, IAM, and security.
• Strong working knowledge of security frameworks. CIS Controls preferred.
• Familiarity with Calix and Adtran is preferred.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent communication and teamwork abilities.
• Ability to work independently and prioritize tasks in a fast-paced environment.

Abilities and Skills:

• Ability to direct the resources of a high technological organization to benefit NHEC and its members required.
• Ability to assign priorities to proposed projects and make sure the assignments are in the best interest of NHECs mission required.
• The ability to communicate well and the ability to do presentations required. Must be technically oriented and able to communicate effectively with both technical and non-technical users in other departments at all levels within NHEC to achieve the goals of NHEC.
• The ability to motivate subordinates and users required.
• Excellent organizational skills as demonstrated by effectively organizing personal time, tasks priorities, and information, and helping subordinates to do the same.
• Project management, including the ability to clarify scope, gather requirements, break down work, manage issues and risks, and coordinate the work of others.
• Interpersonal skills including the ability to build strong relationships, provide constructive feedback, and navigate difficult conversations with kindness and professionalism.
• Excellent written communication skills as demonstrated by clear, concise business and technical communications.
• Leadership skills including the ability to establish clear and inspiring vision and mission, lead by example, and motivate team members.
• Effective public speaking and facilitation skills including group training sessions and presentations to technical and non-technical audiences.
• Excellent critical thinking and comprehensive technical knowledge of enterprise technology.
• Process-oriented as demonstrated by ability to define, troubleshoot and continuously improve systems and processes.

Job Knowledge:

• Must have the knowledge to plan and coordinate network infrastructures, employing security boundaries and implementing best practices; must have the knowledge to ensure the security and integrity of network infrastructures.
• Comprehensive knowledge of IT enterprise, field, operational and broadband network technology. Design, configure, and maintain network infrastructure to ensure high availability, performance, and security.
• Implement and manage IP routing protocols, including BGP, OSPF, and MPLS.
• Configure and troubleshoot VLANs, spanning-tree protocols, and layer 2 switching.
• Deploy and maintain GPON or XGS-PON technologies to support fiber broadband services.
• Perform subnetting and IP address management to optimize network resources.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to develop and implement network solutions that meet project requirements.
• Provide tier 3 broadband support for network-related issues and participate in on-call rotation as needed.
• Document network configurations, procedures, and troubleshooting steps.
• Work with other teams as needed including operating systems, servers, backup, storage, maintenance, and cybersecurity compliance

WORKING CONDITIONS

Partial telecommuting (up to 3 days per week) is acceptable with management approval, however on-site office work in the Plymouth, NH area will be required periodically. Occasional after-hours work is expected, along with some travel within the service area.

Assistance with power restoration efforts is required of all employees. It may be required during regular business hours that employees will be assigned functions to support power restoration and for some employees that may be different from their normal duties. In addition, such assistance may require working nights, weekends and holidays which may involve considerable extra hours. In order to meet this working condition, all employees are required to provide a personal phone number where they may be reached after hours. This number will only be used for emergency purposes.

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