Fibre Network Design & Engineering Manager

at  Neos Networks

Fibre Network Design & Engineering Manager
Neos Networks offers alternative working arrangements that give employees some flexibility, including office, home and hybrid working.
Base location: Reading or Havant - hybrid working 2 days per week in the offi
Salary: £Competitive salary, depending on experience
Working Pattern: Permanent Full time with the option of hybrid working
As the Fibre Network Engineering Manager, you will play a key role in overseeing the planning, design, implementation, and operational aspects of our Fibre networks. This role requires a strong technical background, exceptional leadership skills, and the ability to collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure seamless deployment and operation of our network infrastructure and services.

In this role, you will be accountable for:

• Team Performance: Accountable for the performance, development, and wellbeing of the Fibre engineering team. Setting clear performance objectives, conducting regular 121’s and coaching the team.

• Network Stability: As an operational engineering manager, you will be accountable for the stability and reliability of all commercial Fibre network infrastructure. You will proactively take measures to address potential network issues or faults and to ensure minimal service outages to meet relevant SLA and KPI.

• 
  Project Delivery: Ensuring successful and timely delivery of Fibre infrastructure and customer projects/orders in terms of design and deployment activities. Collaborate with relevant stakeholders to overcome challenges to meet project deliverables or milestones, building working relationships.
• 
  Budget Management: Accountable for managing the CAPEX and OPEX budgets for the Fibre design and operations domains. Identify opportunities for cost saving initiatives without compromising quality. Work with our finance team to forecast and review as required.
• 
  Supplier Management: Manage and maintain positive supplier relationships, working with our procurement function to ensure cost efficiency with Fibre related price book items. Explore and input to technology roadmaps and work together with a group of design and architects to set direction. Conduct operational performance reviews against service level agreements and drive improvements with suppliers who support our fibre infrastructure.

You will be responsible for:

• Network Design and Optimisation: Lead a team in designing scalable and cost-effective Fibre network solutions, exploring and drive optimisation opportunities and feed into annual capex plan. Ensure alignment with industry best practices, standards, and safety requirements for network build or maintenance activities. Ensure close working relationships with wider network design and architecture teams and input to network strategy.
• Operations Management: Oversee day-to-day network operations to guarantee high availability and reliability, with proactive issue identification and drive rectification. Ensure an effective call out rota is in place to cover the domain.
• Team Leadership: Build and lead a skilled team of Fibre engineers. Nurture a collaborative and as one team culture between design and operations, encouraging knowledge sharing and professional development. Hold regular team meetings to communicate on key items such as business updates, health and safety, or security briefs.
• Network Inventory: Ownership of our fibre infrastructure GIS inventory data and line management of the team which manages additions or changes to this data set. Ensure the wider team update our network inventory/records systems throughput the design, delivery, and operational lifecycle. Where gaps or improvements can be made, resource as possible amongst wider demand on the team.
• Escalation: As a first level of escalation to the design team and to the fibre operations team, appraise situations and manage down where further escalation is not required. Understand other influencing factors and manage/agree course of action. Where it is essential and alongside the call out engineers, support, and co-ordinate engineering teams out of hours for operational activities or problems.
• Training: Ensure team training plans compliment the Neos product set and roadmap, influenced by the overarching business strategy. Up skill and develop team members across multiple technologies to ensure agility and efficiency of fibre design and operational teams, to optimise team capability and resourcing against demand.
• Business case input: Input to RFI, ITT, and governance gate packs to ensure correct technology is selected and continued savings are delivered to maximise benefit. Create and/or endorse business cases for innovation, new infrastructure, solutions, and any business improvements.
• Network Risk Management: Regularly assess network risk and implement strategy to negate future risk across the Fibre domain, including network security risks where applicable.
• Management Reporting: Produce monthly team and network performance reports, covering resourcing and key SLA or KPI performance metrics, within the Fibre domain. Make recommendations and drive improvements where required.
• Health, Safety & Environment: Management responsibility for team safety engagement, understanding, awareness and performance. Challenge any unsafe act and regularly review processes to ensure that projects are designed in accordance with appropriate company procedures and external regulations.

What do I need?

You will need the following skills for this role, although the level of expertise for each will vary.

• Proficient knowledge of fibre networks and specifications and supporting physical infrastructure (e.g. ducts, civils, pole/OH line), including BT PIA.
• Experienced in people management and leadership, within design, network inventory or operational roles.
• Strong oral and written communication skills to liaise with customers and colleagues up to C level. The ability to translate highly technical information into a simple manner where required.
• Problem solving and management.
• Excellent knowledge of the telecommunications market and current innovations in technology/ communications.
• Have a good understanding of finance (Capex, Opex, Cost of Sale, IRR, TCM, TCV) and commercial modelling to support budget forecasting, quoting, and modelling cost benefits.
• A degree in a relevant field (Telecommunications, IT or Sciences) would be desirable but not essential.
• It is a requirement for this role that you have a full, current driving licence.

Next Steps
All applications should be submitted online, and I’ll be back in touch after the vacancy closing date to let you know the outcome. Should you need any further assistance please contact careers@neosnetworks.co

In this role, you will be accountable for:

• Team Performance: Accountable for the performance, development, and wellbeing of the Fibre engineering team. Setting clear performance objectives, conducting regular 121’s and coaching the team

You will be responsible for:

• Network Design and Optimisation: Lead a team in designing scalable and cost-effective Fibre network solutions, exploring and drive optimisation opportunities and feed into annual capex plan. Ensure alignment with industry best practices, standards, and safety requirements for network build or maintenance activities. Ensure close working relationships with wider network design and architecture teams and input to network strategy.
• Operations Management: Oversee day-to-day network operations to guarantee high availability and reliability, with proactive issue identification and drive rectification. Ensure an effective call out rota is in place to cover the domain.
• Team Leadership: Build and lead a skilled team of Fibre engineers. Nurture a collaborative and as one team culture between design and operations, encouraging knowledge sharing and professional development. Hold regular team meetings to communicate on key items such as business updates, health and safety, or security briefs.
• Network Inventory: Ownership of our fibre infrastructure GIS inventory data and line management of the team which manages additions or changes to this data set. Ensure the wider team update our network inventory/records systems throughput the design, delivery, and operational lifecycle. Where gaps or improvements can be made, resource as possible amongst wider demand on the team.
• Escalation: As a first level of escalation to the design team and to the fibre operations team, appraise situations and manage down where further escalation is not required. Understand other influencing factors and manage/agree course of action. Where it is essential and alongside the call out engineers, support, and co-ordinate engineering teams out of hours for operational activities or problems.
• Training: Ensure team training plans compliment the Neos product set and roadmap, influenced by the overarching business strategy. Up skill and develop team members across multiple technologies to ensure agility and efficiency of fibre design and operational teams, to optimise team capability and resourcing against demand.
• Business case input: Input to RFI, ITT, and governance gate packs to ensure correct technology is selected and continued savings are delivered to maximise benefit. Create and/or endorse business cases for innovation, new infrastructure, solutions, and any business improvements.
• Network Risk Management: Regularly assess network risk and implement strategy to negate future risk across the Fibre domain, including network security risks where applicable.
• Management Reporting: Produce monthly team and network performance reports, covering resourcing and key SLA or KPI performance metrics, within the Fibre domain. Make recommendations and drive improvements where required.
• Health, Safety & Environment: Management responsibility for team safety engagement, understanding, awareness and performance. Challenge any unsafe act and regularly review processes to ensure that projects are designed in accordance with appropriate company procedures and external regulations

You will need the following skills for this role, although the level of expertise for each will vary.

• Proficient knowledge of fibre networks and specifications and supporting physical infrastructure (e.g. ducts, civils, pole/OH line), including BT PIA.
• Experienced in people management and leadership, within design, network inventory or operational roles.
• Strong oral and written communication skills to liaise with customers and colleagues up to C level. The ability to translate highly technical information into a simple manner where required.
• Problem solving and management.
• Excellent knowledge of the telecommunications market and current innovations in technology/ communications.
• Have a good understanding of finance (Capex, Opex, Cost of Sale, IRR, TCM, TCV) and commercial modelling to support budget forecasting, quoting, and modelling cost benefits.
• A degree in a relevant field (Telecommunications, IT or Sciences) would be desirable but not essential.
• It is a requirement for this role that you have a full, current driving licence