Overview
Please note this is a hybrid-working role, with a requirement to attend the Chelmsford office 2-3 days per month, depending on business need.
Essex County Council is ambitious and by 2030 it will be one of the most forward looking, effective and financially sustainable Councils in the country. ECC will be a leading-edge digital council that drives excellent customer service with transformation at the heart of service excellence. The Infrastructure and Service Operations teams lead on ensuring the availability, performance, and scalability of ECC's critical platforms and digital services, forecasting and managing infrastructure and user resources to align with business growth. Teams are responsible for all first‑line support, enhancing the overall customer experience and overseeing service operations, supporting around 9,000 users and devices and driving the adoption and development of new solutions and systems to deliver improved infrastructure, platform, and user services for ECC, exemplifying high standards of user‑centricity. They manage multi‑million‑pound commissioned and in‑house service, device, network, and platform contracts with expertise in technology contracting.
The Network and Communication Lead is responsible for overseeing the design, implementation, and management of the organisation's data network and telephony systems. The postholder acts as the Council's intelligent client, ensuring a reliable, secure, and efficient communication infrastructure to support business operations. The manager is responsible for key service provider contracts and relationships across network and voice services.
Responsibilities
* Primary technical interface for the Council's Network and Voice partners, overseeing the development and implementation of strategic plans for network and telephony systems and managing budget planning and expenditure for network and voice services to ensure value for money.
* Oversee the production of network designs and design policies, strategies, architecture and documentation, covering security, capacity and resilience for voice, data, text, email and image, to support business requirements and strategy. This may incorporate all aspects of the communications infrastructure, internal and external, mobile, public and private, Internet, Intranet and call centres.
* Manage the delivery of the network and voice services ensuring high availability, performance and security of network systems, monitoring performance and troubleshooting any issues to minimise downtime and ensure the service adequately supports business needs.
* Council Technical lead for voice solutions, upgrades and maintenance, overseeing the integration of telephony systems with other communication tools and platforms, and reviewing and rationalising voice services to ensure value for money.
* Lead projects related to network and voice infrastructure improvements and innovations, reviewing and aligning network projects to the Council's strategic ambitions.
* Ensuring the data network and voice systems adhere to relevant regulations and standards and the Council's security policies to minimise risk of cyber security issues.
* Manage relationships with vendors and service providers for network and voice services, negotiating contracts and service level agreements, monitoring vendor performance and resolving any service issues to ensure optimal performance and cost-effectiveness.
* Specific individual and shared targets and objectives are defined annually within the performance management framework.
Qualifications
* Educated to RQF level 6 (Bachelor's degree) in Computer Science, Information Technology or a related field, or equivalent by experience.
* Minimum of 5 years of experience in network and voice/communication management.
* Strong technical knowledge of networking technologies (LAN, WAN, VPN, wireless) and telephony systems (VoIP).
* Experience with network security principles and practices.
* Excellent problem‑solving and troubleshooting abilities.
* Excellent customer service, written, verbal communication and presentational skills.
* Technical leadership experience that includes evidence of managing a large budget, planning and resource management in a multi‑disciplinary team.
* Evidence of continuing professional development and expert knowledge in relevant professional area.
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