Job Description
Position Title: CIT Network Operations Technical Lead – Incumbent: N/A
Department: Corporate IT
Reports to: Head of Corporate IT Infrastructure and Application Support
Location: Spain
Overview
We are seeking a senior Network Operations Technical Lead to take ownership of how the Corporate IT network estate runs in production. This is a hands-on technical authority role focused on operational stability, change discipline and production control across LAN, WAN and firewall services. The successful candidate will define and enforce the standards that ensure network services are stable, supportable and predictable in live operation. This role is accountable for protecting the operational integrity of the network estate, including the authority to challenge or reject changes that introduce risk to the estate. The Network Solutions Manager retains accountability for network design and delivery;
this role ensures thosedesigns are operationally sound, supportable and fit to run.
Key Responsibilities
* Operational
* Technical Authority: Own and enforce operational standards across LAN, WAN, firewall and connectivity services
* Define clear production readiness criteria for network changes and new services
* Provide operational technical sign-off for high-risk network and firewall changes
* Challenge and reject changes that introduce unacceptable operational risk or instability
* Stability and Resilience: Own the operational stability of the network estate, improving reliability and predictability in live service
* Improve change success rate and reduce network-related incidents
* Strengthen redundancy validation and failover confidence
* Improve monitoring signal quality and reduce noise
* Define and maintain the network operations technical roadmap
* Operational Standards and Discipline: Define and enforce structured lifecycle and firmware version governance across network devices and firewall platforms
* Establish consistent configuration standards and change governance practices
* Strengthen peer review processes for firewall rules and configuration updates
* Ensure documentation, topology visibility and configuration baselines are maintained
* Reduce configuration drift and legacy sprawl across the estate
* Security and Risk Alignment: Ensure operational configurations align with agreed security standards
* Improve governance and visibility of firewall rule sets
* Work closely with Information Security to balance risk and operational practicality
* Capability and Technical Bar Raising: Be the recognised technical authority for Network Operations
* Provide structured technical challenge and peer review
* Raise troubleshooting and root cause analysis discipline within the network team
* Work with the Network Solutions Manager and line managers to ensure clean handover from design to operation
What we're looking for
* Significant hands-on experience operating enterprise network environments
* Demonstrated record of improving operational stability and change discipline
* Proven ability to reduce configuration complexity and operational fragility
* Experience acting as a domain technical authority in production environments
* Strong engineering judgement and confidence to challenge constructively
* Calm, structured decision-making in high-impact scenarios
Technical Knowledge
Deep technical expertise across:
* Enterprise LAN and WAN technologies
* Firewall platforms and rule management
* Routing and switching protocols
* Redundancy and high-availability network configurations
* VPN and remote connectivity services
* Network monitoring and diagnostics tooling
Experience in the following is desired:
* Cisco
* Palo Alto
* SDWAN
* Jira/Halo - ITSM
* Open-source technologies
* Linux and Windows Operating systems
* Advanced scripting and automation
* Knowledge of advanced networking principles
* CIS Compliance
Working knowledge of infrastructure and security principles sufficient to assess operational risk.
Qualifications
Experience and demonstrable impact are valued most. The following certifications or formal training are desirable:
* Cisco CCNP or equivalent enterprise-level networking certification
* Relevant firewall platform certification
* ITIL 4 Foundation or higher
* Formal training in network security and operational governance
Equivalent practical experience will be considered in place of formal certification.
Personal Attributes
* Operates with calm authority in technically complex and fast-moving environments, maintaining structured judgement under pressure
* Comfortable making and defending technically robust decisions, including where those decisions introduce appropriate challenge, while remaining aligned to agreed governance and leadership direction
* Exercises strong engineering judgement, understanding when to escalate, when to influence, and when to act within delegated authority
* Demonstrates intellectual curiosity and a bias toward structural improvement rather than short-term workaround fixes
* Able to quantify and clearly articulate technical options, risks, trade-offs and benefits to support effective decision making
* Works constructively in partnership with IT Solutions, Information Security and line management, respecting domain boundaries while ensuring operational standards are upheld
* Communicates technical positions clearly and succinctly to both technical and non-technical stakeholders, building credibility at all levels
* Brings strong planning and organisational discipline, able to manage multiple workstreams without loss of control or quality
* Balances pace and quality, recognising that operational discipline, stability and security are non-negotiable
* Demonstrates professionalism, integrity and consistency, building trust across teams through transparent and reliable behaviours
* Challenges entrenched thinking constructively, with awareness of team context and organisational culture
* Maintains high personal standards and raises the bar for others through example rather than hierarchy
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