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 those designs 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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