Network Capability Manager

Sopra Steria's Aerospace, Defence and Security sector is looking for an experienced Network Capability Manager to lead and develop our Network capability across a range of secure Defence and Government environments.

This is a senior leadership position with responsibility for a technical community of approximately 30+ Network Engineers, Architects and specialists working across both operational delivery and professional services.

You will provide direction across the Network capability, helping to raise engineering standards, develop our people and ensure our teams have the skills, support and technical leadership needed to deliver successfully.

The role will suit someone who has built their career within Network Engineering, and has since progressed into technical leadership or people management.

There is no requirement to be hands-on in the role, but you'll need a strong technical Network background and the credibility to lead and challenge experienced Engineers and Architects.

The role will require travel across the M3/M4 corridor and other UK customer locations to support key accounts and teams.

What you'll be doing:

• Lead, manage and develop a technical community of approximately 30 Network Engineers, Architects and specialists, supporting performance, mentoring, career development and progression.
• Provide senior technical leadership across the Network capability, with a particular focus on Cisco routing, switching, firewalls, secure connectivity and enterprise Network solutions.
• Define and maintain engineering standards, technical principles, reference architectures and best practice across the Network domain.
• Work closely with customer accounts and delivery teams, providing senior Network expertise and acting as an escalation point for complex or high-risk technical challenges.
• Drive continuous improvement across engineering practices, service delivery, tooling and technical capability, ensuring teams continue to develop in line with customer and business needs.
• Support the future growth of the capability through recruitment, workforce planning, bids and identifying the skills required to meet current and future demand.

What you will bring:

• A strong background in Network Engineering, with significant experience across Cisco technologies, routing, switching, firewalls and secure Network environments.
• Proven experience leading, managing and developing sizeable technical teams, including coaching, mentoring, performance management and career development.
• Experience in a senior Network leadership position such as Network Manager, Capability Lead, Practice Lead, Head of Network or a similar technical leadership role.
• The technical credibility to influence experienced Network Engineers, Architects, customers and senior stakeholders, while making sound decisions around complex technical challenges.

It would be great if you had:

• Experience working across both Managed Services/Network Operations and Professional Services environments.
• Experience working within Defence, National Security, Government or other highly secure/classified environments, ideally across both operational and professional services delivery.
• Knowledge of additional Network and security technologies such as Palo Alto, F5 or similar platforms.
• Experience supporting large-scale Defence, Government or Critical National Infrastructure customers.

Employment Type: Full-time, Permanent

Location: UK Based - travel to sites along the M3/M4 corridor

Security Clearance Level: Active Security Clearance (SC)

Internal Recruiter: Josh

Salary: Competitive, based on experience

Benefits: Bonus, £6,600 car allowance, which can also be taken as cash, 25 days' holiday, with the option to purchase up to an additional 10 days per year, AXA medical insurance, 6% pension contribution and life assurance at 4x salary.

Loved reading about this job and want to know more about us?

Sopra Steria's Aerospace, Defence and Security business designs, develops and deploys digital solutions to Central Government clients. The work we do makes a real difference to the client's goal of National Security, and we operate in a unique and privileged environment. We are given time for professional development activities, and we coach and mentor our colleagues, sharing knowledge and learning from each other. We foster a culture in which employees feel valued and supported and have pride in their work for the customer, delivering outstanding rates of customer satisfaction in the UK's most complex safety- and security-critical markets.