IT Network Manager in Maidstone

Location: Service Headquarters, Tovil, Maidstone, ME15 6XB – Hybrid working with minimum 3 days per week in the office

Hours: Full Time - 37 Hours per Week

Pension: Automatic membership of the Local Government Pension Scheme – career average pension scheme with 16.5% employer contribution

Holidays: In addition to bank/ public holidays you will receive 32 days

Base Salary: Grade 8 - £49,914 - £55,426 per annum

Reference: R001037

Closing Date: 13th July 2026

Being a part of Kent Fire and Rescue Service – Everyone is unique. Everyone has value. Everyone helps to make Kent Fire and Rescue Service a great place to work. We are one team. Together with our customers we are creating a safer future for Kent and Medway.

You will lead the delivery of resilient, secure, and highly available network and communication services that support the service in life‑critical situations. Acting as the key technical specialist, you will take ownership of the data network and communication technologies that enable effective mobilisation and operational response across an organisation of approximately 1,500 employees and 60 sites. You will be responsible for all aspects of network administration across KFRS, ensuring systems operate efficiently and deliver seamless connectivity for a fleet of 80 fire engines alongside a range of specialist vehicles. In this role, you will oversee the integration and ongoing performance of the Control Management System, which is hosted and managed by Kent Police. You will play a key part in maintaining reliable communication between operational systems and supporting critical emergency response functions. Working closely with the IT Infrastructure Manager and Head of IT, you will make informed decisions, troubleshoot complex issues, and contribute strategic recommendations. Your collaboration and technical expertise will be integral to driving continuous improvement within KFRS’s network environment, ensuring resilience, performance and innovation across all services; ensuring systems remain robust and reliable when they are needed most.

What you’ll do

• Monitor network performance to ensure availability, reliability, and optimal utilisation; conducting trend analysis while managing processes to ensure all network changes are assessed and successfully implemented.
• Investigate and respond to operational incidents, prioritising effectively and addressing potential or active security threats with appropriate mitigation.
• Lead the delivery of radio communication system solutions from concept through to implementation.
• Manage the installation, configuration, maintenance, and upgrades of network infrastructure, including routers, switches, firewalls, and wireless access points, comprising primarily of Cisco Meraki architecture.
• Perform scheduled maintenance and system upgrades, including patches, hotfixes, and security configurations.
• Develop and enforce network security policies, procedures, and access controls in line with best practice.
• Manage the network service contract and represent KFRS by attending partner meetings and reviewing change requests to minimise operational impact.
• Collaborate with vendors and IT teams to resolve incidents and underlying problems; ensuring timely replacements and ongoing vendor support.
• Support business continuity and disaster recovery arrangements, including service restoration following major incidents.
• Participate in an on‑call rota, acting as a first responder to business‑critical incidents.
• Manage a small network team who assist with the day to day running of the network.

What you’ll bring

• CCNP or equivalent networking experience.
• Experience of managing a networking and wireless infrastructure.
• Experience of digital radio communications and mobile network technologies.
• Practical networking skills such as maintaining, configuring, upgrading and installing network devices and services e.g. routers, switches, wireless access points and firewalls.
• Strong communication skills.
• A strong interest in the sector with a desire to maintain up-to-date specialist knowledge of evolving technologies, protocols, and products.

Benefits

• Automatic membership of the Local Government Pension Scheme
• Blue Light Card discount scheme supported by a number of high street retailers
• A range of family friendly policies promoting work‑life balance
• Access to health and wellbeing services and advice
• Free parking
• Above all you’ll become part of a service that is committed to the safety of our community

Inclusion is at the heart of everything we do. We know that great minds don’t think alike, so we rely on diverse thoughts, feelings, beliefs and backgrounds to create the best working environment that we can possibly offer. Kent Fire and Rescue Service, its employees and volunteers, are committed to safeguarding, protecting and supporting children, young people and adults at risk. As part of our safer recruitment process, we will undertake pre-employment checks to verify your suitability for the role. These checks will include your references and a standard or enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check. Enhanced DBS check with barred lists are carried out for roles with direct and unsupervised access to children, young people and adults at risk. Risk assessments will be undertaken on any disclosures identified as part of the pre‑employment checks. As a Public Sector organisation with added responsibilities under the Equality Act, 2010 the candidate must demonstrate an understanding of what is meant by Equality, Diversity and Inclusion and how this fits in with their everyday work.