Head of Telecoms Service Field Management & Operations

Who We Are

Join Network Rail ! Where People and Connections Matter

At Network Rail, we're dedicated to keeping passengers and freight moving safely and efficiently across the country. When you join us, you're not just part of a team- you're part of something that matters to millions. We believe that our people are at the heart of what we do, and every role plays a vital part in building a better, more connected railway.

We're committed to creating a diverse, inclusive workplace that reflects the communities we serve. To discover more about our ED&I commitments click here. We value flexibility and understand the importance of a healthy work-life balance. As a Disability Confident Leader, we'll do everything we can to accommodate any needs throughout the recruitment process.

Safe behaviour is a requirement of working for Network Rail.

About The Role

This role sits within the Telecoms function at Network Rail, a critical part of delivering a safe, reliable and connected railway. Telecoms provides and maintains the communication systems that support train operations, infrastructure monitoring, operational control and passenger information across the network.

Vacancy Details

• Contract type: Permanent
• Location: Based in Manchester, Milton Keynes or London, with weekly travel to operational sites in Doncaster and Stoke as required.
• Hours: Full time 35 hours per week
• Band & Salary: Band 1B, £97,850 - £119,352 (plus band related benefits)
• Working pattern: Hybrid working: this role permits hybrid working, employees are expected to work from a Network Rail location for 60% of their weekly hours, typically 3 days for full time roles,
• Closing date: 1st November 2026
• Please note this role may close early in the event of a high number of applications.

Main Responsibilities

• Direct technically diverse operations and Telecoms field-based teams, providing specialist technical knowledge and support to resolve escalated incidents and maintain maximum service availability.
• Direct a Telecoms 24/7 Network Management Centre capability that monitors the performance of live telecoms services and their components, so that faults can be fixed in a timely manner and the impact on the operational railway is minimised.
• Develop the strategic direction so that all teams understand and comply with the operational framework to achieve milestones and realise business objectives.
• Establish performance targets for network technologies, live services and operational assets, directing the maintenance and adherence to service levels in order to support proactive asset interventions and improve customer service provisioning.
• Identify and direct departmental improvement projects as agreed with the Director, Telecoms Operations, so that telecoms service availability and performance levels continually improve.
• Develop, maintain and nurture relationships with customers and suppliers of live services at both Regional and Route level, in order to create an operational and security performance improvement agenda that improves customer satisfaction.
• Direct the development, testing and maintenance of relevant business continuity and recovery plans to assess and improve the robustness of the operations centres' 24/7 capability in supporting uninterrupted availability of the central telecoms services.
• Develop, embed and promote a culture of continuous service improvement and network optimisation, directing the use of network and service performance data to deliver root cause analysis and learn lessons from incidents, in order to identify new technologies and assist in service introduction.
• Provide operational input into the Strategic Business Plan, in conjunction with the relevant planning teams, in order to clearly define control period commitments and deliverables.

Your Experience And Skills

Meet the essential criteria

• Educated to degree level in an engineering / technical discipline or equivalent relevant experience
• Demonstrable extensive experience of complex technical / engineering systems and managing the maintenance, renewal and enhancement of assets
• Significant experience of senior leadership roles within an operational IT / Telco environment
• Proven ability to empower and inspire large technically diverse teams
• Demonstrable experience of leading large geographically dispersed teams
• Knowledge of telecoms operational support systems / best practice supporting processes
• Knowledge of the principles of health and safety, quality and environment legislation and compliance management processes
• Experience of driving and delivering change and improvements on a strategic level
• Excellent communication skills with experience of leading behavioural change within a large organisation
• Experience of working within a critical national infrastructure, safety critical or security environment and operating within a regulated environment

Desirable

• Membership of an appropriate professional body
• Knowledge of railway telecommunications technologies
• Knowledge/experience of/in the railway industry telecommunications technologies/standards
• Relevant Programme Management experience / qualifications
• Understanding of the ITIL and AMEM frameworks

What's In It For You

• 28-day annual leave with the option to buy and sell days
• Choice of pension schemes
• 75% discount of leisure travel for you and your family
• Private Healthcare
• 5 days paid volunteer or carers leave
• Up to 75% subsidised Rail and Underground travel
• Gym Pass -access to gyms across UK
• My Benefits platform- giving national and local retail discount

To find out more explore Working for Network Rail

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