Network Manager - UK in Birmingham

About CRH

We are CRH, and we are committed to contributing to a more resilient and sustainable built environment. We understand the wider impact our businesses can make in supporting human activity. We continue to do this through the delivery of unique, superior building materials and products for use in road and critical utility infrastructure, commercial building projects and outdoor living solutions. CRH is the leading provider of building materials solutions that build, connect and improve our world.

Position Overview

The Network Manager is responsible for leading the Network Services, Operations and Delivery functions to ensure stable, secure and high‑performing network services across the organisation. Operating within a modern, partner‑enabled model, the role focuses on service ownership, operational governance, strategy execution and vendor/MSP management. Strong technical knowledge is required to guide internal teams and third‑party providers, with an emphasis on leadership, service performance, and continuous improvement.

Key Tasks and Responsibilities

• Leadership & Team Management: Lead, mentor, and manage the network team, ensuring clarity of roles within the operating model. Provide coaching, direction and subject matter leadership to team members, fostering a high‑performance culture focused on service excellence, reliability, and continual improvement.
• Service Ownership & Operational Governance: Act as the service owner for network services, ensuring stable, secure, and resilient end‑to‑end service delivery across WAN/SD‑WAN, LAN/WLAN, Firewalls, Remote Access and Public DNS. Provide governance and oversight of operational activities performed by internal teams and managed service providers, ensuring compliance with SLAs, KPIs, and operational standards.
• Strategic Direction & Transformation: Drive the development, execution, and continuous refinement of the network strategy and roadmap, including Zero Trust, network simplification, cloud networking, and secure access initiatives.
• Vendor & Partner Management: Own day‑to‑day and strategic relationships with key vendors and managed service providers, ensuring effective performance management, service governance and contract alignment.
• Risk, Compliance & Security Alignment: Ensure network services and operations meet internal and external regulatory standards.
• Stakeholder Engagement & Cross‑Functional Collaboration: Engage and collaborate with IT Leadership, Architecture, Workplace, Data Centre & Cloud and Shared Services to ensure network services are integrated, scalable and support business needs.
• Project & Delivery Oversight: Provide leadership and oversight for network related initiatives and projects, ensuring appropriate planning, governance, resourcing, and vendor coordination.

Individual Competencies

• Drive Results - Consistently achieving objectives, even under tough circumstances.
• Have Courage - Stepping up to address difficult issues.
• Cultivate Innovation - Creating new and better ways for the organisation to be successful.
• Have a Strategic Mindset - Seeing ahead to future possibilities.
• Attract and Develop Talent - Attracting, selecting, and developing talent to meet the organisation’s goals.
• Be Resilient - Rebounding from setbacks and adversity.
• Collaborate - Building partnerships and working collaboratively with others.
• Make Quality Decisions - Making good and timely decisions.
• Drive Vision and Purpose - Painting a compelling picture of the vision and strategy.

Key Characteristics

• Leader – Strong leadership and interpersonal skills.
• Visionary Moderniser – able to think outside the situation on the ground.
• Critical thinker – is a problem solver and resolves conflicts.
• Customer Focused – Looks for ways to innovate to improve the focus on the customer.
• Motivated – stays motivated and can deal with resistance.

Key Functional Competencies

• Prepared to breakdown organisational boundaries through collaboration.
• Proven project management skills, with the ability to work well under pressure.
• In‑depth knowledge of networking concepts, tools, infrastructure and capabilities.
• Experienced with multiple networking software products, platforms and vendors.
• Strong vendor management skills.
• Strong professional accreditations / certifications such as ITIL, CISCO, Azure, CompTIA+, etc.
• Excellent Written and Verbal communication skills.
• Excellent organisational and time management skills.
• Effective negotiation skills.
• The ability to translate business requirements into viable technical solutions.

Experience / Education

• College diploma or university degree in business, information systems, or technical related subject.
• Minimum of 5 years hands‑on, technical experience of working as part of a network operations team.
• Minimum of 5 years management experience as part of a network operations team.
• Experience working in the construction materials / industrial manufacturing sector.

What CRH Offers You

• A culture that values opportunity for growth, development, and internal promotion.
• Highly competitive salary package.
• Comprehensive secondary benefits.
• Significant contribution to your pension plan.
• Health and wellness programs.
• Excellent opportunities to develop and progress with a global organization.

Connect your future to CRH

We are curious to learn more about you. At CRH, we believe our mutual differences contribute to the healthy, productive, and enjoyable workspace we create. Please introduce yourself and send us your application.