Network Engineering Specialist

Job Description

Why this role matters

Our purpose is to use the power of communication to make a better world; for each other, for our customers, for society and our communities. Environmental Services deliver the supporting activities which ensure network capacity, reliability and energy reduction.
You will play a key role in the delivery of network services in support of internal and external projects and customer demand.

You’ll be assigned projects covering all elements associated with project delivery. This will cover Agile delivery management of the specification, design, procurement and go live phases.

This role ensures we deliver Service and/or infrastructure against the relevant SLA and business needs. This is executed by
- Driving deliveries forward; working with teams to help mitigate as and when needed
- Ensuring we report risks, issues, mitigations, and progress to stakeholders.
- Continuing to enhance our delivery capabilities, by participating in the evolution of new automation and processes,
- Identifying new opportunities that reduce cost and enhance the experience of our customers.

Stakeholder management is crucial to the job, you will produce reports, brief the wider organisation on progress and ensure our suppliers are well informed.

You will oversee the e2e delivery programme, providing programme management and structured progress communication to stakeholders.

This role can be based in Birmingham or Ipswich and our hybrid working model means you are expected to be in the office 3 days per week.

You'll have the following responsibilities

In this role, you will lead automation and process improvements as a product owner for Fixed Network's Converge Core, driving innovation and delivering end-to-end solutions that enhance network capabilities.

• Delivers impact across customer, operational, project, and service activities, with accountability for programme-level outcomes where applicable.
• Owns the design, build, testing, validation, maintenance, and support of all network infrastructure components, ensuring delivery to agreed standards and timelines.
• Leads the implementation of new and enhanced network technologies that align with customer strategic direction for enterprise and remote site connectivity, ensuring measurable impact.
• Maintains standards for global network infrastructure, including wireless, LAN, and SD-WAN networks and connectivity.
• Manages the installation, testing, and setup of new network hardware, both physical and virtual, readiness for operational handover.
• Executes engineering efforts to ensure currency and supportability of networking technology.
• Contributes to technology lifecycle planning, including development of roadmaps and Network Health Assessments.
• Delivers documentation, knowledge transfer, and training to successfully embed new solutions into the support organisation.
• Provides support for clients with data protection and overarching cloud capabilities.
• Drives the implementation of core and cloud infrastructure security to manage risks and exposure.
• Resolves escalated issues from the global network support organisation, ensuring root cause analysis and sustainable fixes.
• Mentors Engineering professionals, helping to improve the team’s abilities by acting as a trusted technical resource.
• Champions and shares knowledge on emerging trends and changes in Network Engineering.

You'll have the following skills and experience

Ideally you will have Product owner experience with great stakeholder management skills and previous Business Analyst experience. A background in telecoms is beneficial but not essential.

Skills

• Stakeholder Management: Able to establish and maintain internal and external stakeholder relationships and facilitates mutually beneficial negotiations to develop solutions, ensuring they meet current and emerging business and technical needs. Ability to work at all levels – ranging from MD to front-line across multiple CFUs.
• Agile mindset and way of working.
• Risk Management: The ability to identify risks, balance the threats and opportunities associated with the risks, take appropriate mitigating action against the risks and track and manage risk over their lifetime
• Business acumen: Knowledgeable in business strategy and the drivers of organisational performance, including people drivers of performance and financial literacy (e.g. business KPIs, business cases)
• Financial Acumen: The ability to apply financial knowledge to the financial management of own work area, project, programme, business unit, business case or contract. Has good understanding of financial principles and is able to apply them to their immediate work area/project.
• Ability to work in pressured environments e.g. in relation to business case development or in terms of driving the necessary estate transformation
• Decision Making.
• Strong communications skills, verbal and written.
• Able to forge relationships with planning manager peers, matrix direct reports and the wider technical community.
• Ability to influence and resolve conflicts of prioritisation within the business.
• Commercial awareness.
• Lean Manufacturing/Continuous Improvement.
• Analytical thinking.

Experience

• Practical knowledge of applying Agile Project & Programme Management Methodology
• An understanding of finance structures and reporting systems.
• Comfortable in developing your expertise into emerging technology areas with minimal training, e.g. AI
• An understanding of network monitoring systems and implementation practices.
• Ability to deal with multiple competing suppliers.
• You will have experience of delivering capital and current account programmes of work.
• An awareness of IP networking and the building of supporting architectures.
• Good stakeholder management skills
• Ability to effectively manage geographically dispersed people, including matrix management
• Ability to translate complex issues into simple explanations
• Excellent JIRA, PowerBI, Excel and PowerPoint skills
• Communication – Experience of communicating and presenting to Director level stakeholders progress, risks and issues of key programs.
• Stakeholder Management – Experience of working with other organisations in BT, both internal and external to technology
• Delivery management – You drive for success against delivery commitments, articulating clearly progress, risks, issues and continually seek mitigations to drive for successful outcomes.

Preferred experience that a person in this role is likely to have:

• Business expertise in delivering to a business prioritised workstack. Working with stakeholders managing conflicts in delivering enablement solutions in a timely manner at optimum cost. Working with internal and external partners to deliver to quality and time requirements.

Benefits

• 10% on target bonus
• BT Pension scheme, minimum 5% Employee contribution, BT contribution 10%
• From January 2025, equal family leave: receive 18 weeks at full pay, 8 weeks at half pay and 26 weeks at the statutory rate. It’s for all parents, no matter how your family is made up.
• Enhanced women’s health support: including help with menopause symptoms, cancer screenings, period care and more.
• 25 days annual leave (not including bank holidays), increasing with service
• 24/7 private virtual GP appointments for UK colleagues
• 2 weeks carer’s leave
• World-class training and development opportunities
• Option to join BT Shares Saving schemes

Our leadership standards

Looking in:
Leading inclusively and Safely
I inspire and build trust through self-awareness, honesty and integrity.
Owning outcomes
I take the right decisions that benefit the broader organisation.

Looking out:
Delivering for the customer
I execute brilliantly on clear priorities that add value to our customers and the wider business.
Commercially savvy
I demonstrate strong commercial focus, bringing an external perspective to decision-making.

Looking to the future:
Growth mindset
I experiment and identify opportunities for growth for both myself and the organisation.
Building for the future
I build diverse future-ready teams where all individuals can be at their best.

About us

BT Group was the world’s first telco and our heritage in the sector is unrivalled. As home to several of the UK’s most recognised and cherished brands – BT, EE, Openreach and Plusnet, we have always played a critical role in creating the future, and we have reached an inflection point in the transformation of our business.

Over the next two years, we will complete the UK’s largest and most successful digital infrastructure project – connecting more than 25 million premises to full fibre broadband. Together with our heavy investment in 5G, we play a central role in revolutionising how people connect with each other.

While we are through the most capital-intensive phase of our fibre investment, meaning we can reward our shareholders for their commitment and patience, we are absolutely focused on how we organise ourselves in the best way to serve our customers in the years to come. This includes radical simplification of systems, structures, and processes on a huge scale. Together with our application of AI and technology, we are on a path to creating the UK’s best telco, reimagining the customer experience and relationship with one of this country’s biggest infrastructure companies.

Change on the scale we will all experience in the coming years is unprecedented. BT Group is committed to being the driving force behind improving connectivity for millions and there has never been a more exciting time to join a company and leadership team with the skills, experience, creativity, and passion to take this company into a new era.

A FEW POINTS TO NOTE:

Although these roles are listed as full-time, if you’re a job share partnership, work reduced hours, or any other way of working flexibly, please still get in touch.

We will also offer reasonable adjustments for the selection process if required, so please do not hesitate to inform us.

DON'T MEET EVERY SINGLE REQUIREMENT?

Studies have shown that women and people who are disabled, LGBTQ+, neurodiverse or from ethnic minority backgrounds are less likely to apply for jobs unless they meet every single qualification and criteria. We're committed to building a diverse, inclusive, and authentic workplace where everyone can be their best, so if you're excited about this role but your past experience doesn't align perfectly with every requirement on the Job Description, please apply anyway - you may just be the right candidate for this or other roles in our wider team.