Head of Technical Operations at Liquid Telecom

ROLE OVERVIEW

The role is responsible for planning, deployment, implementation, operations and maintenance of the OPCO Network Infrastructure and Technologies to deliver the best in class network and service uptime for customer satisfaction, retention and growth. The role is also responsible for the service delivery, service assurance and service management as well as stakeholders management such as regulator, local authorities, business partners, suppliers, key customers etc

ROLE REQUIREMENTS

1. Degree in a relevant field (Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Telecoms, Computer Science), MSC/MBA, relevant professional/ vendor certification, Cisco, Juniper etc
2. Minimum 5 year's experience in a technical environment managing technical teams (in Engineer, Service Management, Service Assurance, Service Delivery) in the Telecommunication Industry
3. Proven track record in the planning, implementation and operation of the telecommunications network
4. Solid understanding of financial considerations relating to the technical and operational aspects specific to a telecommunications operator

ROLE OUTPUTS

1. Strategy, Policy and Planning
2. Oversees the implementation of the technical business plan to enable and assist the commercial department with product / service positioning in the marketplace. Co-ordinates the planning, development and roll out of the network and the associated infrastructure.
3. Keeps abreast with emerging technologies and defines technical strategies for penetrating the market place.
4. Network and Systems Services - ensures that there is adequate radio and fibre network coverage and has capacity to ensure adherence to prescribed standards for transmission and services delivery. Implements, controls and reports on all matters relating to the network and systems performance. Ensures the network, systems uptime and performance are as per the agreed quality metrics and SLA performance. Ensures high level of diagnosis, analysis and problem solving for all technical activities in the organization. Develops and executes Networks and Systems disaster recovery and business continuity plans. Provides input to the evaluation, negotiation and procurement of network telecommunications equipment from various manufacturers. Directs and monitors service delivery.
5. Ensures adherence to the technical capex and opex budgets, prepares annual Capital and Operational Expenditure budgets for Network planning and development
6. Ensures effective achievement of the agreed Technical objectives, directs and co-ordinates technical resources to ensure the achievement of OPCO’s business objectives. Approves, prioritizes, and controls projects and the project portfolio as they relate to the selection, acquisition, development, and installation of major Network systems. Promotes and oversees strategic relationships between internal Networks resources and external entities, including government, vendors, and partner organisations.
7. Determines and develops OPCO CAPEX and OPEX budgets associated with infrastructure services, network build and optimization, operation & maintenance, and network rollouts. Manages and tracks budgets to ensure cost optimization. Assists with the operating and capital budget, financial forecasting and investment strategy. Develops Network performance criteria and data to measure productivity and goal achievement. Consolidates network resources and assets for network quantification and documentation. Reviews deployment and operating costs, prevents operational delays on delivery of projects.
8. Establishes operations standards for cost control, waste reduction and on time delivery. Provides technical approvals and signoffs of Infrastructure and customer projects, inventory requisition, customer contracts and customers services. Develops Passive and Active network infrastructure planning and deployment across the region while providing clear direction on delivery objectives. Oversees all Network Build and Network Project implementations across EAR Region. Liaises between Regional offices on all the approved standards, designs, protocols and products. Responsible for standardizing Network implementations and deployment in EAR. Provides leadership in the planning, definition, specification and delivery of key infrastructure elements, SLA and bandwidth contracts. Manages rollout of new networking technologies in line with industry evolution and business requirements, aligning with technology advancement. Reviews critical network maintenance schedules and activities and provide approvals and guidance where applicable. Oversees build infrastructure & rollout budget to ensure compliance with organizational expenditure requirements.

Technical Operations, Network and Customer Support Management.

Coordinates, directs, and reports all operations activities across the OPCO. A subject matter expert and an escalation point of critical network incidents.

Monitors OPCO network and service availability and uptime by ensuring escalated incidents are resolved within SLA. Participates in development of IT policies and procedures, including those for architecture, security. Supervises delivery of technical solutions from SDU backorders. Leads green field technical research and projects in introducing new products, product features, solutions, technologies. Designs and assists in developing core technologies platforms and processes to support them. Assists the presales team in evaluating market opportunities and scoping complex client solutions against network capabilities and evolving techniques and methodologies. Collaborates with the products, sales and marketing teams to review existing products, capture new markets by innovating around network capabilities for existing and new solutions, adopting new technologies and improving SLAs. Participates in providing technical guidance in vendor and contractor assessments and evaluations. Manages all the testing phase of products with the vendor. Coordinates third-party support and maintenance for active network infrastructure and passive elements Leadership and Governance.

Provides technical approvals and signoffs for inventory requisition, circuit upgrades, disconnections, reconnections and contracts. Develops and implements best practice policies, operational governance and interdepartmental communication and driving continuous improvement in terms of operations environment