Role Overview:

The Infrastructure Manager (Networks) is responsible for ensuring the effective, reliable, and secure delivery of network services across the enterprise. This role drives operational excellence, leads managed service providers, and ensures alignment between network services, business strategy, and technical direction.

The ideal candidate is a seasoned technology professional with extensive infrastructure knowledge, strong vendor management experience, and proven leadership capabilities within high‑demand environments such as retail.

Key Responsibilities:

Service Ownership & Delivery

• Own end‑to‑end delivery of Network RUN & Change services.

• Ensure service availability, performance, and continual improvement across LAN, WAN, wireless, and security technologies.

• Serve as the authoritative point of escalation for all network‑related incidents and issues.

Stakeholder & Vendor Management

• Build strong relationships with key business stakeholders to understand commercial, operational, and strategic priorities.

• Act as the relationship owner for strategic, key, and preferred vendors.

• Manage high‑value third‑party contracts, including renewals, SLAs, KPIs, service penalties, and innovation commitments.

Strategic Alignment & Planning

• Collaborate with Architecture teams to ensure network services align with technical and business strategies.

• Analyse and forecast demand for network services based on business consumption patterns.

• Assess market trends and technology advancements, incorporating insights into service strategy.

Operational Excellence

• Oversee and evolve operating procedures, frameworks, and processes in a managed service environment.

• Work closely with Service Management & Integration (SIAM) teams to ensure effective incident, problem, change, and capacity management.

• Prepare and present business cases for network improvements and innovation initiatives.

Leadership

• Lead and mentor network teams, promoting a culture of ownership, collaboration, and continuous improvement.

• Conduct regular project and service reviews with internal stakeholders and vendors.

Skills & Experience Required:

• Strong understanding of enterprise LAN/WAN technologies, large‑scale distributed networks, and data centre networking.

• Hands‑on experience with:

• SD‑WAN implementations

• Wireless networking technologies

• Network security, load balancing, and remote access solutions

• Micro‑segmentation platforms (e.g., VMware NSX‑T)

Professional Experience:

• Proven leadership experience in managed network services within a complex enterprise environment.

• Demonstrable experience defining and managing SLAs, KPIs, and operational targets.

• Successful track record managing multimillion‑pound contracts and vendor relationships.

• Ability to work under pressure in fast‑paced environments with high levels of accuracy and attention to detail.

• Experience in project management and delivery oversight is highly desirable.