Network Specialist

inq. is a Global Edge Company providing innovative, business-relevant services that will help re-imaging your future. Headquartered in Mauritius, we were founded in 2013, and we are a Convergence Partners company. We have contact points in 16 African cities, including Johannesburg, Gaborone, Lusaka, Ndola, Blantyre, Lilongwe, Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Kanu, Abidjan, Yaoundé. Our promise to our clients and stakeholders is to provide simpler, seamless solutions. As a global leading-edge solutions provider, inq. prides itself in providing innovative, business-relevant services in Edge AI and IoT, Fabric, SDN/NFV for Edge Cloud, Secure Access Services Edge and Elastic Edge.

Our strength lies in the great people we have across the business: Edge expertise and our ability to provide global international best practice methodologies customised to local customs in each of our cities of presence. We are driven to assist our clients in Banking, Oil and Gas industries, FMCG, Mining, Health, Real Estate, IT, Public Sector, Logistics companies in their digital transformation journey.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Network Specialist

Location: Lagos
Department: Operations
Reporting to: Manager, Core Network Operations

Purpose Statement

• This role is necessary for the role is responsible for the strategic and operational management of the Network Support team, ensuring the highest quality of service, customer satisfaction, and alignment with business development goals.
• This role will oversee team performance in maintaining, troubleshooting, and improving network services and systems to guarantee seamless service delivery and meet both Quality of Service (QoS) and Quality of Experience (QoE) standards; will contribute to business development efforts by collaborating on the creation of new products and solutions to meet evolving customer needs, driving innovation, and supporting market competitiveness.

Principal Accountabilities/Objectives

• Review and optimize configurations for network infrastructure, including VSAT platforms, IP network devices, P2P radios, and core/access transmission.
• Manage and support high-level troubleshooting for VSAT, IP routing, transmission devices, and access networks.
• Maintain effective communication channels with Manager, Core Networks, third-party vendors, and key stakeholders to ensure service expectations are met.
• Act as a primary point of escalation for network issues impacting service delivery, providing timely updates to internal teams, customers, and senior management.
• Oversee the day-to-day operations of network support, ensuring prompt resolution of Level 2/3 network issues and maintaining MTTR (Mean Time to Repair) and SLA compliance.
• Proactively identify potential network issues before they impact service availability and initiate preventive measures.
• Manage and develop the Network Support team to enhance their technical, troubleshooting, and customer service capabilities.
• Develop and present reports on network performance, customer feedback, and continuous improvement projects.
• Conduct regular training, evaluations, and mentoring to support the professional growth of team members.
• Identify and monitor key performance metrics to improve service levels and reduce escalation rates.
• Ensure timely and effective incident response, problem-solving, and service restoration for both internal and external stakeholders.
• Foster teamwork, collaboration, and a customer-centric approach within the team.
• Lead initiatives to enhance monitoring tools and reporting platforms to better track network performance.
• Develop and implement best practices for network support processes, focusing on reducing manual tasks and improving operational efficiency.
• Collaborate with third-party vendors and engineers to ensure optimal network performance and resolve complex technical issues.

Communications and Work Relationships

• Strong facilitation, conflict resolution and investigative skills.
• Ability to write reports and procedure manuals.
• Other Business Units: All Departments.: Liaise with other departments and stakeholders in achieving quality, simplicity and trust in meeting organizational goals and customer expectations on the delivered products and services.
• Ability to interpret a variety of instructions furnished in written, oral, diagram, or schedule form
• Internal: Collaborate closely with Network Support Engineer, Manager, Core Networks, and other cross-functional teams to align operational objectives with organizational goals.
• Self-disciplined, self-motivated and the ability to organize and prioritize time effectively.
• Ability to solve practical problems and deal with a variety of concrete variables in situations where only limited standardization exists.
• External: Maintain productive relationships with third-party vendors and clients to coordinate network support and service delivery.
• Excellent Communication Skills (Verbal and written)

Requirements
Education & Certification

• Master’s Degree, Bachelor’s Degree or HND in Electrical/Electronic Engineering, Computer Science, or related field.
• Advanced certifications such as Lean Six Sigma, ITIL, SCRUM, CCNP or CCIE are strongly preferred.

Experience:

• Demonstrated experience in overseeing network support for VSAT, MPLS, IP routing, and network infrastructure.
• Minimum of 8+ years of experience in Network Operations, with at least 5 years in a Senior Engineer or supervisory role, ideally in an ISP or similar environment.

Technical Skills:

• Proficiency in network monitoring and ticketing tools such as Nagios, Azotel, Cacti, Entuity, and various NMS platforms (e.g., SAF, NEC, Ceragon).
• Strong background in IP networking, switching, routing (QoS, MPLS), and transmission technologies.

Competencies:

• Strong analytical skills and a proactive approach to problem-solving.
• Superior communication skills with the ability to convey technical information to both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Ability to manage multiple projects and prioritize tasks effectively.
• Excellent leadership, team-building, and interpersonal skills.