Role Summary:

This is a senior, highly technical role focused on delivering exceptional customer experience, maintaining SLA compliance, and driving long-term service stability across large-scale telecommunications networks.

Working across OSS/BSS environments, the Problem Manager will lead proactive problem management, investigate complex service issues, and implement permanent corrective actions to prevent incident recurrence. The role requires close collaboration with engineering, operations, service delivery, and customer-facing teams to ensure optimal network performance and resilience.

Responsibilities:

• Ensure high availability and resilience across aggregation and access network layers.

• Define and maintain proactive monitoring, maintenance, and prevention controls aligned to internal KPIs and customer SLAs.

• Collaborate with engineering teams to address capacity, redundancy, and network design requirements.

• Lead the identification, escalation, and resolution of complex network incidents and service outages.

• Drive root cause investigations and ensure timely delivery of accurate, detailed Root Cause Analyses (RCAs).

• Implement permanent corrective actions to reduce repeat incidents and service impact.

• Define and manage service performance monitoring, reporting, and analysis frameworks.

• Maintain accurate configuration management with full traceability, version control, and security compliance.

• Analyse performance trends and recommend improvements to enhance network stability and efficiency.

• Manage and optimize customer change processes to ensure timely and high-quality delivery.

• Monitor SLA performance and actively address deviations to maintain contractual compliance.

• Partner with provisioning and service delivery teams to streamline service activation and change execution.

• Design and enforce governance frameworks for network operations and service assurance.

• Ensure compliance with internal policies, regulatory requirements, and industry standards (including MEF and ITIL-aligned practices).

• Maintain audit-ready documentation and process adherence across operational environments.

• Lead service-related investigations across customer environments, including diversity validation and design verification.

• Identify physical or logical inconsistencies and develop alternative solutions where required.

• Support special projects focused on network integrity, resilience, and service assurance.

• Oversee network and service upgrades through formal change control processes.

• Participate in Change Advisory Board (CAB) activities, including risk assessment and impact analysis.

• Validate post-implementation outcomes to ensure service objectives are met without negative impact.

Qualifications Required:

• Grade 12 / Matric

• Bachelor’s degree in a technical, engineering, information technology, or computer science field — or equivalent practical experience.

• CCNP (Cisco Certified Network Professional), CCNA (Cisco Certified Network Associate), or equivalent industry-recognized networking certifications (required).

• Additional vendor-specific certifications (e.g., ADVA, CIENA, JUNIPER) or network management qualifications will be considered advantageous.

Work Experience:

• A minimum of 8 years of experience working in a medium to large organization, with at least 7 years of practical experience in live network operations.

• Experience with managing large-scale production networks and OSS/BSS systems.

• Proven experience in troubleshooting, monitoring, and maintaining network performance.

• Proven experience in network operations, problem management, or service assurance within a telecommunications or ISP environment.

• Demonstrated track record in managing network performance, troubleshooting complex incidents, and driving service improvement initiatives.

Skills Required:

• Demonstrated expertise in network management, monitoring, and performance optimization tools across large-scale production environments.

• In-depth understanding of telecommunications standards and best practices, including MEF, IEEE, and ITU frameworks, as well as familiarity with ITIL-based service management principles.

• Advanced knowledge of routing and switching technologies, IP/MPLS, Ethernet, and optical transport systems.

• Strong understanding of network protocols, addressing schemes, and ISP operational environments — including MAC address management, routing, and switching architectures.

• Hands-on experience with networking equipment and management platforms from vendors such as ADVA, CIENA, JUNIPER, and equivalent OEMs.

• Proven ability to diagnose complex network and service issues, perform root cause analysis, and design sustainable technical solutions.

• Ability to manage multiple, concurrent projects and initiatives in a cross-functional, high-demand environment.

• Strong planning, prioritization, and organizational skills with a results-driven mindset.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to present complex technical concepts clearly to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

• Strong interpersonal skills with a collaborative, team-oriented approach.

• Demonstrated leadership capabilities with the ability to motivate, influence, and guide teams toward achieving operational and service excellence.

• Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications, including Excel, Word, Outlook, and PowerPoint, with the ability to prepare professional reports, analyses, and presentations.