NOC Manager -Infrastructure Support

Job Description

Role & responsibilities Team Leadership and Management: Oversee NOC Operations: Supervise daily NOC operations to ensure continuous monitoring, incident management, and timely escalation of issues. Manage NOC Staff: Lead a team of NOC engineers and analysts, handle shift schedules to ensure 24/7/365 coverage, and provide guidance on troubleshooting and escalation processes. Training and Development: Ensure team members are up to date with the latest technology and operational standards, providing training, mentorship, and development opportunities. Performance Management: Conduct regular performance evaluations, set KPIs, and implement improvement plans as needed to enhance team performance. Incident Management and Response: Incident Oversight: Take charge of major incidents, ensuring rapid assessment, resource allocation, and timely resolution of critical issues. Escalation and Coordination: Coordinate between NOC, support teams, and vendors to resolve incidents, escalating as required for effective resolution. Root Cause Analysis (RCA): Lead RCA for significant incidents, collaborating with cross-functional teams to identify underlying issues and implement preventive measures. Incident Reporting: Develop and maintain incident documentation, reporting to upper management on significant incidents, resolution timelines, and preventive actions taken. Monitoring and Infrastructure Optimization: System Monitoring: Ensure comprehensive 24/7 monitoring of network, servers, applications, and data center infrastructure for potential issues or anomalies. Optimization of Tools: Evaluate and implement advanced monitoring tools, improving visibility, alerting capabilities, and data-driven insights into infrastructure performance. Performance Metrics: Develop and refine performance metrics, dashboards, and reports to monitor infrastructure health, availability, and response times. Change Management and Compliance: Change Control: Oversee infrastructure changes to minimize service disruptions, participating in change advisory boards (CABs) and ensuring adherence to change management policies. Risk Management: Evaluate risks associated with planned changes and ensure risk mitigation strategies are in place. Compliance and Standards: Ensure NOC operations meet regulatory compliance standards (e.g., ISO, SOC, GDPR) and follow industry best practices for security, privacy, and data protection. Automation and Process Improvement: Process Optimization: Analyze and streamline NOC processes for incident handling, escalation, reporting, and documentation, focusing on efficiency and consistency. Automation: Identify repetitive tasks and opportunities for automation (e.g., alert triage, routine system checks) to reduce manual workload and improve response times. SOP Development: Create and maintain standard operating procedures (SOPs) for common incident scenarios, ensuring consistent handling and faster resolution. Capacity and Performance Planning: Infrastructure Scaling: Collaborate with IT and engineering teams to anticipate capacity needs based on growth trends, scaling resources proactively to avoid downtime. Performance Reviews: Regularly assess system performance, identifying bottlenecks or risks to service reliability, and coordinate with infrastructure teams to address issues. Budget Management: Oversee NOC-related budget, ensuring optimal use of resources and advocating for necessary investments in monitoring tools and staffing. Vendor and Stakeholder Management: Vendor Liaison: Manage relationships with vendors and service providers, ensuring service level agreements (SLAs) are met and coordinating support during critical incidents. Stakeholder Communication: Act as a point of contact for internal stakeholders regarding NOC operations, infrastructure status, and ongoing incidents. SLA and KPI Management: Define, track, and report SLAs and KPIs for NOC performance, continuously working with vendors and internal teams to meet or exceed targets. Reporting and Analytics: Operational Reporting: Generate daily, weekly, and monthly reports on NOC performance, including metrics like uptime, incident resolution times, and resource utilization. Trend Analysis: Identify recurring incidents or performance trends, using data to improve incident management processes and proactively address potential issues. Executive Summaries: Provide high-level summaries and performance reports to executive leadership, highlighting key metrics, incidents, and NOC achievements Preferred candidate profile Technical Expertise: Deep understanding of networking, server management, data centers, cloud infrastructure, and monitoring tools (e.g., SolarWinds, Nagios, Datadog). Leadership and People Management: Strong leadership abilities, with experience in managing cross-functional teams and fostering a high-performance, collaborative environment. Incident Management: Proficiency in ITIL-based incident and problem management, especially with high-stakes or complex incidents. Analytical Skills: Ability to analyze large datasets for patterns and insights, using data to improve operations and prevent outages. Change and Compliance Management: Knowledge of change management frameworks, regulatory compliance standards, and risk assessment. Communication: Excellent communication skills to effectively liaise between technical teams, stakeholders, and upper management. Budgeting and Resource Allocation: Familiarity with budget management and resource planning for NOC operations. Promote a Proactive Approach : Focus on preventive maintenance, capacity planning, and performance monitoring to anticipate and mitigate issues before they escalate. Foster a Continuous Improvement Culture : Regularly review NOC processes and metrics, encouraging feedback from team members to drive improvements. Focus on Team Training : Ensure the team is well-trained in both technical skills and soft skills, such as communication and time management. Certification: Certifications in cloud technologies, networking, or DevOps are advantageous. Shift Flexibility: Willingness to work in shifts, including weekends and off-hours if necessary. Ensure Clear Communication Channels : Establish clear communication protocols for incidents, ensuring stakeholders are promptly updated during outages or major events. Problem-Solving: Exceptional analytical skills for diagnosing and resolving complex IT issues.