Hertfordshire County Council
Lead Network Engineer
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Job Introduction
Job Title: Lead Network Engineer
Starting Salary: £53,806 - £59,497 per annum (pro rata for part time) - Pay award pending
Hours: 37.5
Location: Stevenage - Hybrid
Contract Type: Permanent
Directorate: Resources
About The Team
Join a team that delivers the technology foundation behind one of the county's largest public sector organisations.
The ICT Networks Team is responsible for designing, managing and evolving the council's network infrastructure, ensuring thousands of users can access the systems and services they rely on every day. As the council's networking specialists, we provide technical expertise, strategic guidance and innovative solutions that support both current operations and future transformation programmes.
This is a great opportunity for an experienced networking professional to work with modern technologies, influence technical direction and contribute to major infrastructure initiatives. As Lead Network Engineer, you'll combine technical leadership with hands-on engineering, leading a skilled team while helping shape the future of Hertfordshire County Council's network services.
About The Role
As Lead Network Engineer, you will play a key role in shaping and delivering Hertfordshire County Council's network services across a complex enterprise environment.
Combining technical expertise with team leadership, you'll lead the design, implementation and continuous improvement of secure, resilient and future-ready network solutions. Working closely with ICT colleagues, security specialists, suppliers and stakeholders, you'll ensure network services support the council's strategic priorities and evolving business needs.
You'll lead and develop a team of Network Engineers, Technicians and Apprentices, providing technical guidance, mentoring and support to drive high standards of performance and service delivery. You'll also take ownership of networking projects, major incidents and service improvements, helping to deliver innovative solutions and excellent customer outcomes.
This is an exciting opportunity to influence network strategy, champion emerging technologies and play a leading role in the development of a modern, secure and reliable network infrastructure that supports services across Hertfordshire.
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The successful candidate will bring significant enterprise networking experience, strong network security knowledge and a recognised networking qualification such as Cisco CCNA (or equivalent). You'll be an effective communicator, capable of building strong stakeholder relationships and translating complex technical concepts into practical business solutions.
About You
Essential:
We're looking for a highly skilled networking professional with strong technical expertise and a passion for delivering excellent services.
You will have:
- A recognised networking qualification to Cisco CCNA level or equivalent experience.
- Significant experience in enterprise networking, ideally gained within a large and complex environment.
- Strong understanding of network security and secure network design.
- Experience supporting and developing technologies including LAN, WAN, SD-WAN, wireless networking, routing and switching.
- Knowledge of networking protocols including TCP/IP, BGP and OSPF.
- Experience working with network security technologies such as firewalls and proxy services.
- Proven experience leading, coaching and supporting technical teams.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to manage competing priorities.
- Excellent communication skills and the ability to explain technical concepts to both technical and non-technical audiences.
- A commitment to continuous professional development and staying current with emerging technologies.
- Full UK driving licence and access to a vehicle
Why join Hertfordshire County Council?
This is a fantastic opportunity to influence the future direction of networking services within one of the largest local authorities in the country.
You'll work on a varied portfolio of technologies and projects, help shape strategic network decisions, and play a key role in delivering services that support communities across Hertfordshire.
We welcome applications from candidates who currently reside in the UK with established proof of right to work documentation. We are not able to offer sponsorship at this time for this role.
This job role is Level 13. Please locate the job profile here: Job profiles - Corporate services
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To hear more about this opportunity please contact Mark.McCullough@hertfordshire.gov.uk for an informal discussion about the role.
Interview Date: 4th September 2026
Benefits of working for us
How To Apply
As part of your application, please upload your most recent CV. Ensure your CV is up to date with your employment history (including any employment gaps), and including any training/qualifications. We encourage you to include examples of where you have demonstrated the requirements/criteria in the advert / job profile to allow the panel to fully recognise your skills and abilities. You will have the opportunity to include a short covering paragraph within your application to give us a little more information about your skills, knowledge, and experiences.
Additional Information
We are changing
Hertfordshire County Council is undergoing Local Government Reorganisation (LGR). If you are employed by Hertfordshire County on 1 April 2028, it is expected that most roles will transfer to the newly-created unitary councils on existing terms and conditions under TUPE (Transfer of Undertakings – Protection of Employment) principles.
LGR is one of the biggest changes we will face in a generation. It will reshape how we work and how services are organised and gives us a real opportunity to build something better. To find out more, visit https://www.hertfordshire-lgr.co.uk/
Disability Confident
We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer and guarantee an interview to anyone disclosing a disability whose application meets the minimum criteria for the post.
Driving Required
You’ll need to have the ability to drive and/or travel around Hertfordshire, either using your own mode of transport or a company car to travel to other locations.
English Fluency
The ability to converse at ease with members of the public and provide advice in accurate spoken English is essential for the post (for those whose language is a signed language the provision of a sign language interpreter who speaks English to the necessary standard of fluency will be required). Further information about the legal requirement can be found here.
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