Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
Lead Network & Secure Access Engineer
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Bristol, Darlington, Leeds, London, Manchester, Wolverhampton
Job Summary
We are MHCLG
At the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), we work on things that make a real difference to people's lives. We support communities across England through the delivery of secure, reliable and modern digital services using tools like Azure, AWS, Cloudflare and ZScaler.
We are seeking an experienced Lead Network & Secure Access Engineer to provide technical leadership, service ownership and operational oversight of the department's network and connectivity services across office, cloud and hybrid environments. Working closely with Enterprise Architects, Platform Architects, Security Architects, Cloud Platform teams and suppliers, you will help shape network standards, roadmaps and future connectivity services, ensuring they support departmental priorities and long-term technology objectives. You will provide technical leadership, assurance and operational support for networking services while acting as the department's senior technical escalation point for complex connectivity issues during normal business hours.
The role combines hands-on engineering, supplier management and service ownership, with responsibility for network services spanning office connectivity, Microsoft Azure networking, VPN technologies, secure remote access, Zero Trust networking and shared government environments. This role does not currently include line management responsibilities, although this may change over time. The postholder will provide technical leadership and direction across project teams, operational teams, and suppliers. The role is not part of an on-call support rota.
Find out more about our Digital teams and what they are working on through our MHCLG Digital blog. Please note that MHCLG do not offer visa sponsorship and applicants will need a valid visa for the duration of your employment.
Job Description
As a Lead Network & Secure Access Engineer, you'll:
- Provide technical input into network standards, roadmaps and future connectivity plans, working with Enterprise Architects, Platform Architects and Security Architects
- Provide technical leadership and operational ownership of network and connectivity services across office, cloud and hybrid environments
- Provide hands-on support and administration of Azure networking, DNS, routing, VPN technologies, firewalls and secure connectivity services
- Administer and support Zscaler services, including policy management, troubleshooting, application onboarding and service improvements
- Support the implementation, operation and continual improvement of Zero Trust and secure access services across departmental environments
- Review, challenge and assure supplier-led network designs, upgrades and service changes, ensuring they meet departmental security, resilience and operational requirements
- Act as the departmental lead for connectivity services delivered through shared government offices, GovWifi, managed service providers and partner organisations
- Maintain and support network monitoring, logging and observability platforms, including Syslog and SIEM integrations
- Lead technical investigations into complex network, performance and connectivity issues, acting as the senior technical escalation point during business hours and coordinating suppliers, support teams and stakeholders to resolve high-priority service issues and service disruptions
- Drive continual service improvement through service assurance, supplier management and implementation of network service enhancements
As a Lead Network & Secure Access Engineer, You'll
- Provide technical input into network standards, roadmaps and future connectivity plans, working with Enterprise Architects, Platform Architects and Security Architects
- Provide technical leadership and operational ownership of network and connectivity services across office, cloud and hybrid environments
- Provide hands-on support and administration of Azure networking, DNS, routing, VPN technologies, firewalls and secure connectivity services
- Administer and support Zscaler services, including policy management, troubleshooting, application onboarding and service improvements
- Support the implementation, operation and continual improvement of Zero Trust and secure access services across departmental environments
- Review, challenge and assure supplier-led network designs, upgrades and service changes, ensuring they meet departmental security, resilience and operational requirements
- Act as the departmental lead for connectivity services delivered through shared government offices, GovWifi, managed service providers and partner organisations
- Maintain and support network monitoring, logging and observability platforms, including Syslog and SIEM integrations
- Lead technical investigations into complex network, performance and connectivity issues, acting as the senior technical escalation point during business hours and coordinating suppliers, support teams and stakeholders to resolve high-priority service issues and service disruptions
- Drive continual service improvement through service assurance, supplier management and implementation of network service enhancements
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Person specification
As a Lead Network & Secure Access Engineer, you'll have:
- Strong technical knowledge of designing, deploying and operating enterprise networking technologies including LAN, WAN, Wi‑Fi, routing, DNS, firewalls, VPN technologies and network security
- Experience supporting and troubleshooting enterprise level Microsoft Azure networking and hybrid connectivity solutions for an organisation of more than 4000 users across different digital services on a variety of platforms
- Significant experience in the configuration, administration, support and troubleshooting of secure access and Zero Trust, including Zscaler ZIA and ZPA technologies, as an integral part of both end user and platform connectivity. This experience will include connectivity between end users and private apps alongside troubleshooting complex routing issues involving SIPA and ZPA
- Experience in connection and use of monitoring, logging and observability platforms, including Syslog, SIEM and security monitoring integrations
- Experience leading technical investigations, resolving complex connectivity issues and managing technical escalations within a large operational environment
- Experience contributing technical input into network standards, roadmaps and service improvements whilst working with architects, suppliers and operational stakeholders
Desirable Criteria
- Experience supporting cloud-to-cloud connectivity solutions, including Azure-to-AWS, hybrid or multi-cloud networking environments
- Experience working within government or public sector technology environments
- Experience supporting connectivity services within shared office or multi-supplier environments
- Experience of GovWifi or cross-government connectivity services
- Experience of network automation and Infrastructure as Code
- Relevant networking, cloud or security certifications
Alongside your salary of £58,092, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government contributes £16,829 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).
At MHCLG we offer many benefits that range from tailored career pathways and flexible working to MyLifestyle Childcare Voucher and Cycle to Work Schemes. For more information, please click here.
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Selection process details
Application and Selection
The application process will be split into 2 stages, testing the following Success Profiles:
- Ability
- Behaviours
- Experience
- Strengths
- Technical
Please ensure your CV does not contain any personally identifiable information.
Note: We do not consider direct CV applications. All applications must be submitted via the provided application link.
Stage 1: Sift (CV)
Experience: Your CV will be tested against the experience profile.
Stage 2: Technical Test
Ability: Candidates who pass the sifting round will be invited to complete a short technical test. Those who are successful will then be asked to attend an interview.
Stage 3: Interview
Behaviours: "Delivering at a pace", "Managing a Quality Service", "Working Together" Experience: Experience questions will be based around the essential skills and criteria as listed in the job description. Technical: Technical questions will be based around the essential skills and criteria as listed in the job description. Strengths: The strength-based questions will require natural responses from the candidates.
Sift and Interview Dates
Sifting is envisaged to take place the week commencing 31st August 2026.
Interviews are envisaged to take place the week commencing 14th August 2026 and are currently being held remotely via videocall. This could be subject to change.
Group 1 Digital & Data Roles
MHCLG has implemented the Digital and Data capability framework for Group 1 roles. Applicants that are successful and have been offered a position will be required to complete a capability assessment after the interview.
MHCLG will honour completed capability assessments for this role from other Government Departments for existing civil servants on level transfer only. Please provide a copy of your capability assessment to the Hiring Manager when applying. If you have any queries on pay, please contact the Hiring Manager.
Each experience or technical skill is assessed between 1-3, representing working towards, at or above the job level requirements. You are awarded a proficiency level accordingly, and you will be given opportunity to annually re assess your capability and potentially increase your overall remuneration, through payment of allowances, depending on level of assessed capability.
Candidates moving from another government department have the option to retain their current basic pay if this is within our pay band for the relevant grade.
Grade 7 Group 1 Digital and Data salary
The basic pay for this role will be between £63,483 - £72,287 (London), £58,092 - £66,742 (National). Candidates will usually be recruited to the median of the payscale. A digital allowance may also be payable depending on the level of assessed capability, in order to meet the MHCLG overall targeted remuneration rate for the specific grade, location and capability rating. For applicants in receipt of existing allowances, we will assess each case individually, but would seek not to exceed the MHCLG overall targeted remuneration rate for the specific grade, location and capability rating for existing civil servants, the usual policy on level transfer and promotion will apply
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