Network Services Manager

Network Services Manager (Contract - Inside IR35)

Location: Cambridge (Full-time, Onsite)
Rate: £500 - £550 per day (Inside IR35)

We are seeking an experienced Network Services Manager to lead a specialist team responsible for delivering critical enterprise network services in a fast-paced, high-availability environment.

This is a hands-on leadership role, combining technical expertise with people management, vendor oversight and service ownership across core network platforms.

The Role

As Network Services Manager, you will lead a team delivering essential services including DNS, DHCP, load balancing and URL redirection. You will be responsible for capacity planning, operational stability, incident response and continuous improvement across a complex, multi-vendor network landscape.

You will act as the senior technical escalation point during major incidents, drive standards and automation initiatives, and manage key vendor relationships, licensing and support contracts.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and manage a team delivering core network services (DNS, DHCP, load balancing, URL redirects).

• Ensure effective capacity planning for both day-to-day operations and project demand.

• Manage and operate multi-vendor platforms including BlueCat, Windows and HAProxy.

• Ensure timely response to incidents and service requests in line with defined SLAs.

• Own service standards, documentation and continuous improvement initiatives.

• Drive efficiency and automation using Python, Ansible and APIs.

• Provide technical leadership during major incidents and act as the escalation point for complex issues.

• Manage vendor relationships, licensing, support contracts and service performance.

• Foster a high-performance, collaborative team culture across geographically distributed teams.

Tools & Technologies

You will work with a broad enterprise toolset, including:

• Infoblox

• BlueCat Address Manager & BDDS

• Windows DHCP/DNS

• Load Balancers (HAProxy, JetNexus)

• URL Redirect services

• AWS Route 53

• Cisco ISE

• Cisco Stealthwatch

Required Experience

• Extensive hands-on experience with DDI platforms, supporting enterprise DNS, DHCP and IPAM environments.

• Proven experience migrating DDI platforms (eg Legacy solutions to Infoblox or similar).

• Strong understanding of global DNS/DHCP design and large-scale, multi-region deployments.

• Demonstrated success delivering network automation that improves efficiency and reduces resolution times.

• Leadership experience managing geographically distributed teams.

• Excellent communication skills with the ability to mentor, influence and collaborate across teams.

• Experience running team cadences such as daily stand-ups and driving process improvements.

• Strong troubleshooting and problem-solving skills, including guiding teams through complex escalations.

• Ability to balance competing priorities while contributing to long-term scalability and sustainability.

• Proven vendor management experience, including performance evaluation and SLA governance