Network Operations Lead (Ref: 196883)

About the role

We are a global leader in food & beverage ingredients. Pioneers at heart, we operate at the forefront of consumer trends to provide food & beverage manufacturers with products and ingredients that will delight their consumers. Making a positive impact on people and planet is all part of the delight. With a deep-rooted presence in the countries where our ingredients are grown, we are closer to farmers, enabling better quality, and more reliable, traceable and transparent supply. Supplying products and ingredients at scale is just the start. We add value through our unique, complementary portfolio of natural, delicious and nutritious products. With our fresh thinking, we help our customers unleash the sensory and functional attributes of cocoa, coffee, dairy, nuts and spices so they can create naturally good food & beverage products that meet consumer expectations. And whoever we’re with, whatever we’re doing, we always make it real.

Key Responsibilities

• Providing guidance on infrastructure solutions, architecture, and support for business processes
• Managing daily operations of core infrastructure and platforms including, but not limited to, data and voice networks, firewalls, Zscaler etc.
• Working closely with the IT Security department to manage network vulnerabilities, software updates and patches
• Participating in and leading IT projects, and where applicable, ensuring these are delivered within scope, budget, and adhere to company governance processes
• Maintaining and developing standards, technical documentation for the network infrastructure and for complex technical solutions
• Working with managed service providers to provide day-to-day operational support and continuous improvement
• Working to increase user satisfaction by monitoring critical IT systems and ensuring timely response and fix times
• Providing leadership and acting as an escalation point for the regional IT infrastructure services
• Working with regional business and IT teams to understand business requirements, identify gaps, and help drive solution improvements
• Proactively researching new and more efficient technology and vendors in the pursuit of stability and reduction of expenses
• Working with IT Leadership in the budgeting process. Managing expenses and projects within approved budget guidelines
• Ensuring IT systems including servers, routers, firewalls, and switches, are patched in a timely manner
• Facilitating routine meetings to discuss strategic goals and progress; and
• Communicating between the IT teams and across departments to ensure success

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or Business Administration, or relevant educational or professional experience
• 10+ years of experience as a manager with 4 of those years in a large, diverse global enterprise with a proven track record of leadership in Information Technology
• Demonstrate strong proficiency in implementing and supporting IT networks and IT solutions in fast-paced food processing environments
• Experience working with cloud services like Azure, AWS etc. to implement network services and perform integrations
• Strong knowledge of TCP/IP and Ethernet networks (e.g. VLANs, VPN, VoIP, LAN/WAN), and network devices such as switches, routers, and wireless access points
• Experience with DNS, DHCP, Terminal Services, File Servers, Print Management, Group Policy and network routing protocols
• Experience with security technologies such as firewalls (Palo Alto, FortiGate etc.), intrusion detection and intrusion prevention systems
• Experience implementing and supporting SASE solutions like Zscaler ZIA, ZPA and NGFW
• Experience working with MPLS and SDWAN technologies, Site-to-Site and VPN technologies
• Knowledge and experience implementing/supporting IT/OT separation solutions
• Knowledge of virtualization technologies, such as VMware and Nutanix
• Experience providing IT solutions in the manufacturing industry is highly preferred
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including presentation skills, are required
• Excellent client-facing and internal communication skills are required
• Proven ability to be adaptable, capable, self-motivated, and confident is required
• Excellent resource planning and task scheduling skills are required
• Ability and desire to travel, as required by the business