Manager, Network Services

The Network Support Team Manager - Europe is responsible for leading, developing, and managing the regional Network Support function, ensuring the stability, performance, and security of Americold’s European network infrastructure.Building on senior network engineering expertise, this role provides technical leadership, operational governance, and strategic direction for the region’s network services.The manager will oversee support activities, mentor engineers, drive continuous improvement, and support the advancement of network strategy aligned with organizational goals.This position requires strong hands?on senior engineering capability (aligned with the Senior Network Engineer JD), combined with team leadership, operational excellence, and strategic planning.Main ResponsibilitiesLead, manage, and develop the Network Support team, ensuring high-quality support delivery and continuous skills development.Provide technical guidance and act as the final escalation point for complex network issues.Conduct regular 1:1s, performance reviews, and development planning for team members.Manage team scheduling, on?call rotation, workload distribution, and resource planning.Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.Operational ManagementOversee daily network support operations across all European sites, ensuring SLA and KPI compliance.Own the network incident, problem, and change management processes for the region.Ensure timely resolution of all network?related service requests and escalations.Drive operational standardization, long?term supportability, and best practices across the function.Maintain comprehensive documentation, runbooks, and operational procedures.Ensure all production network changes follow approved IT change control processes.Stakeholder & Cross?Functional EngagementAct as the primary point of contact for network?related escalations and communication within the region.Partner with Infrastructure, Security, Operations, and Site Leadership teams to deliver stable and secure services.Represent the Network Support function in IT governance, customer review, and leadership meetings.Support Infosec with incident response and vulnerability remediation.Technical ResponsibilitiesBuilding on Senior Network Engineer responsibilities:Provide expert?level support for enterprise network technologies including Palo Alto and Cisco firewalls and SD?WAN, Cisco enterprise switching and wireless, VPN technologies (S2S and RA), OSPF, BGP, EIGRP, and L2 technologies.Network OperationsOversee proactive monitoring, capacity planning, and optimisation of the network environment.Ensure HA, redundancy, and DR architectures are maintained, validated, and continuously improved.Review and approve network designs, engineering work, and configuration changes.Manage SPOF identification and remediation strategies.Collaborate with InfoSec to ensure alignment with security standards and compliance requirements.Strategic Planning & ExecutionDevelop and maintain the European network strategy, ensuring alignment with global architecture and business objectives.Shape multi?year roadmaps covering lifecycle management, technology evolution, and operational maturity.Identify emerging technologies and assess their relevance, value, and adoption readiness.Provide strategic input into budgeting, forecasting, and resource planning.Lead strategic initiatives such as WAN transformation, SD?WAN adoption, authentication modernization, cloud connectivity, and network security enhancements.Influence long?term design principles and architectural standards across the region.Project Delivery & GovernanceAct as the delivery owner for network?related projects in Europe, ensuring on?time and high?quality execution.Oversee project planning, risk management, technical validation, and stakeholder communication.Coordinate multi?site deployments, upgrades, and expansion initiatives.Ensure project outcomes align with defined architecture standards and support models.Travel regularly (approx. 20%) to company sites across Europe for deployments, troubleshooting, and project delivery.Qualifications & ExperienceBachelor’s degree in Computer Science or equivalent experience.5+ years of hands?on senior network engineering experience (aligned with Senior Network Engineer JD).2+ years leading technical teams, managing workloads, and providing coaching/mentorship.Strong expertise in network security technologies including Cisco ISE, Palo Alto, Firepower, VPN, and firewall policy management.Excellent understanding of enterprise routing, switching, wireless, and authentication technologies.Proven experience managing network operations in a distributed, multi?site environment.Experience contributing to or owning network strategy, technology roadmaps, or architectural standards.CCNP (Security or Enterprise) or equivalent knowledge preferred.ITIL certification highly desirable.Experience with ServiceNow beneficial.Strong analytical, organisational, and communication skills.Ability to work independently and operate effectively under pressure.#J-*****-Ljbffr

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or equivalent experience. 5+ years of hands?on senior network engineering experience (aligned with Senior Network Engineer JD). 2+ years leading technical teams, managing workloads, and providing coaching/mentorship. Strong expertise in network security technologies including Cisco ISE, Palo Alto, Firepower, VPN, and firewall policy management. Excellent understanding of enterprise routing, switching, wireless, and authentication technologies. Proven experience managing network operations in a distributed, multi?site environment. Experience contributing to or owning network strategy, technology roadmaps, or architectural standards. CCNP (Security or Enterprise) or equivalent knowledge preferred. ITIL certification highly desirable. Experience with ServiceNow beneficial. Strong analytical, organisational, and communication skills. Ability to work independently and operate effectively under pressure. #J-*****-Ljbffr