Senior Network Support Specialist
Job overview
Senior Network Support Specialist- Primary Location: Wexham Park Hospital
- Covering Frimley Health sites across Berkshire, Hampshire & Surrey
Frimley NHS Foundation Trust is seeking a skilled Senior Network Support Specialist to ensure the smooth operation, security, and integrity of our network infrastructure (LAN, WAN, and WLAN) across all Trust sites.
In this key role, you will provide friendly, professional, and efficient 3rd network support to colleagues across the Trust, ensuring a high standard of service and a seamless digital experience. Your expertise will help keep critical NHS systems running smoothly, directly impacting patient care and operational efficiency.
- Location: Wexham Park Hospital
If you are passionate about networking and want to make a difference in healthcare, we’d love to hear from you!
Main duties of the job
This role is essential in ensuring network security, reliability, and performance, directly impacting patient care and operational efficiency.
Key Responsibilities: ✅ Network Support & Security
Provide specialist third-line support for all network-related issues across the Trust.
Ensure robust security measures are consistently applied across switches, routers, firewalls, and wireless infrastructure.Implement patches and configuration updates to optimise network security and performance.
✅ Troubleshooting & Maintenance
Take a hands-on approach in diagnosing and resolving network issues across all FHFT locations and network cabinet environments.Participate in new network installations, from small-scale deployments to major infrastructure projects.
Configure and install network equipment, ensuring optimal performance and alignment with organisational needs.
✅ Performance Monitoring & Documentation
Actively monitor network performance, identifying and addressing issues to maintain a high-quality service.
Develop, document, and maintain network systems, policies, and procedures to support best practices.Stay up to date with emerging network technologies to continuously improve service delivery.
✅ IT Projects & Infrastructure Development
Assist in planning and implementing IT projects, including new system rollouts and network infrastructure upgrades.Work collaboratively to ensure seamless integration of new technologies across the Trust.
✅ Out-of-Hours Support & On-Call Duties
Be a key member of the IT on-call team, providing essential out-of-hours network support on a rota basis.Support colleagues on call when required and be available during major incidents or system upgrades.
Work flexibly to meet the changing needs of the Trust and its users.
This is an exciting opportunity to play a vital role in the Trust’s digital infrastructure, working in a dynamic and innovative environment that supports frontline NHS services.
- If you have the technical expertise and commitment to excellence, we’d love to hear from you!
Working for our organisation
Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust is committed to being an inclusive and disability confident employer and has been awarded the Gold for the Armed Forces Employment Recognition Scheme. We provide first class development opportunities for all staff and have a wide range of professional, management and leadership, and clinical skills training available.
Here at Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust, we know how important it is to have a healthy work life balance; this benefits not only individuals but the patients we care for too.
We encourage applications from people who wish to work on a flexible basis, recognising that flexibility may mean a range of different working patterns and hours, we do our utmost to work with our staff to meet their needs and the needs of our service and its users.
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Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Please refer to the Job Description and Person specification before applying for this post.
Both documents can be found at the bottom of this page.
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria- Degree level qualification and/or relevant experience
- Professional Networking Qualifications
- • Evidence of Continuing Professional development particularly with regards to remaining current with networking technology and best practice
- Extreme Networks certified for LAN technologies
- Aruba certified for WiFi technologies
- Check Point certified (i.e. CCSA or higher)
- ITIL Foundation
- CWNA or higher
Experience
Essential criteria- Relevant experience of network management within the NHS, public sector or large private sector organisations
- Experience in the day-to-day onsite operational support of data networks within large or multi-site environments
- Knowledge of Networking Fundamentals of architecture and design
- Knowledge of ISO 7 layer network model
- In depth knowledge of Cisco and Extreme Networks
- in depth knowledge of Checkpoint and Cisco ASA Firewalls
- Knowledge of remote access techniques including RAS and VPN
- Knowledge of proactive systems and applications monitoring techniques including Solarwinds
- Understanding of NHS Networking initiatives and programs, I.E. HSCN & COIN technologies and procedures
- LAN/WAN technologies
- In depth knowledge of Aruba WiFi
- Experience of installation and commissioning of complex data network systems
- Experience of developing and testing disaster recovery plans for IT networks
- Significant experience of configuring and deploying wireless networking services and systems
- Significant experience of configuring and deploying network switches and other related hardware
- Experience working in, installing and refreshing network cabinet locations with an in-depth appreciation of Ethernet and Fibre Optics
- Experience of working with and managing external contractors on the delivery of data-cabling infrastructure
- Experience working with and managing other 3rd party suppliers ensuring a high quality service is delivered
- Detailed knowledge and experience of network management services and systems
- Knowledge and experience of networking protocols with particular emphasis on TCP/IP, etc
- Extensive understanding of security issues relating to networks
- Knowledge of Mitel VoIP or similar
- Knowledge of emergency pager/bleep solutions
- Production and maintenance of accurate systems inventory, build documents, licence and patch management records
- Development of technical protocols and documentation
- Thorough understanding of WiFi troubleshooting and implementing current best practices
Skills
Essential criteria- Good communication skills - verbal and written, literate and numerate
- Excellent analytical and problem solving skills with ability to analyse, interpret and resolve issues relating to complex IT network issues
- Good understanding of key IT service requirements
- Customer and solution orientated
- Positive mental attitude
- Team player - good interpersonal skills and team working skills with tact, discretion and empathy
- Ability to work and collaborate with other IT teams to provide an effective service
- Able to make decisions based on professional experience and fact based analysis
- Able to gather and analyse IT / network / system requirements
- Able to work effectively with a wide range of specialists, at all levels, across internal and external organisational barriers
- Proven ability to understand and comply with detailed procedures
- Proven ability to work under pressure and manage deadlines and conflicting priorities
- Excellent planning and organisational skills
- Excellent keyboard skills
- Manual handing of network equipment
Special Requirements
Essential criteria- Independently mobile, must be able to travel between FHFT sites across Hampshire, Surrey and Berkshire as well as be able to transport networking equipment
- Will be required to be on-call and participate in on-call rota
- Expected to work out of hours (e.g. early mornings, evenings, nights, weekends) in order to upgrade/ make changes to network equipment
Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust (FHFT) has an outstanding reputation and a proud record of achievement. As a well performing, well led and ambitious Foundation Trust, we have exciting times ahead of us. We have an ongoing commitment to improving the health and care services for the 900,000 people we serve across Berkshire, Hampshire, Surrey and south Buckinghamshire.
We are proud of the ambitions laid out in our strategy, Our Future FHFT, including our vision to be a leader in health & wellbeing, delivering excellence for our communities.
We continue to invest in our services and facilities, including a £10 million upgrade to the hospital maternity unit as well as £49m major new Emergency Assessment Centre on our Wexham Park site. The opening of a brand new £100m state of the art hospital which replaced the existing hospital facility at Heatherwood and are planning to invest further in diagnostics and inpatient capacity at Frimley Park.
We have also made significant investment in our quality improvement and digital programmes to support our vision and we will ensure that we achieve our aim of providing the highest quality healthcare to our patients. Our new EPR – Epic – went live in June and we are already beginning to reap the benefits of this ambitious investment.
Our three core values, and the behaviours that support them, guide everything we do and set out what we expect of our staff in the way they treat patients, visitors, service users and each other, Committed to Excellence, Working Together and Facing the Future.