About the position
The Level 3 NOC Manager leads the highest tier of technical escalation within the Network Operations Centre, managing a team of subject matter experts (SMEs) spanning Microwave, Mobile Radio (RAN), IP & Transmission, and OSS Systems disciplines.
The role is accountable for resolving the network’s most complex, cross-domain, and service-impacting faults that cannot be resolved at Level 1 or Level 2, and for driving root cause analysis, permanent fixes, and continuous technical improvement across the network.
Key responsibilities
Escalation management and technical leadership:
- Own and manage all Level 3 technical escalations referred from NOC Level 1 and Level 2 teams.
- Lead complex, cross-domain fault diagnosis spanning Microwave, Mobile Radio, IP/Transmission, and OSS systems.
- Coordinate multi-disciplinary SME response for major incidents and service-impacting faults.
- Ensure timely restoration of service for escalated incidents in line with SLA/OLA targets.
Team and subject matter expert (SME) management:
- Manage and develop a team of SMEs: Microwave Engineers, Mobile Radio Engineers, IP & Transmission Experts, and OSS Systems Experts.
- Allocate SME resources across concurrent escalations based on priority, complexity, and domain expertise.
- Build and maintain deep technical capability within the team through coaching, knowledge-sharing, and structured skills development.
- Define and maintain on-call and escalation rosters to ensure 24/7 Level 3 support coverage.
Root Cause Analysis and problem management:
- Drive root cause analysis (RCA) for recurring, complex, or major incidents.
- Own the problem management process for Level 3 issues, ensuring that permanent fixes, and not only workarounds, are implemented.
- Produce and present RCA and post-incident reports to stakeholders, including Operations, the Managed Services Head, and customers where required.
Technical governance and continuous improvement:
- Maintain and evolve technical escalation procedures, runbooks, and knowledge base articles for Level 3 scenarios.
- Identify network-wide technical risks and trends from escalation data, feeding into network optimisation and NPO initiatives.
- Partner with Solutions Architects, NPO, and Engineering teams on complex design orconfiguration issues surfaced through escalations.
- Support the introduction of new technology, vendors, or network elements by ensuring Level 3 readiness through training, documentation, and tooling.
Stakeholder and cross-functional engagement:
- Act as the senior technical point of contact on major incident bridges and critical customer escalations.
- Engage vendors and OEMs for advanced technical support, RMAs, and escalation of product defects.
- Collaborate with the NOC Level 2 Manager, Field Services, SOC, and other Managed Services functions to ensure end-to-end incident resolution.
- Report on Level 3 escalation trends, SLA performance, and recurring technical issues to the Managed Services Head.
Key relationships:
- NOC Level 1 / Level 2 teams: escalation hand-off and resolution feedback loop.
- SME team (Microwave, Mobile Radio, IP/Transmission, OSS): direct line management and technical resource allocation.
- Field Services: coordinated dispatch and on-site resolution support for escalated faults.
- SOC: joint response where incidents have a security dimension.
- Vendors / OEMs: advanced technical support, RMAs, and defect escalation.
- Solutions Architects / NPO: resolution of complex design or configuration issues; network optimisation input.
- Managed Services Head: direct line manager; escalation trend and SLA reporting.
- Customers: senior technical point of contact on major incidents, where required.
Key performance indicators:
- Restoration of service for Level 3 escalations within SLA/OLA targets.
- Reduction in repeat and recurring incidents through permanent fixes.
- Timely completion and quality of RCA and post-incident reports.
- Effective coordination of major incidents and cross-domain faults.
- Continuous 24/7 Level 3 support coverage through effective rostering.
- Up-to-date escalation procedures, runbooks, and knowledge base articles.
- Timely resolution of vendor/OEM escalations, RMAs, and product defects.
- SME team capability development, retention, and performance.
- Accurate and regular reporting on escalation trends and SLA performance.
Minimum requirements:
- Bachelor’s degree or equivalent NQF-aligned qualification in Engineering, Telecommunications, or Information Technology; or equivalent demonstrated technical experience in lieu of a formal qualification.
- At least 5 years of relevant experience in telecommunications network operations, including people leadership of senior technical teams.
- Extensive technical experience with demonstrated expertise in one or more of: Microwave transmission, Mobile Radio (RAN) engineering, IP & Transmission networks, or OSS systems.
- Proven experience managing complex, cross-domain fault escalations and major incidents in a live telecommunications network environment.
- Experience leading major incident management processes and post-incident RCA reporting.
- People management experience, with the ability to lead and develop a multi-disciplinary team of senior technical specialists.
- Vendor-specific certifications (e.g. Huawei, Ericsson, Nokia, Cisco, Juniper) would be advantageous.
- ITIL Foundation or an equivalent service management certification would be advantageous.
Core competencies:
Technical and functional:
- Strong working knowledge across RAN, Core, Transmission (Microwave/Fibre), IP networking, and OSS/NMS platforms.
- Advanced cross-domain fault diagnosis and troubleshooting skills.
- Sound understanding of ITIL-aligned incident, problem, and change management.
- Ability to manage vendors, OEMs, RMAs, and defect escalations.
- Ability to analyse escalation data and produce clear technical reports.
Behavioural and interpersonal:
- Leadership, coaching, and team development abilities.
- Strong analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making skills.
- Ability to remain calm and perform under pressure during major incidents.
- Excellent communication skills, able to explain complex technical issues to non-technical and executive stakeholders.
- High levels of integrity, accountability, and professionalism.
Desired Skills:
- NOC Manager
- Level 3
- RAN
- Core
- Transmission (Microwave/Fibre
- IP networking
- OSS/NMS platforms
