Patch Manager, Edinburgh

Why this job matters

Our purpose is to use the power of communication to make a better world. For each other, for our customers, for society and our communities.
The purpose of this this role is to lead a field team responsible for the build, maintenance & transformation of our networks infrastructure. This includes BT’s most critical asset – its fixed and mobile networks – but also data centres, third party PoP sites and our radio rigging masts & towers estate. This infrastructure is consumed by all market-facing units to deliver end service to customers. 
Our Field engineering team provide a 24 x 7 x 365 service in maintaining our network, which consists of over 5500 exchanges, 3600 radio stations, 26 core EE sites and 10 strategic data centres across the UK. The team is made up of highly skilled, experienced engineers engaged in Power, Electronics and Radio/Rigging engineering activity across the UK, as well as a management team who lead and support those activities.

In your role as a patch manager, you’ll be leading a team of engineers to deliver the best service for our customers, whilst ensuring they have the tools, training and support they need to work as effectively as they can. Personal & career development is a huge part of our culture, and you’ll be responsible for getting the best out of each and every member of your team, empowering them to achieve their individual goals and ambitions. BT operates in a heavily regulated environment, where Health & Safety is our highest priority, which means a conscientious and vigilant approach is vital in this role. We’re also delivering an ambitious transformation plan, and a key part of the role will be both understanding and guiding your team through change, as well as bringing them along on the journey and getting them involved.
 

What you’ll be doing

• Responsible and accountable for the health, safety and wellbeing of your team – includes response to any out of hours duty of care escalations. 
• Accountable for the delivery of all engineering work across a given patch, balancing resources across maintenance/repair, installation and regulatory compliance commitments.  
• Accountable for the service performance of all exchanges, radio stations and data centres within your given patch (Measured by KPI/SLA success).  
• Single point of contact for multiple delivery programmes, supporting the delivery of network build activity on key programmes such as Fibre Cities, Optical/Ethernet services & 5g etc.
• Required to be available/contactable Out of Hours as first line escalation (or ensure appropriate cover is available by exception) in the event of service incidents.
• Performing the role of forward control point manager (assessing and directing actions necessary for service restoration) during major incidents.
• Responsible for your patch finances; an operating budget including total labour cost/overtime, consumables, travel/expenses, training, vehicles & more. 
• Accountable for the physical state of the operational equipment in the buildings within their area – Managing key stakeholders in this space to ensure any building fabric risks and issues are followed to conclusion.  
• Accountable as first point of contact for all escalations/complaints pertaining to exchange, radio or relevant data centre networks.
• Management of complex monthly delivery plans, engaging, motivating, and mobilising your team around the plan to prioritise and ensure customer commitments are met/key programmes delivered. 
• Supporting the field performance optimisation team, ensuring team members have the right tools, equipment and training to perform as effectively as possible.
• Support the delivery of change programmes through collaboration, communication and engagement between team members and transformation project teams.
• Supporting change deployment with team members, helping deliver and realise transformation projects.
• Responsible for all aspects of waste, fuel and emissions auditing (ISO14001) for all sites within your given patch.

Skills required for the job

• Inspiring and Engaging Leadership: Inspiring and engaging leadership capability which creates a culture of empowerment, inclusivity, ownership and pride in our estate and the work we do. 
• Stakeholder Management: Able to establish and maintain mutually beneficial internal and external stakeholder relationships, often across multiple organisations 
• Communication Skills: Communicates effectively by delivering key messages in a way which makes information impactful and relevant. Creates a positive, forward thinking working environment by encouraging a wide range of perspectives across all team members and colleagues.
• Problem Solving: Must be able to proactively solve business problems that deal with uncertainty & risk (e.g. succession/contingency planning, complex network outages, difficult logistical challenges) Some problems will be multi-platform wide, impacting multiple services or cross-portfolio solutions.
• High standard of working: Ability to demand high standards of work & ethical standards within both your team & wider business.
• Personify our values: Our values are all about being Personal, Simple, Brilliant. Bring these values to life in everything that you do.
• Business/ Financial acumen: Knowledgeable in business strategy and the drivers of organisational performance (e.g. business KPIs, SLAs, business cases). 

Useful additional experience to have

• Knowledge and understanding of network and/or power architecture and topology. 
• Working knowledge & understanding of Health & Safety, Environmental & Legal policies.
• A track record of leading a geographically spread and multi disciplined team. Experience of a 24x7x365 operation would be a bonus.
• Management & re-application of internal and external qualifications/technical competencies for team members
• Knowledge/experience of Transformation/Continuous Improvement within an operational environment.
• Working knowledge of ISO9001, ISO45001 and ISO14001 accreditation, as well as IOSH.
• Experience of both delivering, and adapting to, change within a fast paced ops environment.
   

Benefits

At BT, we entertain, educate, and empower millions of people every single day. We’re a brand built on connecting people – whether that’s friends, family, businesses, or communities. Working here, you’ll receive an attractive salary and a range of competitive benefits, but – more than that – you’ll be joining an ambitious organisation with a culture of togetherness, collaboration, and inclusivity, that takes a genuine and proactive interest in your progress and development.

• Competitive salary
• 10% on target bonus
• BT Pension scheme, minimum 5% Employee contribution, BT contribution 10%
• 25 days annual leave (not including bank holidays), increasing with service
• Huge range of flexible benefits including cycle to work, healthcare, season ticket loan
• World-class training and development opportunities
• Option to join BT Shares Saving schemes.
• Discounted broadband, mobile and TV packages
• Access to 100’s of retail discounts including the BT shop