Job Description


 At Airtel Africa, we act with passion, energy, and a can-do attitude. Innovation with an entrepreneurial spirit drive us. If you like “ordinary”, then we are not for you.
We champion diversity. We anticipate, adapt, and deliver solutions that enrich the lives of communities we serve. we roll up our sleeves to win with our customers.
By choosing Airtel, you choose to be part of a winning team. All this in addition to a brilliant opportunity to build a career in your field of expertise, across our different operating companies in Africa.
The ideal candidate will have hands-on experience with next-generation firewalls, switching, cloud-managed networking solutions, and advanced monitoring tools. He/She will ensure secure and reliable connectivity for enterprise services, VPNs, Internet access, and integration with other managed network domains (MPBN, ISP, Enterprise). The role requires strong hands-on expertise in configuration, troubleshooting, and solution design, working closely with both local and remote teams to guarantee availability, performance, and compliance of IT services.


Responsibilities

Network Availability & Performance


Ensure continuous availability of LAN/WAN, VPNs, and Internet edge connectivity.
Monitor network performance using SolarWinds, Cloud Vision, or equivalent enterprise tools.
Conduct proactive health checks and respond to alerts.
Participate in DR drills and validate network readiness.
Ensure resilience testing and overall IP Core/Office network assurance.
Ensure Proper backup & Recovery of all the components.
High availability validation of the setup:
Provide end-to-end support for operations and troubleshooting of network devices and services.
Drive continuous improvement initiatives in network design, automation, and security posture.


Deployment & Configuration


Install, configure, and manage routers, switches, firewalls, and other network devices.
Support integration of enterprise services, ISP uplinks, and interconnects with MPBN/other domains.
Ensure “first-time-right” implementation of new services and projects.
Apply best practices for high availability, scalability, and QoS prioritization.
Support new integrations in voice, data, and charging networks where required.


Incident & Problem Management


Collaborate with remote and local teams to troubleshoot incidents.
 Perform root cause analysis and implement corrective actions.
Escalate and engage vendors for resolution (firewalls, ISP, equipment suppliers).
Document incidents, resolutions, and lessons learned.
Manage operational issues on caches, NNI, and Internet edge infrastructure.


Change & Access Control


Implement changes following approved change management processes.
Compile and deliver weekly change requests with the operations team.
Ensure compliance with organizational change procedures.
Manage access control for all networking devices and update audit trails.
Keep configuration baselines updated and reviewed regularly.


Security & Compliance


Administer and manage Firewalls, including policy design, security rule management, and threat prevention.
Engage providers for resolution of issues relating to DDoS, IPDR, and anti-spam solutions.
Support vulnerability remediation from security scans.
Ensure adherence to company IT security standards and governance.


Solution Design & Continuous Improvement


Recommend improvements for network architecture, capacity, and resilience.
Evaluate new technologies and provide input into IT/Enterprise strategy.
Act as a linkage between planning and operations teams for QoS and service delivery.
Provide technical guidance to peers and junior staff.
Contribute to enterprise service support and customer-centric solutions.


Documentation & Reporting


Maintain accurate documentation of network architecture, changes, and implementations.
Run monthly checks on critical documents and update as required.
Produce reports on performance, availability, incidents, and audits.
Ensure readiness for internal/external audits through structured documentation.


Qualifications

Educational Qualifications  


Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, IT, or related discipline.
Networking certifications (CCNA/CCNP, JNCIA, or equivalent) desirable.
Palo Alto Networks Certified Network Security Engineer (PCNSE) desirable.
Arista Cloud Engineer (ACE) desirable.
Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP) or Cisco Meraki Certification desirable.


Relevant Experience & Technical Skills


10+ years of experience in enterprise networking.
Strong hands-on knowledge of enterprise routers, switches, firewalls, and VPNs.
Experience with DR drills, configuration audits, and ITIL-based operations.
Firewalls design, deployment, policies, and troubleshooting (Palo Alto Desirable).
Arista Switches (datacenter/enterprise switching (Arista desirable).
Cisco Meraki (SD-WAN, cloud-managed wireless and security appliances).
Proficiency in network monitoring tools like SolarWinds, Arista CloudVision etc..
Deep understanding of  TCP/IP, routing, switching, VPNs, NAT, and security protocols.
Experience in network design, capacity planning, and high-availability architecture.
Strong troubleshooting skills with ability to resolve complex L2-L7 issues.
Knowledge of automation/Scripting (Python/Ansible) would be an added advantage.


Other Requirements


Ability to work effectively with both remote and local teams.
Strong documentation, reporting, and organizational skills.
Solution-oriented mindset with resilience (“deep-feeted” ownership of responsibilities).
Customer-centric, proactive, and adaptable to business needs.
High integrity, strong communication skills, and ability to meet tight deadlines.