Director, Network Operations Center / Technical Operations

Full Time Job
Role Summary:

The Director, Network Operations Center/Tech Ops provides day-to-day management of the technical operations of the Public Ratio Satellite System (PRSS) distribution system and the Network Operations Center (NOC). This Director position is responsible for maintaining high availability on a live scalable distribution system.

Provides strategic input to improve system/s performance by overseeing performance and operational cut-over / implementing new processes and by defining operational requirements.

Responsible for setting department objectives, defining technical competencies, developing staff and implementing best business practices.

Essential duties include:
• Manage 24x7x365 technical operations of PRSS (Public Ratio Satellite System) and oversight of the Network Operations Center, ensuring a high availability public radio network. This is a position of extreme responsibility and high visibility. Standard business hours are not guaranteed.
• Manage high-stress, live broadcast impairment situations in real-time. Manages escalation protocol as required by the business. Ability to provide timely, precise and effectively communication to internal and external departments, vendors, customers and leadership. Ability to communicate well and inspire confidence at the executive level.
• Requires a commitment to NPR's public service mission and a willingness to respond to unscheduled emergencies outside normal office hours.
• Must be able/willing to manage scheduled maintenance events after normal business hours, typically averaging one event per month.
• Manage Help Desk and Tier 1 level technical support functions. NOC Manager and staff must provide initial incident triage and determine when to escalate to Tier 2 or 3 support.
• Maintains expertise in all technical aspects of NOC operations and systems including but not limited to satellite uplinks, RF transmission systems, file delivery and IP networks.
• Oversees operating policies, procedures and staff schedule. Provides feedback on results and provides recommendation.
• Ensures that procedures are correctly followed to meet the distribution system’s needs for highest technical quality and customer service.
• Defines operational goals and objectives. Provides personnel with performance reviews and ongoing feedback/coaching.
• Provides technical and personal development opportunities as required.
• Reviews performance metrics and defines new operating policies.
• Identifies and resolves problems that may impact Public Radio Satellite Systems (PRSS).
• Serves the best interest of stations and program distributors.
• A highly competent technical leader versed in emerging technologies and standards
• Responsible for meeting objectives with a minimal supervision.
• Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications:

Education

Bachelor’s degree or a combination of education and experience in Engineering, Networking or Electronics with an emphasis in Satellite, Broadcast and/or Network Operations.

Required Skills:

• Seven plus years of experience in a leadership role managing a highly technical environment in satellite, IP network and network and/or broadcast operations environments.
• Seven plus years’ experience in direct (tier-one) user support of advanced network applications and topologies.
• 10 years of experience with digital systems responsible for signal acquisition, encoding, compression, multiplexing and high power transmission systems.
• Exemplary level of professional maturity, emotional intelligence and personal judgment.
• Ability to establish and maintain trust relationships with numerous stakeholders.
• Experience working collaboratively with engineering teams, serving as liaison between NOC and other departments, providing requirements for high availability satellite and IP distribution network and related distribution technologies.
• Demonstrated hands-on systems operations / management experience in advanced, network-focused computer operations in a multi-vendor local area network environment.
• Highly experienced in the design and operation of real-time command and control applications
• Skilled in managing a union workforce or experience managing a large scale personnel environment.
• Highly collaborative technical management experience providing engineering with operational requirements relative to proactive detection and restoration tactics with a monitor and control systems and broadcast automation.
• Extensive experience managing master control operations and broadcast traffic systems and scheduling systems.
• Ability to provide detailed operational requirements with a strategic objective to provide redundancy, failover, monitoring and alarm thresholds.
• Excellent written and oral communications skills.
• Ability to successfully work across all levels of the organization, including interacting with senior management.
• Ability to drives consensus for a desired future state that meets the business problem and enterprise objectives.
• Ability to effectively handle multiple assignments. Display self-confidence, knowledge and be a quick study.
• A passion for providing unparalleled client service.

Please apply online through our career site at http://www.npr.org/about/careers/. You can also follow us on Twitter at @NPRjobs .Top of Form

NPR offers a competitive compensation and comprehensive benefits package including health and wellness benefits, retirement, and work/life balance programs, as well as opportunities for career growth and development. NPR is an Equal Opportunity Employer.