SR. NETWORK OPERATIONS SPECIALIST

Strategic Staffing Solutions; Denver (CO); Hybrid; USD 83,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Strategic Staffing Solutions seeks an experienced IT Service Operations Lead to support a 24x7 network operations environment. The role focuses on change management, risk management, and incident management to maintain network availability and stability.

The candidate will partner with engineering, project teams, contractors, and business stakeholders, making risk-based decisions and leading remediation efforts during outages. Hybrid onsite/remote work with fixed shifts.

Qualifications

• 5–10 years of professional experience in network/IT operations.
• ITIL certification required.
• Experience in a 24x7 operational environment.
• Ability to review change requests and assess risks.

Responsibilities

• Lead change management, risk management and incident management activities.
• Coordinate CAB/Technical CAB meetings and approvals.
• Serve as primary incident, change and risk contact for stakeholders.
• Lead remediation efforts to reduce outages and improve processes.
• Manage 24x7 operations with fixed shifts and on-site days.

Skills

Change Management

Network Operations

IT Operations

Service Operations

Strong communication

Public speaking

Decision making

Risk assessment

Stakeholder management

Education

ITIL certification

Tools

ServiceNow

Job description

IT SERVICE OPERATIONS LEAD- Network Operations OR IT SOLUTIONS ANALYST

Location: Open to Energy locations/cities( Denver CO, Minneapolis , MN

Schedule: 24x7 Operations – Fixed Assigned Shifts

Experience: 5–10 years

Employment Type: W2 Contract

Work Auth: USC/GC holders only

Duration- 12 Months

Pay: $60-$65/Hr.

Job Summary

We are seeking an experienced to support a 24x7 network operations environment. This role is responsible for maintaining network availability and stability by leading change management, risk management, and incident management activities.

The Service Availability Lead will serve as a key operational partner to technical teams, engineering, project teams, contractors, and business stakeholders. The position requires a strong understanding of network operations, the ability to assess technical and operational risk, and the confidence to make sound, risk-based decisions.

The role will primarily focus on Change Management and Risk Management (approximately 70%), with Incident Management (approximately 30%).

The ideal candidate is a confident communicator, quick thinker, and decisive problem solver who can remain effective under pressure, lead remediation efforts, and quickly pivot between competing operational priorities.

Key Responsibilities

Change Management

• Review change requests submitted through ServiceNow.
• Validate implementation plans, testing plans, risk assessments, and rollback procedures.
• Ensure change requests contain sufficient technical and operational information before approval.
• Identify gaps, risks, dependencies, and potential impacts to network availability.
• Return incomplete or inaccurate change requests for correction.
• Facilitate Change Advisory Board (CAB) and Technical CAB meetings.
• Review and communicate change tickets during technical calls.
• Coordinate required approvals and ensure compliance with established change management processes.
• Support emergency change requests and operational escalations.
• Understand the technical and business rationale behind each change before providing approval or risk recommendations.
• Evaluate proposed changes and operational activities for technical, business, and service availability risks.
• Identify potential conditions that could negatively impact network stability or availability.
• Recommend appropriate risk mitigation strategies.]]>
• Partner with engineering, network operations, project teams, and contractors to reduce operational risk.
• Lead or support remediation efforts when risks are identified.
• Help identify opportunities to reduce self-inflicted outages and improve operational processes.
• Make informed, risk-based recommendations and confidently communicate the rationale behind decisions.
• Lead response activities for critical incidents and service outages.
• Coordinate technical teams during incident investigation, troubleshooting, and service restoration.
• Facilitate incident bridge calls and technical discussions.
• Communicate service-impact information and expected restoration timelines to appropriate stakeholders.
• Escalate issues appropriately based on severity, risk, and business impact.
• Support remediation efforts following significant incidents.
• Help ensure the network remains stable and available during service-impacting events.

Service Availability & Network Operations

• Proactively identify and mitigate risks that could result in network outages.
• Monitor and support overall service availability and network stability.
• Participate in technical operational calls and availability discussions.
• Quickly pivot between different operational teams and priorities as incidents, changes, and risks arise.
• Work closely with contractors responsible for implementing and executing technical changes.
• Coordinate through team collaboration channels with technical and operational stakeholders.
• Support a continuous improvement culture focused on network reliability and operational excellence.

Stakeholder Management

• Serve as a primary operational contact for incident, change, and risk-related questions.
• Partner with network engineers, operations teams, project managers, managers, contractors, and other technical stakeholders.
• Facilitate discussions with diverse stakeholder groups and drive issues toward resolution.
• Communicate clearly and confidently during high-pressure situations.
• Provide guidance on change, incident, and risk management processes.
• Interact with vendors and external stakeholders when operationally required.
• Build and maintain effective working relationships across multiple business units.

Day-to-Day Activities

• Review and evaluate change tickets submitted through ServiceNow.
• Participate in Technical CAP/CAB calls to discuss upcoming changes and associated risks.
• Answer technical and operational questions throughout the day.
• Provide approvals or risk-based recommendations for changes and incident-related activities.
• Coordinate with contractors responsible for implementing approved changes.
• Communicate with multiple technical teams through collaboration channels.
• Respond to incidents and operational escalations as needed.
• Assess risks and determine appropriate mitigation or escalation.
• Pivot between departments and operational priorities within a 24x7 operations environment.
• Lead or participate in remediation efforts following service-impacting events.

Required Qualifications

• 5–10 years of professional experience in one or more of the following areas:
• Change Management
• Network Operations
• IT Operations
• Service Operations
• ITIL certification required.
• Strong understanding of network operations and service availability.
• Experience working in a 24x7 operational environment.
• Demonstrated experience evaluating technical and operational risk.
• Ability to review technical change requests and identify gaps in:
• Implementation plans
• Testing plans
• Rollback procedures
• Strong understanding of change management processes.
• Ability to lead or facilitate operational meetings and technical discussions.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Confident public speaker who can communicate effectively with technical and business stakeholders.
• Strong organizational and multitasking skills.
• Ability to work independently with limited supervision.
• Ability to make informed decisions under pressure.
• Ability to quickly learn new processes and adapt to changing operational requirements.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with ServiceNow.
• Experience supporting network operations or enterprise network environments.
• Experience in telecommunications, infrastructure, utilities, or other large-scale operational environments.
• Experience supporting major incidents and service outages.
• Experience communicating with senior or executive leadership during major incidents.
• Experience leading remediation and operational improvement efforts.
• Change Management
• Network Operations
• Service Availability
• ITIL
• ServiceNow
• Technical Risk Assessment
• Stakeholder Management
• Operational Decision-Making
• Meeting Facilitation
• Problem Solving
• Technical Communication
• Multitasking

Candidate Profile

The successful candidate will be:

• Confident and articulate when communicating with technical stakeholders.
• A quick thinker who can assess situations and make sound decisions.
• Comfortable challenging incomplete or high-risk change requests.
• Able to clearly explain why a change should or should not be approved.
• Comfortable acknowledging mistakes and learning from them.
• Driven to maintain network availability and prevent service disruptions.
• Effective at leading remediation efforts and coordinating multiple teams.
• Flexible enough to move quickly between incident, change, and risk management priorities.
• Comfortable working under pressure in a 24x7 operations environment.
• Hybrid work environment.
• Three days onsite per week, Tuesday through Thursday.
• Remaining workdays may be performed remotely, based on operational requirements.
• Position supports a 24x7 operations environment with fixed assigned shifts.
• Candidates must be flexible to support day or night shift requirements.
• Weekly team meetings are conducted in person.
• Training is conducted approximately once per quarter and requires in-person attendance.
• Primarily office- and computer-based work.