Job vacancy: Senior Network Engineer, South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust, Tolworth

Job summary

Main area: IT Network Admin
Grade: NHS AFC: Band 8a
Contract: Fixed term: 6 months (Until 31/03/2026)
Hours: Full time - 37.5 hours per week
Job ref: 294-COMM-7513787-JB

Employer: South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust
Employer type: NHS
Site: Tolworth Hospital
Town: Tolworth
Salary: £61,631 - £68,623 per annum inclusive outer London HCAS
Salary period: Yearly
Closing: 12/10/2025 23:59

Senior Network Engineer

NHS AFC: Band 8a

South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust has a rich history, well-established community links and an international reputation. We provide a full range of local mental health services to the Kingston, Merton, Richmond, Sutton and Wandsworth London boroughs, as well as specialist forensic mental health services, including specialised services such as national deaf adults and CAMHS inpatients and OCD.

We are committed to providing high quality integrated health and social care for local people with mental health problems in South West London and more specialist mental health services for people throughout the UK. The Care Quality Commission already rates our services as ‘good’ however we aim to be ‘outstanding’.

Our Values

We take pride in providing specialist care to our service users where our Trust values; being consistent, compassionate, collaborative, respectful and open is at the heart of everything we do. Our mission is "making life better together".

When you join us, you’ll be part of something special – an innovative and rapidly growing organisation that is helping to redefine the Mental Health, education and social care landscape in the UK.

As a Trust, we are happy to talk flexible working.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The Senior Network Engineer will deliver and maintain network and unified communication services in accordance with SLAs, ensuring optimal performance and availability. Key responsibilities include:

• Installing, operating, and maintaining corporate network and unified communications hardware and software, including configuration, documentation, and control.

• Implementing and managing network monitoring, performance reporting, and efficiencies in the Trust’s network infrastructure.

• Maintaining up-to-date documentation on internal processes and network drawings.

• Investigating and resolving network issues by providing advice, devising workarounds, correcting faults, or making modifications, ensuring compliance with set standards.

• Collaborating with suppliers to implement services that meet required service levels.

• Analysing incidents and problems to identify trends, support proactive problem management, and prevent recurrence.

• Contributing to key projects and infrastructure performance reviews, providing technical expertise for operational procedures.

• Creating and maintaining network availability plans to ensure an optimal cost/performance balance.

Person specification

Training & Qualifications

Essential criteria

Educated to degree level in a computing/engineering/technical discipline, or an equivalent level of knowledge and expertise to include one of the following qualifications
Cisco certified network professional (CCNP)
ITIL Foundation certification
PRINCE2 foundation qualification in project management

Desirable criteria

CCIE
CompTIA S+ or CompTIA N+
CISSP Certified Information Systems Security Professional

Experience

Essential criteria

Demonstrable experience of working in a large organisation using Cisco technologies at a senior level to include the management of staff
Experience of service development/service review and leading on successful implementation of change
Experience of successfully managing integration and formation ICT systems
Experience of policy review, implementation and writing procedures
Experience of planning and installing networks LAN/WAN
Experience of supporting/leading on IT related project tasks

Desirable criteria

Experience of wiring UTP and making RJ45 terminations
Experience of monitoring software e.g. Cisco works and Solar winds
Experience of working in the NHS

Knowledge & Skills

Essential criteria

Acquiring a proper understanding of a problem or situation by breaking it down systematically into its component parts and identifying the relationships between these parts. Selecting the appropriate method/tool to resolve the problem and reflecting critically on the result, so that what is learnt is identified and assimilated.
Understanding the needs of the internal or external customer and keeping these in mind when taking actions or making decisions.
Dealing effectively with unexpected situations in a timely manner, taking advantage of opportunities and overcoming problems.
Identifying gaps in the available information required to understand a problem or situation and devising a means of resolving them.
Understanding the hierarchy and culture of own, customer, supplier and partner organisations and being able to identify the decision makers and influencers.

At South West London St Georges Mental Health Trust we are committed to providing services which embrace diversity and that promote equality of opportunity. We are a Disability Committed Employer, and welcome applications from all sections of the community and people of all protected characteristics. We are Members of Stonewall Diversity Champions and Employers Network for Equality and Inclusion.

As part of the Trust's commitment to Equalities and Diversity, the Trust supports the establishment of Staff Networks groups to promote diversity in the workplace:

BME (Evolve) Staff Network
Christian Staff Network
DiverseAbility
Deaf Staff Network
Mental Health Staff Forum
Women's Staff Network
LGBTQIA+

We are committed to supporting the Armed Forces Community and has signed the Armed Forces Covenant.

We provide reasonable adjustments to the interview process for any candidates with a disability.

Please note:

That the closing date listed is a guide only and that the vacancy may close earlier should sufficient number of applicants have been received
That once you have submitted your application you agree to your application being transferred to a 3^rd party e-recruitment system
That should you not have heard from us within three weeks from the closing date your application has not successful
That priority consideration for applications may be given to at-risk NHS employees
That should you be successful and appointed, you authorise South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust to confirm your previous NHS service via an Inter Authority Transfer (IAT) process
That your employment is offered subject to successful completion of a Probationary Period depending on your Band (except medical roles)
That we are a smoke-free Trust