Network Transition Manager

Why this role exists

Our client is undertaking a strategic transition of its network services from a long-standing outsourced service provider to a newly appointed network services partner.

This transition is a critical component of the organization's wider digital and technology strategy and will establish a modern, secure, resilient, and high-performing network environment supporting business-critical services and operations.

The Network Transition Manager will be responsible for planning, coordinating, and governing the end-to-end transition of services, ensuring a seamless transfer of operational responsibility, knowledge, processes, and service delivery capabilities while minimizing disruption to critical business services.

What you will do

• Lead and coordinate the end-to-end transition of network services from the incumbent supplier to the new network services provider, ensuring continuity of critical services throughout the transition.
• Develop and manage detailed transition plans covering service migration, knowledge transfer, operational readiness, service acceptance, governance, and business change.
• Define, agree, and govern service acceptance criteria with client stakeholders, incumbent and incoming suppliers, service owners, and operational teams.
• Manage transition governance, ensuring contractual, operational, technical, and service management obligations are completed before handover and go-live.
• Coordinate knowledge transfer between suppliers and internal teams, ensuring appropriate documentation, processes, tooling, and skills are in place.
• Lead cutover planning, migration activities, rollback procedures, and early-life support arrangements.
• Coordinate activities across internal teams, suppliers, network providers, security teams, service management functions, and support organisations.
• Assess operational readiness across monitoring, tooling, support processes, documentation, training, service desk readiness, capacity, resilience, and escalation arrangements.
• Ensure transition activities comply with organisational governance, contractual obligations, change control, cyber security, and risk management requirements.
• Identify and manage transition risks, issues, dependencies, assumptions, and supplier interdependencies.
• Support incident, problem, and continual service improvement activities during transition and stabilisation.
• Ensure transitioned services achieve agreed service levels, operational KPIs, security standards, and applicable regulatory requirements.
• Promote best practice in service transition and supplier onboarding, helping establish repeatable transition frameworks and standards.
• Engage effectively with technical and non-technical stakeholders, maintaining clear communication and alignment throughout the transition lifecycle.

What we are looking for - Required

• Demonstrable experience leading complex supplier transitions, service transitions, outsourcing exits, or supplier onboarding programmes within large-scale operational environments.
• Proven experience transitioning network services between incumbent and incoming managed service providers .
• Strong understanding of enterprise networking technologies, including WAN, LAN, Wi-Fi, SD-WAN, cloud networking, network security, and data centre connectivity .
• Experience planning and managing service transition, operational readiness assessments, service acceptance, and supplier mobilization.
• Good understanding of ITIL practices , particularly Service Transition, Change Enablement, Incident Management, Problem Management, and Service Operations.
• Experience managing technical, operational, contractual, and business risks associated with supplier and service transitions.
• Proven ability to coordinate multiple suppliers, technical teams, service owners, and stakeholders across complex programmes.
• Strong communication, stakeholder management, negotiation, and organisational skills.
• Experience managing transition plans, governance, dependencies, risks, and reporting across multiple workstreams.

What would strengthen your application - Preferred

• Experience delivering complex technology or supplier transition programmes within healthcare, public sector, financial services, government, or another highly regulated environment .
• Experience transitioning managed network services between service providers, including supplier exit, mobilisation, onboarding, and service acceptance.
• Knowledge of cyber security, operational resilience, service continuity, and regulatory/compliance requirements within highly regulated environments.
• Experience working within multi-supplier, Service Integration and Management (SIAM), or complex managed-service environments .
• ITIL Foundation or higher , and/or relevant networking certifications such as Cisco, Juniper, Aruba, or equivalent .

Key outcomes

• Successful transition of network services from the incumbent supplier to the new provider with minimal disruption to critical business services.
• Effective transfer of knowledge, processes, operational responsibilities, and service management capabilities.
• Operational readiness achieved across support, monitoring, governance, security, and service management functions.
• Network services operating in accordance with agreed performance, availability, resilience, security, and compliance requirements.
• Risks, issues, dependencies, and supplier obligations effectively managed throughout the transition lifecycle.
• Strong collaboration between internal teams, incumbent and incoming suppliers, and key stakeholders, enabling seamless service adoption and operational stability.