Network Architect

Employer heading

Network Architect

Band 7

Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is one of the busiest and largest NHS foundation trusts in the country, with around 15,000 staff and an annual budget of £1.6 billion.

We have a long history of providing high quality care, clinical excellence, and innovation in medical research regionally, nationally and internationally.

We’re in the top five providers of specialised health services in the country, supporting people with a range of rare and complex medical, surgical and neurological conditions, cancers and genetic orders.

Our staff oversee around 6,500 patient contacts each day, delivering high standards of healthcare.

We are committed to promoting equality and diversity and recognise the benefit in providing an inclusive environment. We value and respect the diversity of our employees and aim to recruit a workforce which reflects the communities we serve, and is equipped to deliver the best service to our patients. We welcome all applications irrespective of people’s race, disability, sex, sexual orientation, religion or belief, age, gender identity, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity and in particular those from under- represented groups.

Newcastle Hospitals are proud to be one of the exemplar organisations across the NHS on sustainability, with a long history of delivering Sustainable Healthcare in Newcastle (Shine) and the first healthcare organisation in the world to declare a climate emergency. Our strategy includes commitments to being Net Zero by 2030, for our direct carbon footprint, and Net Zero by 2040 for our footprint plus. Delivering these ambitions will not be possible without the help, support and action of every single member of our team.

Job Overview

PREVIOUS APPLICANTS NEED NOT APPLY

An Exciting New Post Has Arisen In The Network And Telecoms Team For a Network Architect With Specialist Knowledge Across a Range Of Complex Systems, Techniques And Procedures Underpinned By Theory. The Post Holder Will Support The Network Manager & Senior Infrastructure Architect And

• Manage the evaluation and documentation of Trust business needs/processes both operational and financial, including current process analysis and proposed revisions.
• Manage the design and documentation of network infrastructure functional requirements in proscribed formats.
• Lead Trust staff, partners, and vendor/supplier staff in the deployment of production network infrastructure.
• Provide on-going troubleshooting, support and maintenance of production applications. Includes 24/7 on call coverage.
• Interview Date Friday 28 November 2025
• 37 Hours 30 Minutes/Week
• You will be redirected to Trac to apply for the vacancy. Please expand the job details section and read all of the information before applying for the vacancy
  
  

Main duties of the job

• Work closely with the Network Manager to deliver a reliable network infrastructure platform supporting Trust IT systems and ensure the Trust network infrastructure has sufficient capacity to cope with current and future demands increasing with need when required.
• To ensure the resilience and availability of underpinning network infrastructure meet the needs of the services depending upon it.
• To allow the risks, impact of changes and outages to be accurately assessed by providing documentation showing the relationship between services and their underpinning architecture.
• Work closely with the Head of IT Service Delivery to ensure all network and wider infrastructure projects are fit for the operational environment.
• To define the network infrastructure strategy and ensure this is aligned with Directorate and Trust strategies.
• Work closely with the Network Manager to identify and investigate vendors and technologies that can be trialed and taken to subsequent implementations.
  
  

Working for our organisation

As a flexible working friendly organisation, we want to be sure that you can work in a way that is best for us and for our patients, and for you. Speak to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement. If it works for the service, we will do our best to make it work for you.

Our staff oversee over 6,500 patient contacts every day, delivering high standards of healthcare from the following sites:

• Freeman Hospital
• Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI)
• Health Innovation Neighbourhood (on the former Newcastle General Hospital and Centre for Ageing and Vitality site)
• Newcastle Dental Hospital
• Newcastle Fertility Centre
• Northern Centre for Cancer Care, North Cumbria
• Northern Genetics Service
• Cramlington Manor Walks
  
  

These include a range of flagship services which deliver cutting-edge care (supported by state-of-the-art diagnostic services in both radiology and pathology) and are a catalyst for innovation to support pioneering clinical practice in the NHS.

We also have offices at Regent Point in Gosforth and community sites.

Please see attached information on what Staff Benefits we have to offer at our Trust under ‘Documents to download’ or ‘Supporting documents’.

For further information on The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust please visit: Careers | Newcastle Hospitals | NHS | Newcastle Hospitals and Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Detailed Job Description And Main Responsibilities

The post holder will be required to act as a Network Architect and have the following responsibilities.

Infrastructure Design

• Provides strategic leadership related to specific projects, and associated infrastructure.
• Pioneers, owns, leads and provides technical expertise for multiple infrastructure technologies that impact software, data, networking/communications and computing platform technologies.
  
  

Systems Analysis

• Provides strategic leadership in implementing technical solutions to business problems.
• Designs and evaluates how future technology solutions affect current and future business strategies and processes.
  
  

Implementing Packaged Solutions

• Provides strategic leadership related to specific infrastructure and infrastructure integration.
• Provides strategic leadership in implementing technical solutions to business problems/needs.
  
  

Project Management Skills

• Define project scope, objectives, and client requirements.
• Create project schedule, cost/financial plan, risk mitigation plan, communications plan, quality plan, change control plan, and resource plan to meet project goals within the project scope, timeline, and budget.
• Create a participative, collaborative work environment.
• Mentor and coaches to develop project team members.
• Balance development of personnel needs with requirements of engagement.
• Identify and communicate follow-on opportunities and implications of current work.
  
  

Person specification

Qualifications & Education

Essential criteria

• Possess a higher Degree/Masters in an IT related subject OR has acquired skills and knowledge via an extensive portfolio of practical experience and IT related training
  
  

Desirable criteria

• Hold Cisco certifications
• Hold a project management qualification
• Experience of writing business cases
• Experience of cloud technologies including Microsoft Azure technologies
  
  

Knowledge & Experience

Essential criteria

• Possess highly developed specialist knowledge in the following areas
• Enterprise network design and implementation
• Practical experience of securing & managing network through centrally managed services; DNA Spaces and Centre, Prime, ISE
• Next Generation Firewalls and internet/remote access technologies
• Network device security & threat hardening
• SDA & SDWan/DNS/DHCP
• Able to improve system design and/or performance
• Be skilled in conflict management and effectively managing the most challenging relationships among partner organisations, vendors/suppliers and other team members
• Mentor peers to acquire the finer points of professional practice
  
  

Desirable criteria

• Knowledge of the full product development lifecycle
• Experience of working in an NHS environment
  
  

Skills & Abilities

Essential criteria

• Have the ability to converse fluently, logically, and confidently with a wide range of levels of staff
• Have analytical skills including the ability to handle numerical data and statistics
• Have experience in project management techniques
• Have effective organisational and coordination skills, combined with ability to work to deadlines under pressure
• Have experience of realising business benefits derived from project deliverables
  
  

Important note on completion of reference section of Application Form

All references from current and previous employers will be sought and must cover a minimum of 3 years employment. Therefore, when completing the reference section of your application form, please give the address, telephone number and work email address of each of your current/previous line managers that cover 3 years employment. Failure to complete this section may result in your application not being processed.

Please note it is a requirement of The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust that all successful candidates who require a DBS for the post they have been offered pay for their DBS certificate. The method of payment is a salary deduction from your first month’s pay.

Candidates who are shortlisted for interview will be contacted by e-mail. You should check your SPAM folders as well as your inbox. If you have not been contacted within 4 weeks of the closing date you should assume your application has been unsuccessful.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

Documents to download

• JD & PS (PDF, 158.4KB)
• Newcastle Staff Benefits (PDF, 274.4KB)
• Behaviour and Civility Charter (PDF, 93.8KB)
  
  

Apply online now

Further details / informal visits contact

Name Andrew Livingstone Job title Network Manager Email address Andrew.livingstone@nhs.net Telephone number 0191 2448777