Senior Manager - Fixed Network Planning and IP Core Architecture

The Senior Manager: Fixed Network Planning and IP Core Architecture serves as MTN Group’s principal technical authority for Transport, Transmission and IP Architecture. It provides specialist architecture, planning and engineering expertise across fibre, optical transmission, IP/MPLS, international and submarine capacity, satellite connectivity, peering, transit and content interconnection, under the strategic direction and accountability of the General Manager: Transport and OSS Tools.

This is a specialised Group Technology role requiring deep domain expertise in fixed, fibre, transmission, transport and IP core network planning, design, architecture and technology evolution. The role requires that all outputs are explicitly anchored in the Transport domain with key focus on network resilience or broad network planning deliverables.

The role is the MTN Group subject-matter authority for Transport, Transmission and IP Architecture, providing authoritative technical analysis, architecture recommendations, standards and decision support.

Measures of success include high-quality technical recommendations, architecture frameworks, planning inputs, regulatory and compliance assessments, design principles and tools that support approved Group priorities for cost effectiveness, network efficiency, service resilience and technology evolution.

This position is designed for a Transport and Transmission professional with deep technical mastery across fixed network planning, fibre and transmission systems, metro and backbone transport, IP/MPLS core architecture, satellite transmission, network resilience and technology evolution. The role requires strong technical authority, sound judgement and the ability to influence Group-wide architecture outcomes, supporting the GM Transport and OSS Tools.

The incumbent will develop technical standards, reference architectures, planning inputs and technology evolution recommendations; support OpCo investment and architecture assessments; strengthen network resilience; and define Transport architecture requirements for software-defined, automation-ready and AI-enabled networks. Final strategy, roadmap, investment, vendor and AI direction is approved by the General Manager and the relevant Group governance structures. The role translates deep engineering expertise into measurable customer, operational and financial outcomes under MTN Ambition 2030.

Context

MTN is entering a new phase in its lifecycle where operational and commercial excellence has become critical for success. The urgency for change has become more heightened amidst increased competitive intensity across all markets in which MTN operates. The Group’s Technology function must therefore ensure the successful delivery in context of:

• Rapidly changing ICT environment
• The geographic complexity of MTN’s foot print across Africa and the Middle East
• Management of executive and local shareholder expectations across all 20 OpCos
• Achievement of top quartile operating efficiency and effectiveness through scale and common processes
• Driving growth through business intelligence and standardization to maximize business impact
• Management of customer and supplier expectations
• Enhance MTN position as a leading network and system provider
• Constant dynamics and local challenges in the economic, regulatory and legal environments

Values
We at MTN are a purpose and value-led organization. At MTN, we believe that understanding our people’s needs and aspirations is key to creating experiences that delight you at work, every day. We are committed to fostering an environment where every member of our Y’ello Family is heard, understood and empowered to live an inspired life.

Our values keep us grounded and moving in the right direction. Most importantly, they keep us honest. It is not something we claim to be. It is in our DNA.

As an organisation, we consider it our mission to create an exciting and rewarding place to work, where our people can be themselves, thrive in positivity and ignite their full potential. A workplace that boosts creativity and innovation, improves productivity, and ultimately drives meaningful results. A workplace that is built on relationships and achieving a purpose that is bigger than us. This is what we want you to experience with us!

Our commitments go beyond an organisational promise. It is in our leadership and managerial ethos to meaningfully partner with our employees, customers and stakeholders with a vision to realise our shared goals.

Live Y’ello

• Lead with Care
• Can-do with Integrity
• Collaborate with Agility
• Serve with Respect
• Act with Inclusion

The Senior Manager: Fixed Network Planning and IP Core Architecture will act as the Group’s principal technical authority for Transport and IP Architecture across six accountability areas. The role develops standards, performs assessments and provides recommendations and implementation support; it does not own Group strategy, approve roadmaps, make final investment or vendor decisions, own AI strategy, or carry overall Group transport leadership accountability.

1. Transport and Transmission Strategy Support

• Develop technical inputs, analysis and recommendations supporting the Group Transport and Transmission Strategy
• across fibre, metro, aggregation, backbone, DWDM, IP transport, satellite, submarine and international capacity domains.
• Translate MTN Ambition 2030, OpCo business plans, capacity demand and resilience priorities into technical roadmap proposals for review and approval by the General Manager and relevant governance forums.
• Develop technical analysis and recommendations for international submarine, satellite transmission, IP peering, transit, CDN, PNI and IXP direction to improve performance, scalability and cost efficiency.
• Assess technology and market shifts and provide technical implications for transport planning, capacity sourcing and network evolution decisions by the General Manager and relevant governance forums.
• Provide technical recommendations to inform General Manager and governance decisions on topology evolution, convergence, redundancy and the long-term sustainability of the Group transport footprint.

Measurable deliverables:

• Evidence-based technical inputs to the Group Transport and Transmission strategy and annual evolution roadmap, submitted for General Manager and governance approval.
• Documented technical inputs for submarine, satellite, peering, transit, CDN, PNI and IXP decisions, with implementation guidance aligned to approved Group direction.
• Quarterly technical progress report against approved roadmaps, covering implementation status, risks, dependencies and business impact.

2. Architecture and Technology Evolution

• Develop architecture recommendations and technology evolution options for approval through Group governance structures.
• for fixed networks, fibre, transport, transmission, IP core and multi-service backbone evolution.
• Develop proposed reference architectures, design principles and technology standards covering IP/MPLS, SR-MPLS/SRv6, IPv6, PCE, traffic engineering, QoS and convergence for approval through Group governance.
• Develop and recommend options for open and disaggregated transport architectures, automation-ready design and cross-layer IP-optical orchestration, subject to approved Group technology direction.
• Assess emerging technologies including fibre sensing, satellite evolution, open networking and IP core modernisation for Group relevance and readiness.
• Conduct or, where delegated, facilitate architecture reviews, technology assessments, proof-of-concept evaluations and supplier technical engagements, and submit recommendations through the applicable governance process.

Measurable deliverables:

• Proposed Group reference architectures, design standards and technology roadmap recommendations submitted for approval, with approved versions published through the applicable governance process.
• Completed architecture review reports and technical recommendations for priority OpCo and Group initiatives.
• Technology evolution position papers with adoption criteria, risks, dependencies and implementation guidance.

3. Network Planning, Resilience and Performance

• Develop and recommend Group planning principles for capacity, topology, redundancy, resilience, scalability, service quality and long-term network sustainability for approval by the General Manager and relevant governance forums.
• Assess OpCo fixed, transport, transmission and IP core designs against Group standards, resilience requirements and cost-efficiency targets.
• Develop transport planning models, network convergence hierarchy statements, redundancy plans and infrastructure evolution guidelines.
• Develop proposed Transport, Transmission and IP Core KPI definitions and provide technical analysis of availability, utilisation, congestion, protection, restoration and service-performance trends to inform accountable management decisions.
• Support network resilience, fibre, satellite and transport transformation initiatives through technical assessment and standardised design guidance.

Measurable deliverables:

• Proposed planning standards, resilience principles, KPI definitions and architecture scorecards submitted for approval, together with technical support for adoption by priority OpCos.
• Completed OpCo design assessments with documented gaps, recommendations and agreed remediation actions.
• Regular technical analysis of KPI and resilience performance trends, risks and recommended improvement actions for accountable management review.

4. Automation and AI Architecture Enablement

• Provide architecture and technical requirements to support the delivery of AI-enabled and autonomous network operations.
• Develop and assess Transport and IP architecture use cases for predictive capacity planning, digital twins, intent-based networking, closed-loop optimisation and automated resilience assurance, aligned to the Group AI and automation strategy.
• Assess transport, transmission and IP core architectures for automation readiness, data enablement and alignment with approved autonomous-network maturity objectives, and recommend required architecture improvements.
• Collaborate with OSS, Network Operations, analytics and automation teams to align architecture requirements with operational tooling and assurance capabilities.
• Identify opportunities to improve operational efficiency, fault prediction, planning accuracy and service assurance through automation and AI.

Measurable deliverables:

• Prioritised Transport automation and AI use-case recommendations aligned to the approved Group AI strategy and autonomous network maturity objectives.
• Defined automation-ready architecture requirements and integration inputs for OSS, assurance and planning tools.
• Progress reporting on automation use-case adoption, benefits, constraints and next-step actions

5. Investment, Commercial and Vendor Decision Support

• Provide expert input into investment planning, business cases, financial models and budget reviews for transport, transmission and IP core initiatives.
• Evaluate investment options against capacity growth, resilience, topology evolution, cost optimisation, total cost of ownership and business value.
• Support procurement processes, supplier evaluations, proof-of-concept assessments and governance submissions with clear technical recommendations.
• Challenge vendor proposals to ensure technical suitability, commercial viability, standards compliance and alignment to Group technology direction.
• Collaborate with Finance, Procurement, Security, Regulatory and OpCo teams to provide technical inputs that support robust, governance-compliant investment decisions by the accountable authorities.
• Provide independent technical recommendations only. Final investment approval, commercial commitment, vendor selection and vendor governance decisions reside with the General Manager and the applicable MTN governance authorities..

Measurable deliverables:

• Investment assessment templates, technical evaluation scorecards and decision-support models for transport initiatives.
• Documented technical recommendations for business cases, procurement events, supplier engagements and governance forums.
• Post-evaluation reports showing cost, resilience, performance and strategic alignment outcomes.

6. Technical Authority, Standards and OpCo Enablement

• Provide specialist technical leadership and subject matter expertise
• across Transport, Transmission, Fixed Network and IP Core domains.
• Contribute to, and where delegated facilitate, architecture governance forums, technical working groups, technology trials and OpCo enablement sessions.
• Develop and maintain planning tools, templates, architecture guidelines and technical models that support consistent decision-making across OpCos.
• Provide technical support to OpCos on standards adoption, design interpretation, resilience planning and technology evolution decisions.
• Assess and report the alignment of proposed transport standards with Group Technology, Network Operations, Security, Regulatory, Finance and Procurement requirements, and recommend changes for governance approval.

Measurable deliverables:

• Current approved Group standards library, planning templates, architecture models and OpCo enablement materials, maintained in accordance with governance decisions.
• Documented governance forum outcomes, action trackers and implementation follow-ups.
• Regular stakeholder reporting on standards adoption, OpCo support, risks, dependencies and priority interventions.

Role Dependencies

• The role operates through technical authority, matrix influence and cross-functional mobilisation rather than direct line management or overall Group transport leadership. It may facilitate specialist working groups, guide OpCo architecture teams and coordinate technical workstreams under mandates approved by the General Manager.
• Active support from the Group CTIO, Executive: Network Design and Planning, General Manager: Transport and OSS Tools, Network Operations, Finance, Procurement, Security, Regulatory and OpCo leadership teams.
• Clear alignment to MTN Group strategy, OpCo business plans, regulatory context, technology roadmaps and Group governance requirements.
• Structured collaboration with OpCo planning and operations heads, strategic suppliers, industry bodies and technology partners.

Education:

• Minimum of 4 year tertiary degree (B.Sc. Electronic / Electrical / Telecommunications Engineering) or equivalent qualification such as B-Tech
• M.Sc. Eng. (Telecommunications) – advantageous
• Professional Engineer or recognized engineering registration(advantageous)
• Fluent in English

Experience:

• Minimum 5-10 years Network Planning, Design and Performance Management experience, coupled with supervising / managing others OR
• Minimum 5 years in relevant experience Telecommunications network planning, architecture, engineering or technology strategy.
• Minimum 5 years Project and Program Management experience, in a Telco / ICT environment
• Minimum 5 years’ experience in senior technical leadership, principal architect, or group-level planning role.
• Demonstrated experience providing architecture governance inputs, investment decision support, technology transformation recommendations and technical vendor evaluations within delegated authority.
• Demonstrated expertise in at least three of the following domains:

1. IP/MPLS Core
2. Optical Transport / DWDM
3. Fibre Networks
4. Microwave Transport
5. Satellite Transmission
6. Submarine Systems
7. International Connectivity

• Demonstrated leadership across multi-country or multi-market telecommunications environments.
• Experience in working across diverse cultures and geographies (advantageous)
• Experience working in a small to medium ICT / Telecommunications organisation

Competencies:

• Conceptual Thinker, Problem Solver, Improvement Driver
• Culture and Change Champion, Supportive People Manager, Leads through influence, Mobilizes virtual and cross-functional teams, Relationship Manager
• Results Achiever, Operationally Astute