Network Manager

Job Title: Network Manager

Actual Annual Salary: £35,852 - £39,649 (CLF Grade E) Based on hours and working weeks

Contract Type: Permanent

Hours: Full-time, 37 hours per week, Monday to Friday / All year-round

Additional role info: Monday to Thursday 7.5 hours per day 8am to 4pm with 30-minute lunch & Friday 7 hours 8am to 3.30pm with 30-minute lunch. The primary location for this role is Winterstoke Hundred Academy in Weston-super-Mare, with regular travel to other academies as needed. Outside of these on-site responsibilities, the role offers flexibility to work remotely, supporting a balanced and adaptable working arrangement.

Provisional Start Date: April 2026

Your opportunity to lead, evolve, and empower digital learning across our Trust

As a Network Manager for the Cabot Learning Federation, you will have the opportunity to help ensure our schools run smoothly powering teaching, learning and innovation through reliable, secure technology. This is a role where your expertise directly shapes students success and gives you the chance to lead meaningful digital change every day.

We are seeking a highly skilled, proactive and relationship-driven Network Manager to join our central ICT team. This pivotal role holds responsibility for developing, maintaining and supporting robust, secure and future-ready network and ICT infrastructure across multiple academies within the Trust.

Working collaboratively with academy leaders, local ICT colleagues and the CLF central ICT team, you will play a key role in delivering consistent, resilient and high-performing digital environments that support high-quality education and effective operations across the Federation.

About The Role

As Network Manager you will:

• Lead the development, maintenance and day-to-day operation of IT networks and infrastructure across assigned academies within the Trust.
• Act as a senior technical lead and escalation point, providing expert guidance and problem resolution for academy-based IT staff and users.
• Work closely with Principals, Operations Managers, SLT and the CLF central IT team to shape, implement and support Trust-wide digital strategy.
• Build strong, professional relationships across academies, ensuring a consistent, customer-focused IT support experience.
• Oversee and support core networking systems including switches, routers, VLANs, firewalls, DNS, DHCP, Active Directory, Office 365 and cloud services.
• Support the implementation of Trust-wide standards, policies and security controls, ensuring compliance and best practice.
• Manage and coordinate hardware and software repairs, upgrades, audits, procurement and asset management across supported academies.
• Resolve complex IT support requests in line with agreed service standards, acting as a senior escalation point where required.
• Support academy events, exams and key activities with reliable AV and IT provision when necessary.

Contribute to Trust-wide IT projects, major upgrades and change programmes, representing academy needs and driving improvement.

Coach, mentor and support academy-based IT colleagues, helping to develop capability, consistency and confidence across the Trust.

About You

You will have:

• Relevant IT qualifications (e.g. Level 3+, ITIL or equivalent experience).
• GCSE English and Maths (Grade C/4+ or equivalent).
• Experience with Windows 10/11, Windows Server, Active Directory, DNS, DHCP and MDT.
• Strong networking skills including switching, VLANs, firewalls, VPNs and secure systems management.
• Knowledge of IT security, software integrity and modern device and systems management approaches.
• Confidence supporting Office 365, Azure, cloud services and education-specific platforms.
• Familiarity with service desk tools, mobile device management and AV technologies.
• Substantial IT support experience, ideally within education or a multi-site organisation.
  
  

Applicants are advised to refer to the full requirements of the role in the attached job description and person specification prior to submitting an application.

Why work in CLFs IT Team?

As a Network Manager within the Cabot Learning Federations IT team, youll play a critical role in shaping and delivering high-quality, resilient digital environments across our academies. Youll work at Trust level to support, strengthen and evolve network infrastructure, ensuring technology consistently enables excellent teaching, learning and operations.

We Offer

• The opportunity to influence IT strategy at Trust level, while supporting and shaping network provision across multiple academies.
• A varied and rewarding role, combining hands-on technical leadership with strategic project work and collaboration.
• Flexible and supportive working arrangements, with opportunities to work both on-site across academies and alongside central IT colleagues.
• Access to ongoing professional development, including technical training, leadership development and clear pathways for progression within the Federation.
• A highly collaborative and supportive IT community, where youll share best practice, knowledge and solutions with colleagues across the Trust.
  
  

Why work at CLF?

We are a diverse and inclusive community of 36 academies across five cluster regions in the South West that is committed to excellence and making a positive impact. Our people bring unique perspectives, but were all driven by a shared moral purpose and a passion for making a positive impact, whether in a teaching, leadership or support role. Were proud to foster a culture where everyone can thrive, feel valued, and make a meaningful difference to the lives of others.

We are an equal opportunity employer and proud to serve a diverse student population and our communities. We strongly believe that representation matters and so encourage applications from underrepresented and global majority groups including ethnicity, gender, transgender, age, disability, sexual orientation or religion.

We aim to remove any barriers to employment, ensuring everyone can compete on equal terms. Job share, part-time and flexible working opportunities will be considered.

What We Can Offer You

• Access to a generous pension through the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS).
• Generous annual leave.
• A comprehensive induction and ongoing commitment to wellbeing and career progression, through a range of training, apprenticeships and in-role/wider-trust development opportunities.
• Well-being support through an Employee Assistance Programme.
• Health benefits, including wellness sessions, gym discounts, and flu jabs.
• A range of generous family leave options, including above industry average occupational maternity pay.
• Additional benefits like cycle to work scheme, on-site parking plus many more!
  
  

Recruitment Timeline

• Closing Date: 22 February 2026 @11.59pm
• Shortlisting: 23 February 2026
• Interviews: 02 March 2026
  
  

For an informal discussion about the role/to find out more, please email CLFs Recruitment Team directly (details can be found on the 'Contact Us' page on CLFs main website, or in the 'Application Instructions' section when applying).

As part of our commitment to Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE), we do not accept CVs a full education and employment history must be provided through our application form.

Please note we are not able to offer visa sponsorship for this role.

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early, should we receive a high level of interest in the role. Therefore, candidates are advised to apply at their earliest convenience to avoid missing out.

As a Disability Confident Committed Employer, we are dedicated to equity and inclusion and commit to interviewing applicants with a disability who meet the essential criteria. We aim to provide an inclusive and accessible recruitment process, and support employees throughout their employment. If you have a disability, are neurodivergent, or require any adjustments to support you through the application or interview process please let us know how we can assist.

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