Job Description Network Access Planner

Position Title: Network Access Planner

Department: Digital Managed Services

Reports To: Head of Service Delivery / Head of Solutions Engineering

Location: South Africa

Position Summary

The Network Access Planner is responsible for designing and validating the end-to-end network access required to deliver enterprise connectivity services across CLIENT's Digital Managed Services business. The role ensures that customer solutions can be delivered efficiently by determining the optimal connectivity path from the customer's premises through the last-mile network, metro access, backbone infrastructure and data centre termination.

Working closely with Sales, Product Solutions, Digital Infrastructure, Service Delivery and third-party network providers, the Network Access Planner performs service qualification, access planning, infrastructure feasibility, implementation planning and cost estimation to ensure customer solutions are technically feasible, commercially viable and deliverable within agreed timelines.

The role acts as the technical bridge between Pre-Sales and Delivery, enabling faster proposal turnaround, improved pricing accuracy and successful project implementation.

Key Responsibilities

Network Access Planning

- Design end-to-end network access solutions for enterprise, retail and banking customers.
- Determine the optimal connectivity path from customer premises to CLIENT's core network and data centres.
- Plan network connectivity across:
- Last-mile fibre and wireless access
- Metro fibre networks
- Carrier interconnection points
- Backbone transport networks
- Data centre connectivity
- Cloud connectivity services where applicable

- Ensure network resilience, redundancy and SLA compliance in all proposed designs.

Service Qualification & Infrastructure Feasibility

- Conduct service qualification for new customer opportunities.
- Validate network availability using CLIENT infrastructure and third-party carrier networks.
- Identify the nearest Point of Presence (PoP), aggregation node and available access options.
- Assess network capacity and routing feasibility.
- Identify infrastructure gaps and recommend appropriate access strategies.

Commercial & Pre-Sales Support

- Support Product Solutions & Pricing teams during solution development.
- Provide technical inputs for customer proposals and quotations.
- Estimate access-related costs including:
- Last-mile connectivity
- Metro access
- Third-party carrier services
- Cross-connects
- Installation costs

- Estimate implementation lead times based on infrastructure availability.
- Participate in customer meetings to explain network access options and implementation approaches.





Digital Infrastructure & Partner Coordination

- Collaborate with CLIENT Digital Infrastructure teams to leverage existing fibre and network assets.
- Coordinate with third-party fibre providers and wholesale carriers where required.
- Compare infrastructure options based on cost, lead time, performance and resilience.
- Ensure the most productive and commercially viable access strategy is selected.

Delivery Readiness

- Produce implementation-ready network access plans.
- Prepare handover documentation for Service Delivery teams.
- Support project implementation by resolving planning-related issues.
- Validate infrastructure readiness prior to customer deployment.
- Participate in design reviews and implementation planning meetings.

Network Intelligence & Continuous Improvement

- Maintain network access planning documentation and serviceability records.
- Track network coverage, infrastructure availability and supplier capabilities.
- Identify opportunities to improve service qualification processes.
- Contribute to the development of planning standards, templates and automation initiatives.
- Support strategic planning by providing insights into network access trends and infrastructure utilisation.

Key Relationships

Internal

- Enterprise Sales
- Product Management
- Product Solutions & Pricing
- Digital Infrastructure
- Service Delivery
- Network Operations
- Procurement
- Programme Management Office (PMO)

External

- Wholesale fibre providers
- Last-mile access providers
- Data centre operators
- Carrier partners
- Enterprise customers
- Infrastructure vendors

Required Qualifications

- Bachelor's Degree in Telecommunications, Network Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science or a related discipline.

Preferred Certifications

- CCNP Enterprise
- MEF Carrier Ethernet Certification
- FOA Certified Fibre Optic Technician (CFOT)
- ITIL Foundation
- GIS or Network Planning certification (advantageous)

Experience

- 5–8 years' experience in telecommunications, ISP or managed services environments.
- Experience in enterprise network planning, service qualification or access engineering.
- Experience working with fibre, metro and carrier access networks.
- Knowledge of wholesale carrier services and third-party access providers.
- Experience supporting pre-sales, solution engineering or service delivery functions.




- Experience working with enterprise, retail or financial services customers is advantageous.

Technical Knowledge

The successful candidate should demonstrate knowledge of:

- Enterprise WAN and LAN connectivity
- Dedicated Internet Access (DIA)
- MPLS VPN
- Carrier Ethernet
- Metro Ethernet
- SD-WAN
- Fibre Access Networks
- Last-mile connectivity technologies
- Carrier interconnects
- Optical transport networks
- Data centre interconnection
- Cloud connectivity (AWS Direct Connect, Azure ExpressRoute, Google Cloud Interconnect)
- Network resilience and redundancy
- Service qualification and feasibility assessment
- Network costing and implementation planning

Key Competencies

Technical

- Network access planning
- Service qualification
- Infrastructure feasibility assessment
- Route and connectivity planning
- Cost estimation
- Network documentation

Business

- Commercial awareness
- Customer-focused solution development
- Proposal support
- Supplier management
- Analytical thinking
- Decision-making

Behavioural

- Strong communication and presentation skills
- Excellent stakeholder management
- Attention to detail
- Problem-solving mindset
- Planning and organisational skills
- Ability to work under pressure and manage multiple priorities
- Collaborative team player

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

- Service qualification turnaround time
- Proposal support turnaround time
- Accuracy of access cost estimates
- Accuracy of implementation lead-time estimates
- Percentage of first-time-right network access designs
- Reduction in implementation delays caused by planning issues
- Percentage of customer solutions delivered using optimal infrastructure
- Reduction in unnecessary third-party access costs
- Customer satisfaction with solution planning
- Successful handover of implementation-ready designs to Service Delivery

Success Profile

The ideal candidate combines technical network planning expertise with commercial awareness. They understand how enterprise connectivity is delivered across multiple network domains and can balance technical feasibility, cost, delivery timelines and customer requirements. They are equally comfortable collaborating with Sales teams during pre-sales engagements, coordinating with Digital Infrastructure on network availability, engaging third-party carriers for access services, and supporting Delivery teams to ensure successful implementation.

This role is critical in enabling CLIENT's Digital Managed Services business to deliver reliable, cost-effective and scalable connectivity solutions by ensuring every customer service is built on the most appropriate end-to-end network access architecture.

📌 Network Access Planner (Hyderabad)
🏢 Internal
📍 Hyderabad