Head of ISOC – Manchester - £75k Pearson Carter are currently working with a leading UK Managed Service Provider who are looking to appoint a senior operations leader to head up their Integrated Network & Security Operations Centre (ISOC). This is a pivotal leadership role for someone who understands how large-scale networks, managed services, and 24/7 operations function in practice — and how security is embedded into resilient service delivery. This role would suit a network-first operational leader with strong security knowledge, rather than a purely cyber-focused profile. They offer an excellent salary package alongside strong benefits and long-term progression opportunities. Get in touch if you’re looking for your next leadership opportunity. Responsibilities

Lead and develop 24/7 NOC and SOC teams responsible for service monitoring and incident response Own day-to-day operational performance across network and security services Develop, implement, and maintain operational processes, runbooks, and escalation procedures Ensure network performance, availability, and fault resolution remain industry-leading Embed security operations into core service resilience Act as senior incident commander during major outages or security events Drive operational maturity through tooling, automation, and process optimisation Align ISOC strategy with wider platform and product teams Oversee service KPIs including uptime, SLAs, MTTD, MTTR, and incident recurrence Lead post-incident reviews focused on learning and prevention Manage vendors, tooling roadmap, and operational budgets Provide meaningful operational reporting to senior leadership and customers

Experience

8–10 years’ experience in network, infrastructure, or service operations Minimum 5 years in a senior operational leadership role Proven experience leading NOC teams (ideally alongside SOC functions) Strong background in routing, switching, firewalls, VPNs, and load balancers (Fortinet, Juniper, Cisco, Aruba, Check Point) Enterprise and cloud networking experience, particularly Microsoft Azure Strong incident and crisis management capability Good working knowledge of SOC tooling (SIEM, EDR, IDS/IPS) Experience working within a Managed Service Provider environment

Qualifications (Desirable)

Degree in Computer Science, Networking, IT or similar ITIL v4 Practitioner Certifications such as CCNP, CISSP, CISM (or equivalent experience)

Salary & Benefits

33 days holiday (inclusive of bank holidays), increasing with service Annual pay reviews Holiday buy scheme All-company bonus scheme Death in service cover Employee Assistance Programme Company pension Active social calendar Strong focus on personal and professional development

Location Client has an office based near Manchester. This is a hybrid role 3x a week in office. How to Apply Please apply ASAP with your CV to be considered for this position.You can also get in touch with me on harry.b@pearsoncarter.com or 0191 406 6111. #J-18808-Ljbffr