ROLE DESCRIPTION:   VoIP Engineer  

CORPORATE INFORMATION

1. Position Level: Band H
2. Salary Range: $ 34,760.31 – $37,434.18 (Step 1 – 2)
3. Duty Station: Suva
4. Reporting Responsibilities:

4. a) Reports To: Manager Network Infrastructure
5. b) Liaises with: Managers, Engineers, IT officers
6. c) Subordinates: Technicians

POSITION PURPOSE

The VoIP Engineer’s role is to coordinate strategies for defining, deploying, and maintaining the Fiji Government’s in-house IP telephony voice communication architecture and its associated network connections and component hardware.  This includes managing all engineering projects for VoIP initiatives, planning technology roadmaps, and configuring and optimizing all VoIP/IP-PBX telephone systems and services, both internally and those integrated with Internet-based services. Also, the VoIP Engineer’s mandate will be to maintain SLAs for all organizational IP telephony applications.

KEY DUTIES

The position will achieve its purpose through the following key duties while working with relevant staff and service providers, in accordance with legislative requirements:

Strategy & Planning

1. Design and support VoIP infrastructure and its associated software, including IP-PBXs, call management systems, voice mail, and interactive voice response.
2. Where necessary, plan for management or phasing out of legacy telephony systems and other switch-based technologies.
3. Select, deploy, and utilize appropriate tools for reporting and routing of IP telephony traffic on the network.

Acquisition & Deployment

1. Collaborate with systems engineers/architects for upgrades to VoIP operating systems and hardware.
2. Remain current on new transport protocols, products, and standards in support of VoIP systems development and equipment procurement.

Operational Management

1. Integrate IP telephony systems with enterprise LANs, WANs, wireless LANs, and other Internet-based services and protocols.
2. Provide leadership for implementing new VoIP products or services, as well as the technical resources required to manage them.
3. Collaborate with help desk to resolve trouble tickets and mitigate end-user issues with VoIP hardware and/or applications.
4. Assist with the installation planning and maintenance of network cabling, including MDF and IDF closets.
5. Perform telephony audits as necessary.
6. Train and mentor junior engineers and other members of the telecommunications department.
7. Monitor and identify capacity and performance issues for VoIP traffic to ensure continued, uninterrupted operation of telephony systems.
8. Collaborate with network engineers or administrators to ensure that VoIP traffic does not interfere with or hinder network data traffic.
9. Conduct testing and development disaster recovery plans to detect faults, minimize malfunctions, and backup systems.

KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

Performance will be measured through the following indicators:

1. Call Quality, Service Availability, Call Capacity and Scalability: Assessing and optimizing the system’s capacity to handle concurrent calls, considering factors like call capacity, call admission control, and system scalability.
2. Incident Response and Resolution: Efficiently identifying, troubleshooting, and resolving incidents related to VoIP systems and services and Network Performance: Monitoring and optimizing the performance of the network infrastructure supporting VoIP services.
3. Compliance and Security: Maintaining compliance with regulatory requirements and implementing security measures to protect VoIP systems and user data.
4. Weekly submission of network (VoIP) report at the end of each operational week.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

In addition to a Bachelor’s in Computer Science, Information Technology, Net-Centric, or Diploma in Computer Science, Information Technology, Net-Centric or a closely related field, or equivalent experience required with relevant industry certifications the following knowledge, experience, skills and abilities are required to successfully undertake this role:

Knowledge and Experience

1. At least 3-5 years of experience (Bachelors) or 6-9 years of experience (Diploma) designing, implementing, securing and managing enterprise-level IP networks that include support of a heterogeneous distributed desktop computing environment required.
2. Network and security administration with IT certifications in CCNA Voice, CompTIA Network+, CompTIA Security+ or other security-related fields are a plus.
3. Extensive hands-on technical knowledge of VoIP/IP telephony systems, software, and hardware including but not limited to, Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) gateways, IP-PBX systems, codecs, quality of service (QoS) mechanisms, and telephony protocols.
4. Strong hands-on knowledge of the configuration and optimization of VoIP equipment, including but not limited to, routers, switches, firewalls, session border controllers (SBCs), media gateways, and analog telephony adapters (ATAs).
5. Strong hands-on knowledge of SIP (Session Initiation Protocol), H.323, TCP/IP, and other relevant protocols for VoIP communication.
6. Strong understanding VoIP QoS issues and mitigation strategies.
7. Possessing a proficient technical understanding of various operating systems, including but not limited to, Windows, Linux, and macOS.
8. Demonstrating direct practical experience in configuring and managing enterprise-level switches and routers.
9. Acquainted with diverse network topologies such as Frame Relay, ATM, ISDN, and other relevant technologies.

Skills and Abilities

1. Able to prioritize and execute tasks in a high-pressure environment.
2. Ability to read and interpret technical documents and procedure manuals.
3. Strong interpersonal skills, oral communication skills, and proven analytical and problem-solving abilities.
4. Strong understanding of the organization’s goals and objectives.
5. Ability to conduct research into IP telephony issues and products.
6. Strong customer service orientation.
7. Help desk experience.
8. Experience working in a team-oriented, collaborative environment.

Personal Character

Applicants for employment must be of good character, with a background that demonstrates their commitment to the Civil Service Values contained in the Fijian Constitution. Applicants must also be Fijian Citizens, under age 60 years, in sound health and with a clear police record. The selected applicant will be required to provide a medical certificate and police clearance prior to taking up duty.