Head of Strategy & Planning - Wireless Access; FWA

Position: Head of Strategy & Planning - Fixed Wireless Access (FWA)

Head of Strategy & Planning - Fixed Wireless Access (FWA)

Job Title: Head of Strategy & Planning - Fixed Wireless Access (FWA)

Job Type: Full-Time (40 hours per week) (Hybrid)

Salary: Up to £85,000 per annum + £4,800 Car Allowance + discretionary annual bonus

Job Summary: The Head of Strategy & Planning defines where, when, and how Airband’s Gigabit FWA network expands. The role owns the long-range growth strategy, cluster prioritisation, rollout sequencing, business case development, and portfolio governance. It ensures deployment decisions are commercially attractive, operationally feasible, and enable repeatable scaling of the network platform. The position acts as the strategic anchor across Networks, Build, Commercial, Finance and Executive Leadership, ensuring that expansion decisions drive sustainable value creation.

Responsibilities

Strategic Network Expansion & Market Planning

• Prioritise regions and clusters based on market need, subsidy availability, partner/wholesale demand, economics and competitive dynamics.
• Lead the framework for cluster selection, coverage ambition and rollout staging.
• Produce strategic recommendations and present to Executive Leadership/Board.
• Convert strategic priorities into executable rollout portfolios with clear dependencies and delivery pacing.
• Conduct scenario modelling to manage delivery constraints, market opportunities, prioritisation changes and risk.
• Maintain portfolio tracking, forecasting and stakeholder reporting.

Coverage & Site Planning Oversight

• Oversee high-level cluster and coverage planning ensuring assumptions are consistent, repeatable and scalable.
• Validate that shortlisted clusters are technically and commercially viable before commitment into build.
• Ensure site nomination principles are aligned with cost-per-premise, performance and take-up objectives.
• Own investment case modelling for clustered rollout including revenue take-up curves, capex, opex and ROI/payback.
• Partner with Finance to validate assumptions and track actual performance vs model.
• Present investment papers for executive / board approval.

Solution Standardisation & Platform Road mapping

• Define and maintain standardised Gigabit FWA deployment templates, ensuring predictable unit cost and service performance.
• Lead technology evolution roadmap (CPE, spectrum strategy, vendor roadmap, emerging wireless enhancements).
• Minimise bespoke engineering through repeatable, scalable solution standards.
• Lead and develop a specialist planning and analysis team responsible for market assessment, rollout planning and performance analytics.
• Establish a consistent operating rhythm, clear outputs, and decision ready presentation standard.
• Build capability in data-driven decision-making and structured stakeholder alignment.

Key Success Measures

• Delivery pace aligned to strategic plan and build capacity.
• ROI and cluster profitability performance vs investment case.
• Stability and clarity of rollout roadmap.
• Adoption of standardised solution patterns and roadmap execution.

Person Specification

• Strategic thinker with strong technical literacy across wireless technologies, platforms, and service design. Proven ability to set commercial objectives with technical execution.
• Deep understanding of FWA, wholesale network architectures, and the economics of wireless network deployment and operation.
• Able to instil a sense of urgency around addressing and resolving team and individual performance issues.
• Takes initiative and works with pace to deliver results.
• Customer-focused, builds trust with internal and external stakeholders, always seeking to add value.
• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Telecommunications, or a related field; MBA or advanced degree preferred.
• Background in telecoms, digital infrastructure strategy, network planning or deployment strategy.
• Understanding of FWA platform economics, wireless architecture and lifecycle roadmap evolution.

Airband Benefits

• 25 days of paid leave a year rising to 30 plus bank holidays with service.
• 5% Airband pension plus a minimum 3% employee contribution.
• Customer referral bonus – a thank you for every customer you send our way.
• We offer hybrid working – a mix of working from home and in the…