Manager, Telecommunications

Location: Pinnacle Ridge

As the nation’s first statewide, “transmission only” company, VELCO manages the safe, reliable, cost-effective transmission of electric power throughout Vermont and as a part of the integrated New England regional network.

Why Join Our TeamVELCO operates some of the most critical communications infrastructure in Vermont. Our telecommunications network is engineered and operated to carrier‑grade standards , supporting real ‑ time electric grid operations, public safety, and statewide field communications .As Telecommunications Manager, you will lead and evolve a high‑availability, low‑latency, always‑on network that supports SCADA, protection and control systems, field crews, substations, and emergency operations.

This role offers the opportunity to apply service‑provider best practices in a mission ‑ critical utility environment—where reliability is not optional and outages are not acceptable.

Position Summary The Telecommunications Manager is responsible for the design, operation, and continuous improvement of carrier‑grade telecommunications services supporting VELCO’s Operational Technology (OT) and enterprise environments.

This role oversees daily operations, long ‑ term network strategy, staff and vendor management, and multiple concurrent projects. The Manager ensures telecommunications services meet stringent availability, resiliency, performance, and recovery objectives , aligning telecom architecture with OT, IT, cybersecurity, and corporate strategy.

How You Will Make an Impact You will lead the modernization and operation of a statewide fiber optic and radio communications network , blending legacy infrastructure with modern transport technologies while maintaining uninterrupted service. You will establish operational discipline, performance metrics, and service management processes consistent with carrier and Tier‑1 network environments .Your leadership will directly enable:

Reliable real ‑ time grid monitoring and control

Safe and effective field operations

Regulatory compliance

Long ‑ term scalability and technology evolution

Key Responsibilities Carrier ‑ Grade Network Operations Own the end ‑ to ‑ end design and operation of high‑availability telecommunications networks sup porting real ‑ time OT applications.

Ensure carrier ‑ class reliability through path diversity, redundancy, fast failover, environmental hardening, and disaster recovery .Oversee 24x7 operations including monitoring, incident management, root cause analysis, change management, and outage response.

Establish and manage SLAs, operational procedures, and escalation processes.

Network Architecture & Technology Strategy Define and maintain telecommunications architecture standards including fiber transport, IP/CES, microwave/RF, radio systems, and supporting infrastructure .Develop a long ‑ term technical vision aligned with VELCO’s fiber expansion and statewide radio systems.

Evaluate emerging technologies and industry trends; perform cost/benefit and lifecycle analyses.

Plan and manage carrier interconnections and external network partnerships.

Leadership & Team Management Lead and develop a multidisciplinary telecommunications team (engineers, technicians, contractors).Set clear performance expectations and foster a culture of operational excellence and continuous improvement.

Coordinate cross ‑ functional teams across OT, IT, system operations, engineering, and cybersecurity.

Performance, Monitoring & Asset Management Establish KPIs to measure network performance (availability, latency, packet loss, incident trends).Implement proactive and predictive maintenance strategies and asset lifecycle management.

Leverage data analytics and monitoring tools to identify risks and drive improvements.

Project, Vendor & Financial Management Manage multiple concurrent projects with cross ‑ functional stakeholders.

Develop and manage departmental budgets, forecasts, and capital plans.

Oversee vendor and carrier relationships to ensure cost ‑ effective , high ‑ quality service delivery.

Procure equipment and services in compliance with company procurement policies.

Security, Compliance & Risk Management Ensure telecommunications systems comply…