Technical Program Manager – OTN

Technical Program Manager – OTN

Level: 5 Eng/Ops 

Department: Technology / Network Engineering 

Reports To: Group Chief Technology Officer (Group CTO) 

1. About Us

CSquared is a leading pan-African digital infrastructure company providing high-capacity connectivity infrastructure across Africa. The Group operates and invests in critical telecommunications infrastructure, including international submarine cable capacity and an expanding terrestrial fiber-optic backbone across the West African sub-region. 

CSquared owns capacity on major international submarine cable systems, including Equiano and 2Africa, and is significantly expanding its terrestrial backbone network to create a resilient, high-capacity regional connectivity platform. 

As the network footprint and capacity continue to grow, CSquared is seeking an experienced Technical Program Manager – Optical Transport & IP/MPLS Networks to lead the planning, design, implementation, optimization, and lifecycle management of its transport and IP network infrastructure. 

2. Role Summary 

The Technical Program Manager will be responsible for providing technical leadership and program management across CSquared's optical transport, DWDM/OTN, and IP/MPLS infrastructure. This position will manage complex, multi-country network programs from concept and network planning through design, procurement, implementation, commissioning, service activation, optimization, and ongoing operational readiness. 

The successful candidate will work closely with the Group CTO, Network Engineering, NOC, Operations, Commercial, Supply Chain, Finance, vendors, OEMs, contractors, and other stakeholders to ensure that network programs are delivered on time, within budget, to the required technical standards, and with the expected service quality and capacity. The individual will be expected to combine strong technical expertise with excellent program management, communication, planning, and execution capabilities.

3. Key Responsibilities & Deliverables

A. Network Planning & Architecture 

•  Lead the planning and evolution of CSquared's regional optical and IP network infrastructure. 
• Develop network capacity plans aligned with business growth, customer demand, traffic forecasts, and strategic expansion plans. 
• Plan and design high-capacity DWDM, OTN, ROADM and optical transport networks. 
• Develop and maintain network architecture, topology, resiliency, protection, and restoration strategies. 
• Support the planning and integration of submarine cable capacity, including Equiano and 2Africa, into CSquared's terrestrial backbone. 
• Develop long-term network evolution plans covering capacity expansion, technology refresh, equipment replacement, and network modernization. 
• Evaluate network performance and identify opportunities for optimization and capacity enhancement. 
• Ensure network designs comply with CSquared's technical standards, architecture principles, and operational requirements. 

B. DWDM / OTN / Optical Transport 

• Provide technical leadership on DWDM, OTN, ROADM, coherent optics, optical transmission, spectrum management and optical network engineering. 
• Develop optical link budgets, fiber route engineering, wavelength plans, channel plans, and capacity models. 
• Review and validate optical network designs, BoMs, high-level and low-level designs. 
• Lead technical evaluation of optical transmission solutions and OEM proposals. 
• Provide technical guidance on technologies including: DWDM, OTN, ROADM, Coherent optics, Flex-grid and fixed-grid systems, Optical spectrum management, Alien wavelengths, Optical protection and restoration, Optical performance monitoring, Network synchronization. 
• Ensure appropriate engineering of optical links, including OSNR, dispersion, attenuation, power levels, amplification, and span engineering. 
• Lead network acceptance testing and ensure that optical systems meet agreed technical and performance requirements. 

C. Program & Project Management 

• Own the technical delivery of strategic network programs from initiation through operational handover. 
• Develop detailed implementation plans, project schedules, milestones, dependencies, resource requirements, and delivery roadmaps. 
• Coordinate multiple concurrent network projects across different countries and network domains. 
• Manage project dependencies across fiber infrastructure, optical transport, IP/MPLS, power, data centers, PoPs, submarine cable systems, and third-party infrastructure. 
• Establish and maintain program governance, reporting, risk registers, issue logs, and action trackers.
• Monitor project progress against scope, schedule, budget, quality, and technical requirements. 
• Identify project risks and develop mitigation and contingency plans. 
• Escalate critical technical, commercial, or delivery issues to the Group CTO and relevant stakeholders. 
• Coordinate internal teams, OEMs, system integrators, contractors, and third-party infrastructure providers. 
• Drive projects to successful completion and ensure that agreed deliverables are achieved. 

D. Network Implementation & Deployment 

• Lead technical implementation of network expansion and modernization programs. 
• Coordinate equipment deployment, installation, integration, commissioning, and service activation. 
• Manage OEM and contractor implementation activities and ensure compliance with approved designs. 
• Review Method of Procedures (MoPs), implementation plans, test procedures, and rollback plans. 
• Ensure proper FAT, SAT, integration testing, service testing, and network acceptance. 
• Ensure complete technical documentation and operational handover following project completion. 
• Drive resolution of implementation issues and technical defects. 

E. Network Optimization & Lifecycle Management 

• Continuously assess network performance, utilization, resilience, and capacity. 
• Identify opportunities to improve network efficiency, availability, scalability, and cost. 
• Develop network optimization and modernization initiatives. 
• Lead capacity augmentation programs based on traffic growth and customer demand. 
• Establish and maintain technology lifecycle plans for optical and IP/MPLS platforms. 
• Identify obsolete or end-of-life equipment and develop migration and replacement strategies. 
• Support network automation, monitoring, analytics, and operational improvement initiatives. 

F. Vendor & OEM Management 

• Manage technical relationships with key network OEMs, technology partners, and system integrators. 
• Lead technical discussions with vendors during solution design, implementation, troubleshooting, and optimization. 
• Review vendor technical proposals, BoMs, designs, and implementation plans. 
• Challenge vendor solutions where required to ensure technical and commercial value. 
• Monitor OEM and contractor performance against agreed deliverables and SLAs. 
• Participate in vendor selection, technical evaluations, RFPs, and solution assessments.

H. Documentation, Standards & Governance 

• Develop and maintain network engineering standards, design guidelines, and technical specifications. 
• Ensure accurate network documentation, including HLDs, LLDs, topology diagrams, BoMs, configuration standards, and as-built documentation. 
• Establish appropriate engineering and acceptance standards across CSquared's regional network. 
• Ensure that network deployments follow approved architecture and governance processes. 
• Maintain accurate records of network assets, capacity, configuration, and technical dependencies. 

4. Key Deliverables & KPIs

The successful candidate will be expected to deliver: 

• Regional optical and IP/MPLS network expansion plans. 
• DWDM/OTN network designs and capacity plans. 
• Integrated optical and IP/MPLS architecture. 
• Network rollout and implementation programs. 
• Multi-country project execution roadmaps. 
• Network migration and modernization plans. 
• Network optimization and capacity augmentation programs. 
• Technical BoMs and solution specifications. 
• Project schedules, risk registers, and progress reports. 
• FAT/SAT and network acceptance plans. 
• Complete technical and operational handover documentation. 
• Network performance and capacity reports. 
• Technology lifecycle and refresh plans. 

Success Measures / KPIs 

Performance in this role will be measured against: 

• On-time delivery of strategic network programs. 
• Network rollout and expansion milestones achieved. 
• Accuracy and quality of network designs. 
• Network capacity utilization and optimization. 
• Network availability and resilience. 
• Successful commissioning and acceptance of new network infrastructure. 
• Reduction in implementation delays and technical defects. 
• Effective management of OEM and contractor performance. 
• Compliance with CSquared technical architecture and standards. 
• Accuracy and completeness of network documentation. 
• Successful execution of network migration and modernization programs. 
• Delivery against approved project budgets. 
• Stakeholder and internal customer satisfaction.

5. Key Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Telecommunications Engineering, Electrical/Electronic Engineering, Computer Engineering, Information Technology, or a related discipline. 
• Minimum 6 years of relevant professional experience in telecommunications network engineering, transport network engineering, technical program management, or a similar role. 
• Strong practical experience with DWDM and optical transport networks. 
• Strong understanding of OTN, ROADM, coherent optics, optical transmission and fiber-optic networks. 
• Good working knowledge of IP/MPLS networks and technologies. 
• Demonstrated experience managing complex telecommunications network projects or programs. 
• Experience working across multiple technical teams, vendors, contractors, and stakeholders. 
• Proven experience in network planning, design, implementation, commissioning, optimization, and lifecycle management.
• Strong understanding of telecom network architecture, resiliency, protection, redundancy, and capacity planning. 
• Excellent project planning, execution, reporting, and problem-solving capabilities. 
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills. 
• Ability to work effectively in a multi-country and multi-cultural environment. 
• Willingness to travel across CSquared's operating markets as required. 
• OEM experience, particularly with Nokia, will be highly advantageous. 
• Must have the legal right to live and work in Ghana

Other Preferred Qualifications

• Experience working for or with major telecommunications OEMs, particularly Nokia. 
• Nokia optical transport experience, including 1830 PSS or related Nokia optical platforms. 
• Experience with Nokia IP/MPLS platforms. 
• Experience with large-scale regional or international telecom backbone networks. 
• Experience integrating submarine cable systems with terrestrial networks. 
• Experience with carrier-grade networks serving wholesale, enterprise, cloud, data-center, and international connectivity customers. 
• Experience with network automation, SDN, telemetry, and network analytics. 
• Professional project management certification such as PMP, PRINCE2, or equivalent. 
• Relevant telecommunications certifications from major OEMs. 

Leadership & Behavioral Competencies 

• Results-oriented – demonstrates strong ownership and drives initiatives through to completion. 
• Highly organized – capable of managing multiple complex programs and priorities simultaneously. 
• Technically strong – able to engage deeply with engineers, architects, OEMs, and vendors. A strong communicator – able to clearly communicate technical and program issues to both technical and executive audiences. 
• Proactive – anticipates risks, identifies opportunities, and acts before issues impact delivery. 
• Accountable – takes ownership of deliverables, timelines, quality, and outcomes. 
• Collaborative – works effectively across technology, operations, commercial, finance, supply chain, and external partners. 
• Analytical – able to assess complex technical and business problems and make sound decisions. 
• Execution-focused – capable of converting strategy and plans into measurable results. 
• Customer-focused – understands the importance of network availability, performance, scalability, and customer experience. 
• Adaptable – comfortable operating in a rapidly changing, multi-country African telecommunications environment.