Senior Manager IT - Unified Communications Operations (Remote)

Overview

This is a remote role that may only be hired in the following location(s): Arizona, North Carolina and Texas.

The Senior Manager, Unified Communications Operations leads the delivery, stability, security, and continuous improvement of the Bank's enterprise voice and collaboration services. This role is responsible for managing a team that supports mission-critical Unified Communications platforms, ensuring high availability, operational excellence, regulatory compliance, and exceptional service delivery.

The position partners closely with Unified Communications Engineering, Infrastructure, Security, and Business leaders to support technology lifecycle management, operational readiness, resiliency, and strategic transformation initiatives. The ideal candidate brings deep experience leading large-scale Cisco Unified Communications environments within highly regulated enterprise organizations

Responsibilities & Qualifications

Duties and Responsibilities:

Leadership & Operational Management

• Lead and develop a high-performing Unified Communications Operations team.
• Establish operational standards, governance, service levels, and performance metrics.
• Drive operational excellence through incident, problem, change, and service management practices.
• Serve as the senior escalation point for critical production issues and service disruptions.
• Build strong partnerships across Infrastructure, Engineering, Security, Risk, and business stakeholders.

Service Delivery & Platform Operations

• Ensure the availability, stability, performance, and supportability of enterprise voice and collaboration services.
• Oversee day-to-day operations, maintenance, monitoring, and support of Unified Communications platforms.
• Lead major incident response, service restoration, root cause analysis, and continuous improvement efforts.
• Support technology upgrades, platform lifecycle management, and operational readiness for new solutions.
• Manage relationships with telecommunications carriers and strategic technology vendors.

Engineering Partnership & Strategic Initiatives

• Collaborate with Engineering teams on platform roadmaps, upgrades, resiliency, and modernization efforts.
• Ensure new technologies transition smoothly into production support.
• Participate in capacity planning, disaster recovery, and business continuity initiatives.
• Provide operational guidance for architecture and technology design decisions.

Security, Risk & Compliance

• Ensure Unified Communications platforms remain secure, compliant, and aligned with enterprise standards.
• Oversee patch management, vulnerability remediation, and operational risk controls.
• Support audits, regulatory requirements, and security assessments.
• Maintain operational resiliency and recovery capabilities for critical communications services.

Position Specific Skills:
Previous leadership for technical implementation
Knowledge of Standard Development Life Cycles (like Waterfall or Agile)
Knowledge of system and data design

Qualifications:

Bachelor's Degree and 8 years of experience in Applications development, analysis or engineering OR High School Diploma or GED and 12 years of experience in Applications development, analysis or engineering

Preferred Qualifications

• 8+ years supporting enterprise Unified Communications environments.
• 7+ years leading technical operations teams in large-scale organizations.
• Experience managing mission-critical, 24x7 production environments.
• Strong background with Cisco Unified Communications technologies and SIP-based services.
• Experience managing telecommunications providers, vendors, and operational budgets.
• Experience within a highly regulated environment, preferably a financial institution.
• Cisco Unified Communications Manager (CUCM)
• Cisco Unity Connection, Expressway, IM & Presence
• SIP Trunking, Session Border Controllers (SBCs), and Voice Gateways
• VoIP architecture and troubleshooting
• Cloud and hybrid collaboration technologies (Microsoft Teams Phone preferred)
• ITIL service management practices
• Incident, Problem, Change, and Release Management
• Vulnerability Management, Business Continuity, and Disaster Recovery
• Experience in a Large Financial Institution (LFI).
• Experience supporting cloud contact center integrations.
• Microsoft Teams Phone experience.
• ITIL, PMP, CCNP Collaboration, CCIE Collaboration, or equivalent certifications.

#LI-JB1

Additional Information

Benefits are an integral part of total rewards and First Citizens Bank is committed to providing a competitive, thoughtfully designed and quality benefits program to meet the needs of our associates. More information can be found at

Duties and Responsibilities:

Leadership & Operational Management

• Lead and develop a high-performing Unified Communications Operations team.
• Establish operational standards, governance, service levels, and performance metrics.
• Drive operational excellence through incident, problem, change, and service management practices.
• Serve as the senior escalation point for critical production issues and service disruptions.
• Build strong partnerships across Infrastructure, Engineering, Security, Risk, and business stakeholders.

Service Delivery & Platform Operations

• Ensure the availability, stability, performance, and supportability of enterprise voice and collaboration services.
• Oversee day-to-day operations, maintenance, monitoring, and support of Unified Communications platforms.
• Lead major incident response, service restoration, root cause analysis, and continuous improvement efforts.
• Support technology upgrades, platform lifecycle management, and operational readiness for new solutions.
• Manage relationships with telecommunications carriers and strategic technology vendors.

Engineering Partnership & Strategic Initiatives

• Collaborate with Engineering teams on platform roadmaps, upgrades, resiliency, and modernization efforts.
• Ensure new technologies transition smoothly into production support.
• Participate in capacity planning, disaster recovery, and business continuity initiatives.
• Provide operational guidance for architecture and technology design decisions.

Security, Risk & Compliance

• Ensure Unified Communications platforms remain secure, compliant, and aligned with enterprise standards.
• Oversee patch management, vulnerability remediation, and operational risk controls.
• Support audits, regulatory requirements, and security assessments.
• Maintain operational resiliency and recovery capabilities for critical communications services.

Position Specific Skills:
Previous leadership for technical implementation
Knowledge of Standard Development Life Cycles (like Waterfall or Agile)
Knowledge of system and data design

Qualifications:

Bachelor's Degree and 8 years of experience in Applications development, analysis or engineering OR High School Diploma or GED and 12 years of experience in Applications development, analysis or engineering

Preferred Qualifications

• 8+ years supporting enterprise Unified Communications environments.
• 7+ years leading technical operations teams in large-scale organizations.
• Experience managing mission-critical, 24x7 production environments.
• Strong background with Cisco Unified Communications technologies and SIP-based services.
• Experience managing telecommunications providers, vendors, and operational budgets.
• Experience within a highly regulated environment, preferably a financial institution.
• Cisco Unified Communications Manager (CUCM)
• Cisco Unity Connection, Expressway, IM & Presence
• SIP Trunking, Session Border Controllers (SBCs), and Voice Gateways
• VoIP architecture and troubleshooting
• Cloud and hybrid collaboration technologies (Microsoft Teams Phone preferred)
• ITIL service management practices
• Incident, Problem, Change, and Release Management
• Vulnerability Management, Business Continuity, and Disaster Recovery
• Experience in a Large Financial Institution (LFI).
• Experience supporting cloud contact center integrations.
• Microsoft Teams Phone experience.
• ITIL, PMP, CCNP Collaboration, CCIE Collaboration, or equivalent certifications.

#LI-JB1

Benefits are an integral part of total rewards and First Citizens Bank is committed to providing a competitive, thoughtfully designed and quality benefits program to meet the needs of our associates. More information can be found at