Cloud Engineer (Exchange and Voice Specialist)

Spektrum supports apex purchasers (NATO, UN, EU, and National Government and Defence) and their Tier 1 supplier ecosystem with a wide range of specialist services. We provide our clients with professional services, specialised aerospace and defence sales, delivery, and operational subject matter expertise. We are looking for personnel to join our team and support key client projects.

Who we are supporting 

The NATO Communication and Information Agency (NCIA) is responsible for providing secure and effective communications and information technology (IT) services to NATO's member countries and its partners. The agency was established in 2012 and is headquartered in Brussels, Belgium.

The NCIA provides a wide range of services, including:

• Cyber Security: The NCIA provides advanced cybersecurity solutions to protect NATO's communication networks and information systems against cyber threats.
• Command and Control Systems: The NCIA develops and maintains the systems used by NATO's military commanders to plan and execute operations.
• Satellite Communications: The NCIA provides satellite communications services to enable secure and reliable communications between NATO forces.
• Electronic Warfare: The NCIA provides electronic warfare services to support NATO's mission to detect, deny, and defeat threats to its communication networks.
• Information Management: The NCIA manages NATO's information technology infrastructure, including its databases, applications, and servers.

Overall, the NCIA plays a critical role in ensuring the security and effectiveness of NATO's communication and information technology capabilities.

The program

Assistance and Advisory Service (AAS)

The NATO Communications and Information Agency (NCI Agency) is NATO’s principal C3 capability deliverer and CIS service provider. It provides, maintains and defends the NATO enterprise-wide information technology infrastructure to enable Allies to consult together under Article IV, and, when required, stand together in the face of attack under Article V.

To provide these critical services, in the modern evolving dynamic environment the NCI Agency needs to build and maintain high performance-engaged workforce. The NCI Agency workforce strategically consists of three major categorise's: NATO International Civilians (NIC)'s, Military (Mil), and Interim Workforce Consultants (IWC)'s. The IWCs are a critical part of the overall NCI Agency workforce and make up approximately 15 percent of the total workforce.

Role Background

Supporting NATO throughout all its geographical locations, the NCI Agency is looking for Cloud Engineer (Hybrid), Exchange and Voice Specialist, joining the journey of NATO’s modernisation of IT services, through leveraging the public cloud (Microsoft Azure, M365 and Amazon AWS), delivering managed, protected, security-centric and reliable IT Services.

NCI Agency – Cloud Operations Team

The NATO Communications and Information Agency (NCI Agency) is dedicated to supporting NATO's strategic objectives, including the ambitious NATO 2030 agenda. As part of this commitment, we are spearheading the modernization and digital transformation of NATO’s IT services. Our focus is on leveraging public cloud technologies like Microsoft 365 and Intune, incorporating a security-by-design approach, and ensuring a seamless transition to a modern, collaborative workplace environment.

To achieve these goals, we are building a Cloud Operations team under the Cloud Center of Excellence, operating under the NATO Enterprise Cloud Operating Model (NECOM). The NECOM framework provides a standardized approach for cloud service management, ensuring interoperability, scalability, and security across NATO's IT infrastructure. The Cloud Center of Excellence will serve as a hub for best practices, innovation, and expertise, driving the adoption and optimization of cloud technologies within NATO. This team will play a crucial role in our journey towards providing managed, protected, and reliable End User Services.

Embracing the latest technological advancements, this initiative will foster innovation and ensure NATO remains at the cutting edge of IT capabilities. By continuously evolving and integrating new technologies, we aim to enhance operational efficiency and readiness for future challenges. This remote position offers an exciting opportunity to be at the forefront of NATO's technological evolution and contribute to the security and efficiency of our operations.

NCI Agency – Cloud Centre of Excellence (CCoE)

The Cloud Centre of Excellence (CCoE) within the NCI Agency is focused on driving successful cloud adoption and maximizing the potential of cloud technologies across the organization. It serves as a central governing body, promoting best practices, enabling knowledge sharing, and ensuring alignment between business objectives and cloud initiatives. The CCoE supports various cloudbased solutions, ensuring their effective and efficient implementation and management. By fostering a culture of continuous improvement and innovation, the CCoE helps the NCI Agency leverage cloud technologies to enhance operational efficiency, scalability, and agility.

The NCI Agency is seeking a highly skilled Cloud Engineer (Hybrid), Exchange and Voice Specialist to join our IT team. The M365 Exchange and Voice Specialist will be responsible for managing and optimizing our Exchange Online environment and voice communication systems, including Microsoft Teams, Meeting Room Devices, Call Manager integration, VoIP, and PSTN services.This role involves configuring and maintaining Exchange Online settings, managing Teams voice services, integrating meeting room devices, and ensuring seamless voice communication across the organization. You will contribute to the seamless operation of our IT services by leveraging the full capabilities of Exchange Online and Microsoft Teams, ensuring that our communication infrastructure is secure, efficient, and compliant with NATO and National Security policies.

Your responsibilities will include configuring and managing Exchange Online settings and policies, managing mail flow and transport rules, and overseeing mailbox provisioning and deprovisioning. In addition, you will be responsible for configuring and managing Microsoft Teams voice services, including call routing, call quality management, and user settings. You will also handle the integration and maintenance of meeting room devices and ensure their seamless operation with Microsoft Teams.

The role also involves integrating Microsoft Teams with Call Manager systems, managing VoIP and PSTN services, and ensuring compliance with technical standards and regulatory requirements. You will implement and manage security measures for email and voice communications, conduct regular security assessments, and ensure compliance with organizational and regulatory requirements.

Furthermore, you will develop and maintain automation scripts to streamline administrative tasks, provide expert support and troubleshooting for email and voice-related issues, and monitor the health and performance of the Exchange Online and Teams voice environments. If you are a motivated specialist with a passion for email and voice systems, and possess strong problem-solving skills, we invite you to apply and join our dynamic team.

Role Duties and Responsibilities

Exchange Online Administration:

• Configure and manage Exchange Online settings and policies.
• Ensure optimal performance and security of the email environment.
• Manage mail flow rules and transport rules.
• Oversee mailbox provisioning and deprovisioning.

Teams Voice Services Management:

• Configure and manage Microsoft Teams voice services.
• Implement and manage policies for call routing, call quality, and user settings.
• Monitor and optimize Teams voice performance and reliability.
• Troubleshoot and resolve Teams voice-related issues.

Meeting Room Devices Integration:

• Configure and manage meeting room devices.
• Ensure seamless integration of meeting room devices with Microsoft Teams.
• Monitor and maintain the performance of meeting room devices.
• Provide support and troubleshooting for meeting room device issues.

Call Manager Integration:

• Integrate Microsoft Teams with Call Manager systems.
• Configure and manage call routing and connectivity between systems.
• Ensure high availability and reliability of integrated voice services.
• Troubleshoot and resolve integration issues.

VoIP and PSTN Services:

• Manage VoIP and PSTN services within Microsoft Teams.
• Configure and maintain VoIP and PSTN connectivity.
• Ensure compliance with technical standards and regulatory requirements.
• Troubleshoot and resolve VoIP and PSTN issues.

Email and Voice Security:

• Implement and manage email and voice security measures.
• Protect against email and voice threats and ensure data integrity.
• Configure Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) policies for Exchange and Teams.
• Conduct regular security assessments and vulnerability scans.

Compliance Management:

• Ensure compliance with organizational and regulatory requirements.
• Implement and manage retention policies, eDiscovery, and legal holds for email and voice communications.
• Monitor and audit email and voice activities for compliance.
• Develop and maintain data loss prevention (DLP) policies.

Automation and Scripting:

• Develop and maintain PowerShell scripts to automate Exchange Online and Teams voice administrative tasks.
• Enhance operational efficiency through automation.
• Implement automated workflows for common tasks.
• Maintain and update existing automation scripts.

User Support and Troubleshooting:

• Provide expert support and troubleshooting for email and voice-related issues.
• Ensure a seamless user experience.
• Handle escalated support tickets related to Exchange Online and Teams voice.
• Provide training and guidance to end-users on best practices.

Monitoring and Reporting:

• Monitor the health and performance of the Exchange Online and Teams voice
• Generate reports and provide insights to improve email and voice services.
• Use Exchange Admin Center, Teams Admin Center, and third-party tools for monitoring.
• Analyze email and voice usage and performance data.

Continuous Improvement:

• Stay up-to-date with the latest Exchange Online and Teams voice features and best
• Continuously improve email and voice services to meet organizational needs.
• Participate in Microsoft 365 community forums and training.
• Propose and implement new features and enhancements.

Voice Communication Standards:

• Ensure compliance with industry standards for voice communication.
• Implement best practices for VoIP and PSTN services.
• Regularly review and update voice communication policies.
• Stay informed about emerging voice communication technologies.

Disaster Recovery Planning:

• Develop and implement disaster recovery and business continuity plans for email and voice services.
• Ensure quick restoration of services in the event of an outage.
• Conduct regular disaster recovery drills.
• Maintain documentation of recovery procedures.

Collaboration with IT Teams:

• Work closely with other IT teams to ensure cohesive communication strategies.
• Collaborate on cross-functional projects and initiatives.
• Provide expertise and support for email and voice-related projects.
• Participate in IT forums and discussions.

Remote On-Call Duty

• Execute On-call duty outside regular working hours, for maximum duration of 1 week per 4 month, to support urgent tickets when they are escalated to Level 2/3 support.

Essential Skills and Experience

Exchange Online Proficiency:

• Advanced knowledge of Exchange Online administration and configuration.
• Experience managing email settings and policies.
• Proficiency in configuring mail flow rules and transport rules.
• Ability to troubleshoot and resolve email-related issues.

Teams Voice Services Management:

• Expertise in configuring and managing Microsoft Teams voice services.
• Experience with call routing, call quality management, and user settings.
• Proficiency in monitoring and optimizing Teams voice performance.
• Ability to troubleshoot and resolve Teams voice-related issues.

Meeting Room Devices Integration:

• Skilled in configuring and managing meeting room devices.
• Experience integrating meeting room devices with Microsoft Teams.
• Proficiency in monitoring and maintaining device performance.
• Ability to provide support and troubleshooting for meeting room device issues.

Call Manager Integration:

• Expertise in integrating Microsoft Teams with Call Manager systems.
• Experience configuring call routing and connectivity.
• Proficiency in ensuring high availability and reliability of integrated voice services.
• Ability to troubleshoot and resolve integration issues.

VoIP and PSTN Services:

• Advanced knowledge of VoIP and PSTN services within Microsoft Teams.
• Experience managing VoIP and PSTN connectivity.
• Proficiency in troubleshooting VoIP and PSTN issues.
• Knowledge of compliance with technical standards and regulatory requirements.

Email and Voice Security:

• Advanced knowledge of email and voice security measures.
• Experience with Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) policies.
• Proficiency in conducting security assessments and vulnerability scans.
• Ability to respond to and mitigate security incidents.

Compliance Management:

• Knowledge of compliance requirements and best practices for email and voice
• Experience with retention policies, eDiscovery, and legal holds.
• Proficiency in monitoring and auditing activities for compliance.
• Ability to develop and maintain data loss prevention (DLP) policies.

Automation and Scripting:

• Proficient in writing and executing PowerShell scripts for automation.
• Ability to develop and maintain scripts for administrative tasks.
• Experience with automating common tasks and workflows.
• Knowledge of script debugging and error handling.

User Support and Troubleshooting:

• Strong problem-solving and troubleshooting skills for email and voice-related
• Experience providing technical support and ensuring user satisfaction.
• Proficiency in handling escalated support tickets.
• Ability to provide training and guidance to end-users.

Monitoring and Reporting:

• Proficient in using monitoring tools to track system health and performance.
• Ability to generate reports and provide insights.
• Experience with Exchange Admin Center, Teams Admin Center, and third-party
• Knowledge of analyzing usage and performance data.

Continuous Improvement:

• Commitment to staying current with Exchange Online and Teams voice features
• and best practices.
• Proactive in implementing improvements.
• Participation in Microsoft 365 community forums and training.
• Ability to propose and implement new features and enhancements.

Voice Communication Standards:

• Knowledge of industry standards for voice communication.
• Experience implementing best practices for VoIP and PSTN services.
• Ability to regularly review and update voice communication policies.
• Proficiency in staying informed about emerging voice communication

Disaster Recovery Planning:

• Experience developing and implementing disaster recovery plans for email and
• voice services.
• Ability to conduct regular disaster recovery drills.
• Knowledge of maintaining documentation of recovery procedures.
• Proficiency in ensuring quick restoration of services in the event of an outage.

Collaboration with IT Teams:

• Ability to work closely with other IT teams.
• Experience collaborating on cross-functional projects and initiatives.
• Skilled in providing expertise and support for email and voice-related projects.
• Proficiency in participating in IT forums and discussions.

Others:

• The candidate has strong customer relationship skills, including negotiating complex and sensitive situations under pressure.

Language Proficiency

• Business English

Working Policy

• Remote
• May be required to exercise on-call duty, outside regular working hours, for maximum duration of 1 week per 4 month, to resolve urgent tickets when they are escalated to CloudOps Center. On-call duty is held remotely.

Travel

• May be required to travel, not exceeding 1 week per month, to other NCI Agency locations (Brussels, Belgium and The Hague, Netherlands) as part of his role

Security Clearance

• Valid National or NATO Secret personal security clearance