IT Manager III - Critical Network Services

Information Technology Services \- ITS

State of Idaho Opportunity

**Applications will be accepted through 11:59 PM MST on the posting end date. **

**Job Summary**

The State of Idaho’s enterprise IT organization has an opening for a Critical Network Services Manager III, a senior leadership role responsible for core networking, firewalls, and statewide perimeter security operations.

This position provides strategic direction and operational excellence for mission‑critical network services that support statewide business functions, emergency response activities, and multi‑agency coordination.

The incumbent leads complex infrastructure operations in a high‑availability environment, ensuring secure, resilient connectivity for state agencies, emergency operations centers, healthcare organizations, and federal partners.

This role translates business and mission requirements into secure, functional network and security architectures; oversees 24/7 operational support; and directs modernization efforts for statewide network and security platforms.

The Manager III is a key contributor during emergency activation events, supporting FEMA\-aligned operations, Security Operations Center (SOC) and Joint Operations Center (JOC) coordination, and continuity\-of\-operations (COOP) and disaster\-recovery (DR) initiatives.

The incumbent works closely with senior leadership across state agencies and partner organizations to align service delivery outcomes, security posture, compliance expectations, and long‑term modernization priorities for Idaho’s critical infrastructure.

**Responsibilities**

**Management**

• Manage team readiness for emergency activation events, ensuring staff are trained in FEMA NIMS/ICS\-aligned communication and escalation workflows.
• Coordinate technical leadership with statewide operations centers, Joint Operations Centers, and healthcare/federal partners during incidents requiring multi‑agency collaboration.
• Develop policy, procedures, and operational standards that reflect the requirements of regulated environments (healthcare, federal) and emergency\-response infrastructures.

**Operations**

• Oversee core firewall and network security operations that directly support mission‑critical statewide emergency response, continuity\-of\-operations (COOP), and disaster\-recovery (DR) activities.
• Direct technical response during SOC/JOC activations, ensuring rapid restoration of network services that support interagency communications and situational\-awareness platforms.
• Manage interoperable network services between state agencies, federal partners, and healthcare systems, including secure VPN interconnects, segmentation controls, and cross\-domain pathways.
• Support technical operations for high\-availability clinical systems, ensuring secure, resilient networking for healthcare environments during emergencies.

**Strategy / Engineering Leadership**

• Lead modernization efforts that enhance statewide emergency communications, datacenter resiliency, and cross‑agency connectivity aligned to FEMA and federal security frameworks.
• Develop technology strategies that integrate requirements for federal coordination, healthcare regulatory needs, JOC mission continuity, and multi\-agency situational\-awareness systems.
• Anticipate operational obstacles during emergency scenarios and guide engineering teams in implementing mitigation plans that maintain service continuity across statewide infrastructures.
• Provide long\-range planning recommendations that include emergency\-response readiness, redundant connectivity, secure cloud interconnects, and rapid\-change firewall/policy workflows.

**Security / Risk Oversight**

• Ensure network and datacenter security architecture aligns with federal cybersecurity frameworks (e.g., NIST) and healthcare protection requirements, including safeguarding sensitive data flows during emergencies.
• Direct technical support for complex security incidents impacting multi\-agency communications, statewide operations centers, or facilities requiring federal/healthcare compliance.
• Lead risk assessments that evaluate the resilience of emergency\-response network pathways, secure datacenter interconnects, and JOC/SOC operational dependencies.
• Maintain awareness of emerging threats that affect interoperable emergency networks, cross\-agency connectivity, and critical statewide communications infrastructure.

**Minimum Qualifications**

• Good knowledge of management practices.
• Considerable knowledge of current trends in information technology, including hardware/software capabilities and limitations.
• Experience supervising staff and activities of an IT function.
• Experience participating in short\- and long\-range IT planning, including developing and implementing policies and procedures.

**Preferred Qualifications (Firewall / Datacenter Focus)**

• Experience supporting mission‑critical network and security infrastructure within emergency response, statewide operations centers, Joint Operations Centers, or multi‑agency coordination environments, including understanding of incident communications requirements, secure interagency connectivity, and high‑availability perimeter/security services.
• Knowledge of FEMA National Incident Management System (NIMS) and Incident Command System (ICS) principles as applied to enterprise network continuity, communications dependencies, and infrastructure restoration during elevated operational periods.
• Experience integrating or supporting interoperable communications and secure network linkages between state agencies, federal partners, and emergency operations centers, including VPN meshes, cross‑domain segmentation strategies, and secure data‑exchange architectures.
• Demonstrated ability to lead technical teams during emergency activation events involving network degradation, cybersecurity incidents, or infrastructure outages, including coordination with agency leadership and emergency response partners.
• Experience implementing resilient datacenter and perimeter security controls aligned to emergency management requirements such as continuity of operations (COOP), disaster recovery (DR), and critical service prioritization.
• Familiarity with Joint Information Center (JIC) and Joint Operations Center (JOC) technological workflows, including support for situational‑awareness platforms, secure messaging environments, and high‑demand network analytics.
• Experience developing modernization strategies that incorporate emergency‑operations readiness, including real‑time monitoring enhancements, redundant internet and interconnect architectures, and rapid‑response firewall/policy change workflows.

**Benefits:**

This position is eligible for the state benefits package, including:

• Excellent low\-cost medical, dental, and vision insurance
• Generous vacation and sick leave accrual beginning as soon as you start
• Eligibility for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF)
• Paid parental leave
• Eleven paid holidays a year
• Participation in one of the nation's best state retirement systems: PERSI
• Multiple retirement plans
• Life insurance
• Wellness programs; ongoing training opportunities; and more

https://dhr. idaho. gov/StateEmployees/Benefits.

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**EEO/ADA/Veteran:**

The State of Idaho is committed to providing equal employment opportunities and prohibit discrimination against qualified individuals based on their status as protected veterans or individuals with disabilities and prohibit discrimination against all individuals based on their race, color, religion, political affiliation or belief, sex, national origin, genetics, or any other status protected under applicable federal, state, or local laws.

The State of Idaho is committed to access and reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities, auxiliary aids and services are available upon request. If you require an accommodation at any step in our recruitment process, you are encouraged to contact (208\) 334\-2263 (TTY/TTD: 711\), or email ada. coordinator@dhr.

idaho. gov.

Preference may be given to veterans who qualify under state and federal laws and regulations.