2024-0305 Cloud Engineer Exchange and Voice Spec. (NS) REMOTE - 27 May RELAUNCH

Deadline Date:  Tuesday, 27 May 2025
 
Requirement:   Cloud Engineer (Hybrid) Exchange and Voice Specialist
 
Location:  Off-Site
 
Not to Exceed:  2025 BASED SPRINTS NTE € 4230/ sprint for a total amount of € 109,980
 
Period of Performance:  BASE period: 25th June 2025, 2026 Option and 2027 Option
 
Required Security Clearance:  NATO SECRET
 
Introduction:

• 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 cloud-based 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 de-provisioning. 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.

• The NCI Agency is embracing cloud services by transitioning to Microsoft 365 with a security-centric design. This shift aims to enhance operational efficiency, collaboration, and security across the organization. We are looking for individuals with strong knowledge, a willingness to learn, and a desire to grow as part of this new challenge.
• The objective of this statement of work is to establish a support and operating model for End User Services operating in the Public Cloud, with a focus on Microsoft 365 services.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• Monitor the health and performance of the Exchange Online and Teams voice environments.
• 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.

• Stay up-to-date with the latest Exchange Online and Teams voice features and best practices.
• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• The duties of the consultants require a valid NATO SECRET security clearance.
• All the deliverables of this project will be considered NATO UNCLASSIFIED, while access to networks exceeding this classification level is required.
• With this role being of technical nature providing administrative support, a security clearance at the NATO Secret level is required prior to the start of the engagement.

• The contractor will be required to work primarily remote as part of this engagement. The Cloud Operations Team is located in BRUSSELS / BEL and THE HAGUE / NLD, with working hours to be adjusted accordingly.
• The contractor will be required to work within a NATO country, following the rules and regulations applicable for the operations of NATO CIS.
• The contractor may be required to travel, not exceeding 1 week per month, to other NCI Agency locations as part of his role. The locations applicable for this engagement are limited to BRUSSELS / BEL and THE HAGUE / NLD. Travel arrangements will be the responsibility of the contractor and the expenses will be reimbursed in accordance with Article 5.5 of AAS Framework Contract and within the limits of the NCIA Travel Directive.
• This individual hired for this position will be part of the NCIA Cloud Operations Team. The contractor 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• Knowledge of compliance requirements and best practices for email and voice systems.
• 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.

• 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.

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

• 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 tools.
• Knowledge of analyzing usage and performance data.

• 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.

• 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 technologies.

• Experience developing and implementing disaster recovery plans for email and voice services.
• Ability to conduct regular disaster recovery drills.