What Does a Telecommunications Administrator Do?
Telecommunications administrators are voice systems specialists who team up with customers, departments, and other technical staff to ensure the highest possible quality and efficiency from their networks. They manage and support telecommunications systems and networks, with duties that include configuring and deploying equipment, managing user access and rights, monitoring network performance and reliability, and implementing and maintaining security protocols.
Telecom admins have a broad understanding of TCP/IP, UDP, FTP, VoIP, telephony systems, and general networking hardware and software that they use to perform their jobs. They must be able to work independently and as a member of a team, with excellent organizational and time management skills. Additionally, they should have effective communication and interpersonal skills to use when supporting clients, stakeholders, and other team members.
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National Average Salary
Telecommunications administrator salaries vary by experience, industry, organization size, and geography. To explore salary ranges by local market, please visit our sister site zengig.com.
The average U.S. salary for a Telecommunications Administrator is:
$70,250
Telecommunications Administrator Job Descriptions
Crafting the perfect job description may be the key to finding an exceptional telecommunications administrator. To help you with your recruiting search, our team has put together some examples from past openings.
Example 1
A telecommunications administrator plays a critical role in fixing and improving business networks that connect data and various voice communications, including telephone, computer, and voicemail systems. The top responsibility a telecom administrator holds is taking care of the company communications to ensure they are running properly and reliably. This requires each telecom administrator to know their way around a computer and new technology.
They must understand how to troubleshoot errors and be able to fix issues that arise in any of the communication systems. [Your Company Name] is looking to hire an experienced telecom administrator that has an associate’s degree or more who is passionate about the work they are doing and is happy to serve the company by working through the challenges that come with technological shortcomings.
Typical duties and responsibilities
- Responsible for receiving logs and addresses reports along with reported problems or complaints
- Responsible for managing and administrating devices and services of the department apart from maintaining an inventory of the active service accounts and the equipment accounts
- Assist the telecom manager with vendor relations and communications
- Look into billing related inquiries and solving of disputes
- Receive and document requests for assistance on various cell phones, calling cards, air cards and other types of wireless telecommunication devices
- Generate statistical reports for the management as and when requested or ordered
- Responsible for the overall administration of the telecom department and seeing to the fact that all departments are well managed and administered
- Track metrics and work with different vendors
Education and experience
An associate degree is required for this position, but a bachelor’s degree is strongly preferred.
Required skills and qualifications
- Exceptional interpersonal skills
- Strong time management and decision-making skills
- Adaptability and accountability
- Ability to work with a team and exhibit leadership qualities
Preferred qualifications
- Ability to write moderate to complex documents
- Ability to communicate in complex sentences, using normal word order with present and past tenses and strong vocabulary
- Ability to read, analyze, and interpret common scientific and technical journals, financial reports, and legal documents
- Ability to respond to common inquiries or complaints from customers, regulatory agencies, or members of the business community
Example 2
This position is responsible for supporting the development of strategic objectives as well as performing system administration and managing maintenance activities related to the core.
Essential functions
- Assists with strategic and tactical planning for telecommunication systems and related technology initiatives
- Responsible for advocating the department’s technical and operational interests in the design and implementation of system replacements and/or upgrades
- Participates in the investigation, development, and implementation of the applications supporting the call taking and dispatch functions
- Develops and recommends policy and procedures relating to the use and maintenance of telecommunications systems
- Responsible for the systems administration associated with, move, add or change requests
- Responsible for managing vendor maintenance activities consistent with contractual requirements and managing trouble-ticket processes for timely resolution
- Responsible for providing ongoing technical support to system end-users
- Responsible for maintaining systems technical and operational documentation
- Responsible for maintaining spare-parts inventories
- Assists with telephone training for 911 center personnel, and other subscribers
- Responsible for participating in continuity of operations planning for 911 and Emergency Operations Center telephone operations
- Responsible for supporting cyber security initiatives for Telecommunications systems
- Responsible for serving as the department’s technical contact for telecommunication systems vendors/providers
- Assist with the preparation, distribution, and evaluation of Requests for Proposal (RFP) and Requests for Quotation (RFQ)
- Responsible for conducting annual and periodic reviews of telephone call center data to make operational improvement recommendations based upon industry best practices
- Responsible for participating in the Account Payable process by conducting monthly reviews and annual audits of telephone systems vendor invoices and customer service records
Qualifications
- Possess a working knowledge and administrative experience with Motorola VESTA 911 Call Handling Systems and related ancillary equipment
- Possess operational level experience maintaining a network architecture that includes multiple sites
- Possess operational level experience designing, implementing, and supporting a role-based ACD telephone call center
- Possess strong project management and communications skills
- Possess knowledge and experience working in public safety as a systems architect, vendor field engineer, or systems administrator
Example 3
As a Network Engineer (Telecommunications administrator), you will be part of the Infrastructure Services team responsible for all telephony and network operations.. The primary responsibility is telephony, both analog and VOIP. Secondary responsibilities are enterprise switching and routing, TCP/IP, copper and fiber cabling, QoS, T1/DS1, ISDN, wireless access points, phones, and a campus data-center. This customer-facing position requires frequent interaction with campus users. This involves independently implementing solutions that have system-wide impact. This will be an onsite position with some flexibility.
Where you will make an impact
- Provide primary telephony support of VoIP/analog phones, indoor/outdoor analog phone devices, analog gateways, voice routers, and telecom circuits. This includes but is not limited to configuration, troubleshooting, monitoring, license management, daily support ticket resolution, documentation, and project tasks
- Install, configure, and maintain switches on the network
- Assist with wireless network support, including device connectivity troubleshooting, wireless controller updates, and access point replacements as needed
- Assist with the copper and fiber cable plants, including documentation, maintaining implementation standards, and reviewing contractor work to ensure adherence to requirements
- Assist in the training and task assignment to perform daily Move/Add/Change activities of service provisioning, troubleshooting, and documentation
- Participate in the evaluation and selection of network hardware and management systems
- Participate in monthly after-hours or weekend network maintenance activities as needed
- Respond to critical support issues outside of work hours as needed
- Work closely with end users and IT members to ensure technical issues are resolved in a timely manner
- Provide knowledge transfer to IT team members
- Perform other duties as assigned
What you will bring
- Minimum of 4 years hands-on experience with Avaya or other phone systems, including analog in a LAN environment
- Solid understanding of Avaya IP Office, Avaya ACR, Call Center applications, DIDs, phone trees, announcements, ARS routing, call flow, voicemail, and all phone/voice technology, analog or other
- Some knowledge of Cisco IOS configuration and support of switches
- Some understanding of high-availability wireless LAN controllers and Wireless Access Points
- Experience troubleshooting wired and wireless connectivity
- Some hands-on experience with Cisco Prime Infrastructure, or DNAC, or similar
- Understanding of IPv4 addressing, VLANs, Multicast, SNMP, DNS, DHCP
- Some understanding of server virtualization utilizing VMware ESXi as the hosting environment for telephony services
- Ability to communicate with all individuals in a professional and courteous manner both verbally and in writing
- Ability to multitask
- Ability to climb ladder, crawl under desk, and lift up to 50 lbs.
Example 4
As the Telecommunications Administrator, you will be responsible for working within the framework of a team and performing the following activities
- Administer and support enterprise unified communications and voice solutions covering voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone systems, voicemail, contact center, audio and video conferencing, Avaya, and Microsoft Teams solutions
- Troubleshoot problems to solve hardware and software defects or configuration issues
- Monitor Unified Communication (UC) voice enterprise systems to ensure they function efficiently
- Ensure timely maintenance is performed on all UC voice enterprise equipment throughout the company
- Troubleshoot VoIP phone system issues and support internal customer requests as assigned by the internal Service Desk team
- Follow vendor guides and industry best practices when installing systems and conducting repairs
- Work collaboratively with internal stakeholders to maximize the voice system functionality and user experience
- Educate business users on collaboration tools, polices, and best practices
- Create, update, and maintain Applied Medical UC enterprise systems documentation
- Establish strong working relationships within the company in the capacity of a trusted advisor on enterprise voice infrastructure matters
- Conduct research and perform tests to identify ways of improving current voice system performance
- Schedule support coverage shifts, plan for capacity changes, and maintain overall enterprise system health
- Verify all enterprise systems follow corporate and government regulations and remediate when gaps are found
- Ensure uptime maximization of systems, working to improve resiliency when needed
- Engage in customer-facing communication covering such topics as requests, troubleshooting, design, and best practice recommendations
- Produce and present reports of the overall operational health, support services, and any issue related to the enterprise system
- Implement and support enterprise infrastructure, including installation, configuration, upgrade, patching, maintenance, and monitoring
- Act as a subject matter expert for collaboration tools, including keeping current with industry trends, vendor roadmaps, and platform features
- Provide input to long-range planning and provide technical planning and support for new UC technologies
- Collaborate with the UC team and vendors to research utilizing Microsoft Teams phone system and direct routing solutions with Avaya
- Support the development of a single global UC solution to implement multiple existing voice systems, such as Avaya, Microsoft Teams, Ring Central
- Collaborate with vendors to research, design, develop, and deploy an Avaya SBC to leverage Microsoft Teams Voice, or other cloud platforms
- Participate in UC design meetings and team projects with support vendors, project managers, and customers to document and implement UC voice solutions
- Update job knowledge by participating in educational opportunities, reading professional publications, maintaining personal networks, and participating in professional organizations
Position requirements
- Minimum of 5 years experience working in the Unified Communications Voice and Telecommunication field
- Minimum of 6 years experience or equivalent working in an IT or IT-related field
- Work outside of regular working hours during maintenance windows, planned upgrades, and unexpected outages
- Maintain a clean driving record and drive the company vehicle
- Demonstrate a functional and technical understanding and knowledge towards role responsibilities
- Advanced knowledge and experience with external telecommunication services, such as vendor management, Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS), T1 and E1, E.164 dialing, and emergency services
- Advanced knowledge and experience with foundational UC concepts, such as route plans, interop, VoIP, and dial plans
- Foundational knowledge and experience in supporting contact center environments
- Foundational knowledge and experience understanding how Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model function and interacts with UC solutions
- Knowledge of on-premises and cloud-connected enterprise infrastructure systems, including hyperconverged systems, servers, routers, switches (physical and software-defined), firewalls, web and SPAM filters, load balancers, server and desktop virtualization, and could computing
- Understanding of on-premises and cloud-connected enterprise infrastructure software, including operational systems (Microsoft Windows, Linux, and UNIX), patch management, virus protection, Microsoft Office platforms (SharePoint and Teams), Active Directory and Azure Active Directory, DHCP, DNS, Microsoft Exchange, ID management systems, and various database platforms (Microsoft SQL, Oracle, and Postgress)
- Familiarity of on-premises and cloud-connected enterprise storage systems including, direct-attached storage, object-based, NAS, and SAN
- Knowledge of telecommunication infrastructure and essential communications systems, including digital microwave, radio, satellite, Wide Area Networks (WAN), Local Area Network (LAN), copper ethernet, fiber-optic networks, intra-building cabling, speech, audio/visual solutions, security, call centers, SIP trunks, PRIs, and VoIP
- Knowledge of server and network security, including role or rule-based ACLs, logical and physical level security, anti-virus end-point protection, and SSL encryption and certificates
- Understand and follow Applied Medical’s Quality Systems (QS) per training
- Read, write, speak, and comprehend English
- Understand and comply with safety rules and company polices
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills
- Confident, articulate, and professional speaking and presentation abilities
- Exemplary time and resource management, prioritization, and organizational skills
- Show sufficient collaboration techniques and skills with team members to understand career goals and to create development plans
- Create a climate that empowers team members to do their best by instilling confidence and promoting positive attitudes
- Follow all escalation procedures during critical or emergency situations
- Complete on-going training and certifications
- Large amounts of time may be spent outside of the office, including in data centers or data closets, at construction sites, on a factory floor, in a clean room, in utility areas, at various outdoor locations, or doing ladder work
- Domestic and international travel
Candidate Certifications to Look For
- Network and Telecommunications Administration Certificate. This certification is ideal for beginners since it focuses on the basics of networking, computer hardware, and data communication skills. Earning the Network and Telecommunications Administration Certificate is a great introductory course that will teach candidates the critical skills needed to succeed as a telecom administrator, making it a worthwhile certificate that will be sure to impress potential employers!
- Certified Telecommunications Analyst (TCO CTA). The Certified Telecommunications Analyst Certification is the most comprehensive telecommunications certification out there, making it extremely valuable to earn as an aspiring telecom administrator. This certification will ensure candidates become experts in the following: Telecom Equipment, Telephony and Voice Over IP, Datacom and Networking, Coding, Service Implementation, IP Security, and more. Candidates being able to place this certification on their resume will be the ultimate demonstration to their potential employers that they are prepared for the job.
How to Hire a Telecommunications Administrator
When hiring a telecommunications administrator, first consider the following:
- Recruiting: Do you have the knowledge, tools, and resources to attract and screen candidates?
- Complexity: Do you need a senior professional, or will mid or junior-level skills and experience suffice?
- Duration: Is this a one-time project or an ongoing need?
- Management: Do you have the time and expertise to direct the work effectively?
- Urgency: How soon does the work need to be completed?
- Headcount: Do you have the budget and approval for an internal employee, or should you consider alternate options?
Answering these questions will help determine the best course of action for your current hiring need. Fortunately, great options exist for every scenario. These are our recommendations:
1. Use 4 Corner Resources (or another professional recruiting firm)
The heavy lifting is done for you when working with a top-tier staffing company like 4 Corner Resources. We source, screen, recruit, and deliver only the most qualified candidate(s), saving you significant time and effort throughout the hiring process while you remain focused on your core business. Understanding your needs and ensuring the right candidate for the position is the key to our success.
This is the best route to take when:
- You need to fill the position quickly
- You want access to a vast talent pool of high-quality, prescreened candidates
- Your position is suited for temporary hiring services, contract staffing, or contract-to-hire recruiting, and you intend to direct the work activity.
- You are hiring an employee as a direct placement but aren’t able to recruit effectively or efficiently with your internal staff.
- You aren’t familiar with current salary rates, market trends, and available skill sets
2. Advertise your opening on a top job board
Your best option may be to advertise your opening on a proven job board. There are many widely used job sites out there that draw visits from qualified candidates. If you have someone internally who can dedicate the time and energy to sort through applications and screen individuals effectively, this can be a great choice.
We recommend using a job board when:
- Your internal recruiting team has the knowledge and experience to assess candidate qualifications
- You are hiring a direct employee and have time to manage the entire recruiting effort
- You have a process for receiving, screening, and tracking all resumes and applications
- You are prepared to respond to all applicants
We recommend CareerBuilder for telecommunications administrator openings:
CareerBuilder
CareerBuilder has been a trusted source for hiring since 1995. Reach 80+ million unique, diverse U.S. job seekers annually by posting your jobs through their talent acquisition channels. Through CareerBuilder, you can engage candidates and drive them into your sourcing pipeline. We recommend using CareerBuilder for hiring when you have the internal resources and processes to review, screen, and reply to all applicants.
3. Leverage your internal resources
You can utilize your own website, social media, and employees to assist in your search for top candidates.
A company website posting should be the first step in notifying prospective candidates that you are hiring. Social media can also be a powerful tool for spreading the word about your new opening. As far as exposure is concerned, this option can be as good as some job boards when you have a large enough following across various platforms, like LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and Twitter.
Current employees are every organization’s greatest asset. Encourage your internal team to promote job openings to their network by offering cash and other incentives.
We recommend these options when:
- Your brand has great name recognition
- You can consistently monitor and respond to candidate activity through your website and social media accounts
- You have a process in place to quickly and broadly communicate job openings and requirements
- You have an effective employee referral program in place
If you aren’t sure which path is best, schedule a discovery call today with our seasoned recruiting professionals. The 4 Corner team is on standby to help you find the best option for your unique hiring need.
Sample Interview Questions
- Why do you want to be a telecommunications administrator at our company?
- Describe your professional experience configuring and deploying telecommunications equipment.
- How do you determine the functionality of hardware and software?
- What is your favorite task as a telecom administrator?
- How many users and endpoints have you previously supported, and where?
- Describe the methods and tools you’ve used for network monitoring?
- How do you record and maintain inventory of the equipment you use?
- Have you earned any certificates relating to telecom administration? Which ones?
- Explain your background with VoIP (voice over internet protocol).
- Describe your familiarity and experience with virtualization and cloud technology.
- Describe a disaster recovery plan you’ve created. What impact did it have on the business?
- What has been your most challenging telecom administrator experience?
- How to you prioritize and manage simultaneous projects?
- Describe your familiarity and understanding of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)?
- How do you remain current with new regulatory standards, technologies, and industry trends?