MQ/ Message Broker Specialist at Barclays Africa Group Limited

Job Description

Ensure that all activities and duties are carried out in full compliance with regulatory requirements, Enterprise Wide Risk Management Framework and internal Barclays Policies and Policy Standards

Understand and manage risks and risk events (incidents) relevant to the role.

Overall purpose of role

• The role is for IBM MQ and Message broker infrastructure specialist working on live support and maintenance as well as technical project delivery for Africa Technology.
• The role provides exposure to leading edge Middleware software technology hosting and orchestrating mission critical services for the group.
• Responsible to plan, install, maintain, customize, deploy and configure IBM MQ and Message broker, related applications as guided by business requirements. Required to perform problem determination diagnostics and find tactical solutions as a means to solve IBM MQ and Message broker failures, issues and faults, as well as business technology solutions.
• Responsible to actively interface and participate in all assigned technology and business projects, problems and changes related IBM MQ and Message broker, as well as create new, maintain existing and publish documentation and processes on the MQ Knowledgebase
• The individual will be required to work closely with engineering, solution designers, operating systems and project delivery teams to provide technical solutions and designs as well as implement and support the technical solutions on the MQ estate.
• Skills transfer and knowledge sharing with regional and global technology partners re Database, WAS, Storage, Applications and Network Specialists to support the global Middleware estate and strategies.

Accountability: Manage the Business

• Align and Support Africa Technology strategy by staying abreast of industry trends and ensure that the Business Unit is well positioned to provide competitive and industry
• leading services
• Ensure, through deliverable actions, that MQ and Message broker support is viewed as a
• product and service provider of choice.
• Practice and Influence the one Africa culture to demonstrate a culture of inclusivity within
• Middleware.
• Participate in setting up a medium and short term goals that align and support strategic
• targets and metrics
• Support sustainable cost and processing efficiencies through continuous innovation,
• industry benchmarking and alignment to best practices.
• Proactively manage changes in the environment and ensure the effective implementation
• of approved changes and stabilisation of the environment
• Make technical recommendation to support decisions made concerning the
• enhancement
• of the current technological platforms, through the approved development life-cycle

framework

• Provide Input on technology support issues to improve availability of systems (includes
• stability, accessibility, risk management), by ensuring that all governance controls,
• standards and process are in place and adhered to
• Transfer and share expert technical knowledge to colleagues and update the knowledge

database

• Conduct Disaster Recovery(DR) tests for all MQ and Message broker systems to prove the
• recoverability within the Recovery Time Objective (RTO) and Recovery Point Objective
• (RPO)
• Ensure technical recovery instructions(TRI) are always up to date
• Ensure alignment of the DR plan with any changes in the services setup or infrastructure and architecture strategy

Accountability: System Stability

• Ensure sufficient monitoring tool agent (i.e. Wily) are/is installed and running on MQ and
• Message broker systems
• Monitor and ensure that all critical systems are monitored and integrated to system
• management tool
• Ensure there is sufficient and up to date monitoring in Command centre/GTOC for MQ and

Message broker

• Proactively monitor and deal with the incident queues, and provide analysis around any
• problems that arise from incident support. Deliver high quality incident resolution to
• Africa technology’ standards, policies and procedures. Attend conference calls on high
• severity incidents. Outside of standard business hours, provide a 24-hour on-call service
• when required.
• Log problems resolved as per agreed service level agreements (SLA) or Operational Level
• Agreement (OLA) timelines with stakeholders and business
• . Investigate and document the root cause analysis, action plans to address the problems and communicate these to all affected stakeholders

Education and Experience Required

• B-degree or Diploma in computer science or Information Technology (NQF level no.6)
• Certified on IBM MQ and Message Broker
• At least six years work experience in a technology environment.
• At least three years of the six is MQ administrator
• If no relevant tertiary qualification, eight years system programmer or system design, five years practical platform related management experience to create an in-depth understanding of the appropriate technology platform, three years of project management/technical management with direct reports) years (Technical/Managerial) experience.