Job Posting Salary: R1,028,791.00
Purpose of the Job: Reporting to the Senior Manager: Data and Analytics, the successful incumbent is responsible for effectively managing, securing, and optimising RAF’s database environment by ensuring data integrity, high-availability and performance, whilst adhering to best practices and regulatory compliance.
Key Performance Areas
Database Availability
- Overseeing the establishment of Service Level Agreements (SLAs) with stakeholders.
- Directing proactive system health checks and monitoring strategies.
- Leading the team in rapid issue identification and resolution processes.
- Ensure rapid recovery from any unplanned downtimes.
Database Maintenance and Design
- Provide oversight and guidance on enterprise database architecture.
- Define and enforce database design standards, naming conventions, normalisation practices, and schema design principles.
- Review and approve logical and physical data models developed by DBAs or application teams.
- Forecast future database growth and scalability needs.
- Lead risk assessment and continuity planning for database infrastructure.
Database Performance Optimisation
- Strategize performance tuning and optimise processes, including indexing and query optimisation.
- Guide the team on capacity planning and ensuring resource allocation aligns with performance goals.
- Advocate the use of advanced techniques like caching and data partitioning.
- Reduce latency and improved efficiency in data processing.
Data Security
- Set direction for access control and authentication mechanisms.
- Ensure that regular updates and patches are applied to safeguard against vulnerabilities.
- Lead security audits and compliance checks to uphold data integrity.
- Increase trust amongst stakeholders in RAF’s data handling and storage.
Database Backup and Recovery
- Establish comprehensive backup and disaster recovery strategies.
- Decide the use of off-site and cloud storage solutions for enhanced data safety.
- Establish confidence in data integrity and availability among users.
Database Compliance
- Ensure adherence to relevant data protection laws and regulations through policy development.
- Oversee the implementation of data governance policies.
- Conduct regular audits to ensure ongoing compliance and addressing gaps.
- Facilitate training and awareness programmes to maintain a high-level of compliance awareness among RAF personnel.
Database Automation
- Lead the adoption of automation for routine database maintenance and monitoring tasks.
- Champion the use of scripting and orchestration tools to streamline operations.
- Manage the implementation of automated scaling solutions, particularly for cloud-based resources.
Database Capacity Planning and Scalability
- Manage the development of scalable database architectures.
- Guide the use of cloud services for flexible resource allocation.
- Lead strategic planning efforts to ensure database capabilities align with long-term business objectives.
- Align database capabilities with future business growth and demands.
Policy Review and Implementation
- Contribute to the development and implementation of departmental policy, procedures and processes.
- Keep up to date with effective policy and practice execution strategies.
- Enforcing policies for high-availability solutions (e.g. clustering, mirroring, replication, etc).
Reporting
- Ensure thorough preparation and prompt submission of all regulatory reports concerning the Database Administration team’s activities.
- Provide weekly, monthly and quarterly updates outlining the progress of implementing operational plans for Database Administration initiatives.
- Report on the effectiveness of the agile database management and possible improvements.
People Management
- Manage staff in the department to ensure that they achieve their objectives in line with the strategic objectives of the RAF.
- Manage the implementation of people management processes and procedures to control/regulate workplace conflict and/or institute corrective measures and consultation processes to address deviations from standards.
- Establish partnerships with technology providers and industry groups to stay ahead of technology trends.
Qualifications and Experience
- Bachelor’s Degree/ Advanced Diploma in Information Technology or Computer Science or Business Administration or Commerce/ Business or Engineering.
- Postgraduate in Information Technology/ Computer Science/ Business Administration/ Commerce/ Engineering related qualification will be advantageous.
- Professional certification in any DBMS platform (for e.g., MS SQL, Oracle, etc.) will be advantageous.
- Relevant 6 - 8 years’ experience in IT or Business Development, or a related field of which 2 years must be on management/ supervisory level.
- Experience in a developing and building databases, warehouses, reporting and data integration solutions.
Technical and Behavioral Competencies Required
- Resilience.
- Network and alliance.
- Employee engagement.
- Ethics and values.
- Change management.
- Critical and innovative thinking.
- Policy conceptualisation and formulation.
- Risk Management.
- Stakeholder development and relations.
- Reporting.
- Ability to diagnose and resolve performance bottlenecks.
- Deep understanding of RDBMS (e.g. Oracle, SQL Server, MySQL) and NoSQL databases (e.g. MongoDB, Cassandra, etc.).
- Knowledgeable in ensuring high availability of database services.
- Knowledge of Capacity Planning and Scalability.
- Knowledgeable in database performance tuning and query optimisation.
- Familiarity with cloud-based database services (e.g. AWS RDS, Azure SQL Database).
- Knowledge of database replication, partitioning, and sharding techniques.
- Knowledge of data security practices, including encryption and access control.
- Proficiency in designing and implementing backup and disaster recovery strategies.
- Skilled in Scripting and Automation.
- Understanding of compliance regulations (e.g. POPIA).
Job Posting End Date: 19 May 2026
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