Middleware Software Administrator - Department of Information Technology Services at University of Pretoria/Universiteit van Pretoria

JOB PURPOSE:

The purpose of the job is to take responsibility for the provisioning, maintenance, availability, performance/monitoring, backups and disaster recovery of the Oracle WebLogic-based Middleware software environments on which the University’s core enterprise applications rely as well as the provision of support (potentially after normal working hours) with respect to these environments.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

The successful candidate’s responsibilities will include, but are not limited to:

Install and maintain Oracle middleware software infrastructure:

• Install and configure Oracle middleware software;
• Maintain the development, test and production middleware environments by using the appropriate administration tools. This includes configurations, upgrades, patches, deploys, sizing and cloning of environments;
• Monitor and tune the development, test, and production middleware environments with regard to availability, performance and disk space;
• Develop, test and implement processes required for ease of maintenance, monitoring of the middleware environments and improving these environments (including automation of tasks where applicable);
• Administer user accounts and user access rights to ensure the required level of system security on all middleware environments, and perform proactive problem detection and correction;
• Resolve trouble tickets as assigned, by making use of the University’s problem management system, attend to requests opened by users and other ITS teams, and provide relevant input to the Database Administrator and server team with regard to the development and maintenance of effective disaster recovery plans and procedures;
• Ensure that appropriate backup procedures are implemented by the Database Administrator and server system team for all relevant environments, and arrange regular testing of restores to ensure that environments can be recovered when necessary;
• Manage middleware software logging and log files, and liaise with product vendors and use vendor information sources to resolve software problems and obtain information about new versions, upgrades, patches etc;
• Attend relevant presentations, seminars, launches, workshops and courses from vendors, and define, implement, and use effective procedures for the migration of applications and/or application changes through the application development lifecycle;
• Provide after-hours support to ITS Helpdesk, other ITS teams and users with regard to the availability of the middleware environment, and perform after-hours maintenance tasks on the middleware environment, as required;

Documentation and planning:

• Document installation, configuration and maintenance processes and working procedures, to ensure a well-documented and well-managed Oracle middleware environment;
• Document the middleware architecture, and provide input to the compilation of policies related to the Oracle middleware environment;
• Assist the server team with the design, testing, implementation and maintenance of operating system infrastructure to meet business needs, and determine capacity requirements on the middleware environments;
• Advise management on recommended upgrades and/or enhancements, do continuous research on new available software versions and compatibility between software, and make recommendations to management regarding viability of upgrades;

Support ITS Integration development team:

• Work on specific projects with Capability Development and the ITS Integration team;

Support the ITS Integration team members with:

• Investigation on configurations of middleware products as may be required for addressing business requirements and/or performance issues, and to improve performance;
• Testing and/or performance testing of integration processes;
• Problem solving on integration process related problems;
• Coordination and planning of deployment of integration processes;
• Deploy integration processes to test and production environments by executing scripts as provided by development team;
• Implement procedures to ensure well-managed version control on integration processes;

Administration and adherence to standards, policies and procedures:

• Perform administrative duties e.g. filing, documenting, reporting, attending meetings etc;
• Control the process of deploying software or software environment changes on production, by opening and managing change control requests;

Must adhere to the following:

• IT policies and procedures;
• Business processes and rules;
• Configuration management and documentation procedures;
• System security techniques and methods;

Personal Performance management and development:

• Improve performance by defining and executing an individual performance development plan;
• Build proficiency levels for current position and future advancement by participating in formal and informal training opportunities.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:

• Applicable Bachelor’s degree or B.Tech (e.g. B.Sc., B.Com Informatics, B.Eng.); WITH

A total of three years relevant experience as Technical Middleware Software Administrator, which includes the necessary experience of Linux operating systems and installation/maintenance of Oracle WebLogic middleware software, and which may run concurrently with:

• Experience in trouble-shooting and problem resolution;
• Experience in working with users and providing user support;

OR

• Applicable IT related three-year Diploma (e.g. National Diploma Computer Science, Diploma in Information Technology); WITH

A total of four years relevant experience as Technical Middleware Software Administrator, which includes the necessary experience of Linux operating systems and installation/maintenance of Oracle WebLogic middleware software, and which may run concurrently with:

• Experience in trouble-shooting and problem resolution;
• Experience in working with users and providing user support.

REQUIRED COMPETENCIES (SKILLS, KNOWLEDGE AND BEHAVIOURAL ATTRIBUTES):

Knowledge:

• Linux operating system;
• Installation and understanding of Oracle Identity and Access Management software;
• Installation and understanding of Oracle Webcenter Portal / Spaces software;
• Installation and understanding of SOA software;
• Usage of diagnostic and monitoring software.

Technical competencies:

• Troubleshooting within an IT software environment;

Behavioural competencies:

Must be able to:

• Communicate clearly and effectively with all stakeholders;
• Work under pressure and adhere to strict deadlines;
• Follow instructions, guidelines, policies and procedures;
• Identify specific needs and solve problems effectively;
• Manage time and resources effectively;
• Manage and control change;
• Attend to a variety of tasks simultaneously;
• Maintain a high level of professionalism;
• Work in multi-disciplinary team environment;

Must have the correct tendency to:

• Investigate and implement relevant best practices and guidelines;
• Investigate new technologies and methodologies;
• Share knowledge with others and assist with development.

ADDED ADVANTAGES AND PREFERENCES:

• Relevant industry certification (e.g. MCSE, Oracle, etc);

Courses in the following would be recommended:

• Linux;
• Internet and Microsoft Word/Excel;

Knowledge, understanding and experience in the following areas:

• The system development life-cycle;
• The underlying data model;
• The architecture and structure of the underlying applications, application tables, and application servers;
• Application integration;
• Using relevant system administration tools;
• Automating system maintenance;
• Scripting;
• Proper documentation of all relevant systems.