Senior Database Administrator at Onafriq

Job Purpose

• The database administrator (DBA) is responsible for developing, testing, improving, and maintaining new and existing databases to help users retrieve data effectively.  The DBA will work closely with developers to ensure system consistency and will also collaborate with administrators and clients to provide technical support and understand new data requirements. Communication and organization skills are key for this position, along with a solution-driven mindset.
• The DBA will also function as team lead to provide technical leadership, mentorship, and support to the DBA team members, along with performance reviews for team members.  They will assign, prioritize and track DBA tasks and projects, manage team schedules and workloads.  They will act as a point of contact for database-related issues between technical teams, business stakeholders and leadership.

Duties and Responsibilities

Technical Responsibilities

• Performance Tuning and Optimization: Lead efforts to monitor, troubleshoot, and optimize database performance (indexes, queries, resource usage)
• Database Design & Architecture: Oversee and guide the design, implementation and maintenance of stable, reliable and effective database systems with high availability and quality to store and retrieve company information
• Backup & Recovery: Ensure reliable backup strategies and disaster recovery plans are in place and regularly tested. 
• Security Management: Manage user roles, permissions, encryption, and compliance with security policies and audits; assuring compliance with Payment Card Industry (PCI) policies, procedures, standards and regulations.
• Database Upgrades and Patching: Plan and manage database software updates, migrations, and patches.
• Documentation: Maintain and enforce clear documentation of database environments, processes and policies.
• Perform other related duties as assigned.

Leadership & Management Responsibilities

• Team Leadership: Provide technical leadership, mentorship and support to DBA team members along with performance reviews.
• Task Management: Assign, prioritize, and track DBA tasks and projects, manage team schedules and workloads.
• Stakeholder Communication: Act as a point of contact for database-related issues between technical teams, business stakeholders, and leadership.
• Project Planning: Participate in infrastructure and application project planning, ensuring database considerations are properly addressed.
• Training and Development: Organize training sessions, knowledge-sharing meetings, and performance reviews for team members.
• Vendor & Tool Management: Evaluate and manage database tools, monitoring solutions, and vendor relationships.

Qualifications

• Bachelors degree in Computer Science/Information Technology or related field and eight plus years of solid experience as an application Database Administrator.
• 2+ years in leadership, senior DBA, or team lead capacity, managing small-to-medium technical teams.
• Experience supporting mission-critical, high-availability database systems.
• Proficient knowledge of Oracle, SQL, PL/SQL, and RAC.
• Proficient knowledge of database and application performance tuning techniques.
• Knowledge and experience with Oracle Database Appliance & Advanced Data Guard a plus.
• In-depth understanding of database structure principles and data management (e.g. permissions, recovery, security and monitoring).
• Experience gathering and analyzing system requirements; knowledge of data mining and segmentation techniques.
• Excellent knowledge of data backup, recovery, security, and integrity.
• Excellent analytical and organizational skills, problem-solving skills, ability to think algorithmically, self-starter.
• Excellent customer service attitude, good communication skills (both verbal and written), good project management and the ability to cope with and manage a constantly changing environment
• Strong leadership ability.