Senior Database Support Administrator at South African Reserve Bank

Brief description

The purpose of this position is to manage the performance, integrity and security of the IBM Db2 Database Management Systems hosted on z/OS in the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) and engage the planning and development of Db2 databases as well as trouble-shoot database-related issues on behalf of the application owners.

Detailed description

The successful candidate will be responsible for the following key performance areas:

• Be responsible for the installation, maintenance and support of Db2 subsystems on z/OS to enable/ensure database functionality and high availability, based on global best practice and standards.
• Support application programmers with database, programming and version control-related queries (i.e. CA Endevor).
• Participate in the establishment and maintenance of database standards and procedures, in accordance with Information Technology (IT) governance within the Business Solutions and Technology Department (BSTD).
• Work independently to deliver work that meets the time and quality standards as expected by business (this includes design of application databases, management of physical database structures and resolution of database incidents).
• Display an ability to provide solutions and approaches to related database problems barring those of high complexity and risk.
• Provide management information for reporting on the quality, turnaround and impact of database deliverables.
• Stay current with IBM Db2 RDBMS developments, and conduct research into new database technologies that would benefit and enhance the database administration function within the SARB.
• Perform database backups and restore (as per schedule), so that all data is recoverable in an emergency (disaster recovery).
• Adhere to the SARB’s IT and information security standards, processes and procedures (i.e. Change Management and Logical Access).
• Deploy database security fixes and required fixes when needed.
• Perform IBM Db2 database capacity planning.
• Comply with IBM Db2 software license agreements
• Attend to incidents and requests for service calls related to Db2 databases ensuring resolution is timeous and within service standard.
• Administer CA Endevor change management tool and provide support to application programmers with Endevor-related queries.
• Perform monthly database maintenance activities on z/OS mainframe over maintenance weekend – reorganisation and capacity/space management.
• Provide around the clock database support for critical production systems.

Job requirements

To be considered for this position, candidates must have:

• an Honours degree in Computer Science or Information Technology or an equivalent qualification;
• eight to ten years’ experience in IBM Db2 database administration on z/OS operating system software and related technologies;
• knowledge of COBOL-Db2 and RACF reporting programs;
• familiar with the REXX programming language;
• expert knowledge of JCL, CA Endevor, Xpediter and CICS;
• knowledge of IBM data studio; and
• familiar with IBM WebSphere.

Additional requirements include:

• proficiency in English, both written and verbal skills;
• problem-solving and analytical skills;
• attention to detail;
• interpersonal skills; and
• technical report writing skills (i.e. incident reporting).