Specialist: Systems Engineer at The South African Revenue Service (SARS)

Job Purpose

• To be responsible for co-ordinating, implementing and maintaining system architectures, including server hardware, Windows server operating systems, and utilities, and related client services within the organisation and ensuring to meet service level agreements.  To be responsible for identification and resolution of complex server hardware and operating system software technical problems and malfunctions related to network and related servers and makes decisions that are critical in the areas of performance analysis, problem solving, and infrastructure planning, with the potential to affect the successful execution of business transactions, ensuring a stable performance environment for the enterprise business processing system.  Work in both Production and non-production environments.

Education and Experience

Minimum Qualification & Experience Required

• Bachelor's Degree / Advanced Diploma (NQF 7) in Information Systems AND 5 - 7 years’ experience in an IT environment, of which 2 - 3 years is at a technically skilled level

ALTERNATIVE #

• Senior Certificate (NQF 4) AND 10 years related experience in an IT environment, of which 2 - 3 years is at a technically skilled level

Minimum Functional Requirements

• Need to be familiar with: Microsoft Windows: Active Directory, VMware, Networking, Server Infrastructure support, Microsoft Azure, Microsoft products (Microsoft SCOM, Microsoft SCCM,  or any other Microsoft Certification); or Wintel Intel Server: (A+, N+, MCITP, MCSA, MCSE, Azure) and related Server Operating System and Server Hardware certification related to server support), or VMware Certification.

Industry Related Qualifications and Experience

• Senior Certificate (NQF 4) AND Relevant IT Qualification (s) / Certification (s), and 5 - 7 years’ experience in a similar environment AND additional requirements specified in Min Functional requirements, where applicable Microsoft Windows: Active Directory, VMware, Networking, Server Infrastructure support, Microsoft Azure, Microsoft products (Microsoft SCOM, Microsoft SCCM,  or any other Microsoft Certification); or Wintel Intel Server: (A+, N+, MCITP, MCSA, MCSE, Azure) and related Server Operating System and Server Hardware certification related to server support), or VMware Certification.

Additional Technical Competencies

• Engineering Planning and Design (IT) Proficient in - (Applied theory). Break down objects or ideas into simpler parts and find evidence to support generalisations. Compile component ideas into a new whole or proposed alternative solution. Can perform the actions associated with the skill without assistance and is recognised within own organisation as "a person to ask" when difficult questions arise regarding this skill. Focus is on broad issues; Capable of coaching others; Participate in senior level discussions regarding this competency; Has consistently provided ideas and perspectives on process or practice improvements; Assist in the development of reference and resource materials in this competency.
• GOC Confidential - (a) sensitive information, the unlawful disclosure of which may be harmful to the security or national interest of the Republic or could prejudice the Republic in its international relations;(b) commercial information, the disclosure of which may cause financial loss to an entity or may prejudice an entity in its relations with its clients, competitors, contractors and suppliers. E.g. Taxpayer information

Job Outputs:

Process

• Accumulate information to review work progress that provides input to reporting, decision making and the identification of improvement opportunities.
• Apply practical and applied knowledge and act authoritatively on methods, systems and procedures to identify trends and potential risks.
• Communication of situational interpretation and judgement of work outputs and queries in area of specialisation.
• Correctly apply policies, practices, standards, procedures and legislation in the delivery of work outputs.
• Draw on own knowledge and experience to diagnose symptoms, causes and possible effects in order to solve emerging problems.
• Initiate process and procedural change, implement the change and provide guidelines and support related to new requirements as a result of the change.
• Plan for value-added process improvements, initiatives and services to deliver on operational strategy and objectives.
• Provide specialist input through the investigation of opportunities for operational and process, product and risk optimisation.
• Create and maintain documentation as it relates to system configuration, mapping, processes, and service records.
• Design and deploy new applications and enhancements to existing applications, software, and operating systems and participate in the design of information and operational support systems.
• Coordinate and perform in-depth tests, including end-user reviews, for modified and new systems.
• Design and perform server and security audits, system backup procedures, and other recovery processes in accordance with the company's disaster recovery and business continuity strategies.
• Developing, maintaining and supporting technical infrastructure, hardware and system software components and document it accordingly.
• Draw on own knowledge and experience to diagnose causes and possible effects in to solve emerging problems. Initiate change process and implement changes, provide guidelines and support as a results of the change.
• Ensure system connectivity of all servers, shared software, groupware, and other applications.
• Execute specialist input through investigation and opportunities within the product process including risk concern.
• Integrate servers and their associated software into enterprise systems/solutions.
• Liaise with stakeholders for problem resolution.
• Maintenance, support and upgrades of in-house developed applications and 3rd Party Applications, including issues like security, backup, and redundancy strategies.
• including issues like security, backup, and redundancy strategies.
• Manage the Regional Data Centres.
• Participate in the administration and maintenance of the remote monitoring and management system: update agent scripts, respond to alerts, monitor dashboard, and periodic system review.
• Participates in various IT projects intended to continually improve/upgrade the system infrastructure, ensuring change management procedures and methodologies are implemented and followed.
• Perform hardware and software assessments; assist in security audits and new business investigations.
• Performing high-level root-cause analysis for service interruption recovery and creating preventive measures.
• Performing installation, maintenance and support of system software/hardware and user support.
• Plan for value-added process improvements initiatives for current systems to be more effective and efficient and services to deliver on operational strategy and objectives.
• Proactively ensure the highest levels of systems and infrastructure availability whilst monitoring and perform test application performance for potential bottlenecks identify possible solutions.
• Responsible for the configuring, debugging and supporting multiple infrastructure platforms and software stacks.
• Responsible for the situational interpretation and judgement of work outputs and queries in area of specialisation.
• Write and maintain custom scripts to increase system efficiency and lower the human intervention time on any tasks to ensure compatibility and interoperability of in-house computing systems.
• Analyse, prepare and deliver system performance statistics and reports.
• Recommend and create system design models, specifications diagrams and charts to provide direction to system programmer and development teams.

Governance

• Implement and provide input into the development of governance, compliance, integrity and ethics processes within area of specialisation.

People

• Develop and maintain productive working relationships with peers and team members to achieve predefined objectives.
• Search for, integrate and share new knowledge attained through formal and informal learning opportunities in the execution of your job. Finance
• Adhere to organisational policies and procedures to ensure cost effectiveness and reduction of financial costs.

Client

• Contribute to a culture of service excellence, which builds positive relationships and provides opportunity for feedback and exceptional service.
• Provide authoritative, specialist services, expertise and advice to internal and external stakeholders.

Behavioural Competencies

• Accountability
• Analytical thinking
• Attention to detail
• Commitment to Continuous Learning 
• Conceptual Ability
• Customer Service
• Fairness and Transparency
• Honesty and Integrity
• Organisational Awareness
• Problem Solving and Analysis
• Respect
• Trust

Technical Competencies

• Business IT Systems
• Business Knowledge
• Customer Relationship Management
• Data Collection and Analysis
• Efficiency improvement
• Functional Policies and Procedures
• Infrastructure/Platforms
• IT Knowledge
• IT Project Management
• Knowledge of IT Governance and Business
• Planning and Organising
• Problem Analysis and Judgement
• Reporting
• Service Delivery
• System Thinking

Deadline:3rd April,2026