SQL Server DBA

As a member of the DBA Service Teams you will be required to provide an ongoing wrap around service from Design, Build, Run, Maintain and Retire of a large enterprise SQL Server database estate, and working across all IT departments, and key areas of the business.

The purpose is to support and manage database availability and ongoing maintenance by providing production support in and out of hours.  To play an active role in the creation of new SQL Instances across the entire Admiral estate through integration with Delivery teams and an Agile Framework.

To assist in the design, delivery and ongoing maintenance of technology environments that meets and/or exceeds requirements as part of an exciting and critical programme of work, spanning across all Non-production and Production Environments.
 

Main Duties

The main duty of this role is to work across all areas of IT and Security to ensure new products and technologies are integrated/configured/optimised in line with IT architectural principles, policies and best practice relating to new and existing environments within the Admiral Technology estate. You will be working with all roles within IT to ensure this occurs in a controlled and timely manner.

In addition to this you will also proactively manage and address any risk issues relating to your assigned duties. You will be expected to complete your duties whilst conforming to any project timelines or service level agreements that are in place.

Other duties include:

• Provide production support and apply CSI to the technology stack in order to maintain availability
• Manage capacity and make recommendations for ensuring there is sufficient capacity available
• Manage performance and make recommendations for improvements and optimisation
• Undertake performance tuning tasks
• Work to ensure all security recommendations are applied and in place across the Database estate
• Configure and maintain enterprise technology environments
• Support and manage Cloud based Databases/Instances
• Respond in a timely manner to action tickets from both Service Desk and Jira queues
• Recommending standards for best practise
• Provide timely and accurate estimates for assigned tasks
• Provide technical support to Application Development teams
• Diligently share knowledge with others
• As part of a team you will provide Technical Support to other teams, where appropriate
• Maintain a good working relationship with customers and technical partners including Service and Delivery Teams
• Produce or contribute to detailed documentation for existing or new configurations
• Provide On-call and out of hours service

This is not a full definition of the role but covers the main aspects and drivers for success.
 

Behavioural Competencies

Decision Making

• Ensure decisions are objectively justified
• Understanding of the impact of decisions for the team and the business
• Confidence in making the right decision, and not necessarily the easy one

Communication

• Ensure that all communication is clear and appropriate for its intended audience
• Able to communicate with employees of all levels including management

Teamwork

• Readily be available to help support the team within a shift pattern covering 8am-6pm and be available for out of hours support as and when required

Dedication

• Show passion for your work and a commitment to succeed
• Proactively seeking to improve knowledge

Solutions Driven

• Focus on providing solutions to problems
• Focus on solving problems using a systematic and analytical approach.

Challenging

• Be prepared to challenge the status quo and make suggestions for areas of quality improvement.
• Be willing to voice an opinion on all matters whilst being receptive to feedback
   

Experience and Qualifications Required

Essential:

• Professional experience working on a multi-terabyte, high volume enterprise database setup
• Practical experience in the following DBA areas:
• At least 3 years’ experience in Database Administration for SQL Server
• Experience with backups, restores and recovery models of large databases
• Knowledge of High Availability (HA) and Disaster Recovery (DR) options for SQL Server
• Experience with Performance Tuning and Optimisation (PTO) using monitoring and troubleshooting tools
• Experience in troubleshooting and resolving database problems
• Knowledge of indexes, index management and statistics
• Knowledge of T-SQL
• Able to work with structured frameworks, methodologies and best practices
• An ability to learn from, and adapt to, a changing technical environment.

Desirable:

• Experience of working in Agile (Kanban) and Waterfall projects
• Experience of working in the Financial or Insurance sectors
• Knowledge in scripting languages
• MCSA, MTA, MCSE certification
• Experience using cloud technologies (Microsoft Azure, GCP, AWS)
• Azure DevOps
• A working knowledge of System Development Life Cycle (SDLC)

Salary, Benefits and Work-Life Balance

We do not have a set salary for this position, as it will be dependent on the successful candidate’s experience. We are happy to see CVs from all candidates who meet the requirements and will be happy to discuss the remuneration package.

At Admiral, we are proud to be a diverse business where we put our people and customers first. We have great benefits to ensure employees have a great work-life balance; it's one of the reasons we're voted no. 1 in the 2019 Sunday Times Best Big Companies to Work For in the UK. We want you to have an element of freedom to define a working lifestyle that supports this, so accommodate flexible hours wherever possible.

You can also view some of our other key benefits here; https://admiraljobs.co.uk/employee-benefits/.

If you think this role is for you and would like to be considered for this opportunity, please click “apply now” to complete an online application form.

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