Database Infrastructure Lead

South Hampshire Colleges Group; England; On-site; GBP 65,000 - 75,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Generous annual leave

Enhanced employer pension contribution

Regular training and development

Job summary

South Hampshire College Group is seeking an experienced Infrastructure Engineer with Database Administration to join Group IT. The role leads database administration, develops secure, high-performing environments, and supports the wider infrastructure across multi-site campuses.

You will be responsible for availability, backups, recovery, patching, and change oversight, collaborating with suppliers and internal teams to deliver resilient, compliant systems in line with SAHARA principles.

Qualifications

• Experience administering enterprise database environments.
• Strong knowledge of database administration, backup and recovery strategies, performance tuning, and security controls.
• Experience supporting business-critical systems in a complex IT environment.
• Understanding of database resilience, disaster recovery, and business continuity principles.
• Experience troubleshooting complex technical issues and delivering effective solutions.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and documentation skills.
• Experience working with external suppliers and technical partners.
• Experience with Microsoft SQL Server and other relational database platforms.
• Experience supporting cloud-based database technologies and services.
• Knowledge of database migration, integration, and optimisation projects.
• Familiarity with GDPR, Cyber Essentials, ISO 27001, and information security best practices.
• Experience working within education or multi-site organisations.

Responsibilities

• Act as the Group's technical lead for database administration.
• Lead the development and continuous improvement of database platforms, standards, and operational procedures.
• Provide specialist administration of database environments, ensuring availability, integrity, security, and performance.
• Manage database access controls, patching, backups, recovery processes, and lifecycle maintenance.
• Maintain comprehensive database documentation, configuration records, support arrangements, and recovery procedures.
• Provide technical oversight for database-related incidents, upgrades, migrations, supplier activity, and change requests.
• Ensure databases are secure, resilient, and compliant with relevant legislation and industry standards.
• Design, configure, and implement secure and scalable database solutions and associated integrations.
• Support the delivery of infrastructure projects and service improvements.
• Work closely with internal stakeholders to understand requirements and develop effective technical solutions.
• Collaborate with third-party suppliers and consultants to ensure best-practice implementation and support.
• Support business continuity and disaster recovery planning, testing, and documentation.
• Contribute to the Group's technical strategy and infrastructure roadmap.
• Monitor database performance, availability, capacity, backup success, and security.
• Identify and resolve database bottlenecks, risks, vulnerabilities, and single points of failure.
• Analyse performance trends and recommend improvements to enhance efficiency and reliability.
• Monitor infrastructure and user trends to support future developments.
• Research and evaluate emerging technologies and make recommendations for adoption where appropriate.
• Provide expert 2nd line support across the Group's IT infrastructure.
• Support the maintenance and availability of infrastructure services alongside other Infrastructure Engineers.
• Manage escalated technical issues from the Operations team in line with agreed service levels.
• Assist in the development and mentoring of Operations team members through training and knowledge sharing.
• Ensure compliance with GDPR, Cyber Essentials, ISO standards, and other relevant regulatory requirements.

Skills

Enterprise database admin

Database security controls

Backup & recovery strategies

Performance tuning

GDPR & ISO knowledge

Cloud DB technologies

Stakeholder management

Documentation

Tools

Microsoft SQL Server

Relational databases

Job description

South Hampshire College Group is seeking an experienced Infrastructure Engineer with Database Administration to join Group IT. The role leads database administration, develops secure, high-performing environments, and supports the wider infrastructure across multi-site campuses.

You will be responsible for availability, backups, recovery, patching, and change oversight, collaborating with suppliers and internal teams to deliver resilient, compliant systems in line with SAHARA principles.