Senior Database Administrator

Blu Label Unlimited; Sandton; On-site; ZAR 900,000 - 1,300,000; Full time

Job summary

Blu Label Unlimited is seeking an experienced Senior Database Administrator for our Capital Hill Sandton facility. The role entails managing and optimizing database systems to support business operations, data analysis, and reporting needs.

You will design database solutions, implement data models, ensure data integrity and security, and lead performance tuning and DR readiness across cloud and on-prem environments. Strong SQL, data governance, and communication skills are essential.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in IT/CS or related field is required.
• 5+ years in database administration or data analysis roles.
• Strong SQL and data modeling skills, with performance tuning experience.
• Knowledge of data governance, security, and compliance requirements.
• Excellent problem-solving and communication abilities.

Responsibilities

• Design, architect, and implement scalable, secure databases across Azure SQL and on-prem environments.
• Monitor workloads and optimize performance, availability, and disaster recovery readiness.
• Establish data governance and ensure data quality and security across systems.
• Lead RCA investigations and implement preventative measures to maintain business continuity.
• Create documentation and share knowledge with teams and stakeholders.

Skills

Data analysis skills

SQL proficiency

Problem solving

Communication

Team collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree in IT/CS

Master's or relevant certs preferred

Tools

Azure SQL

SQL Server

Oracle

MySQL

NoSQL (MongoDB/Cassandra)

Git

Job description

We are searching for an experienced Senior Database Administrator at our Capital Hill Sandton facility.

Primary Duties And Responsibilities

Job Purpose:

The Senior Database Analyst/administrator is responsible for managing and optimizing database systems to support business operations, data analysis, and reporting needs. This role involves designing database solutions, implementing data models, and ensuring data integrity, security, and performance across the organization.

Key Responsibilities

Database Design and Development

• Design, architect, and implement highly available, scalable, and secure database solutions across Azure SQL, other cloud-native databases and on-prem SQL databases.
• Create and maintain logical and physical data models, database schemas, and data dictionaries.
• Optimize database structures, indexes, and queries for performance and scalability.
• Ensure database designs align with enterprise architecture principles, data standards, and best practices.

Data Management and Governance

• Establish data governance policies and procedures to ensure data quality, consistency, and security.
• Define and enforce data standards, naming conventions, and data classification for effective data management.
• Implement data validation rules, integrity constraints, and error handling mechanisms.
• Champion data integrity, consistency, and quality through monitoring and remediation frameworks

Database Administration and Performance Tuning

• Administer, monitor, and maintain cloud and hybrid database environments, ensuring high availability and disaster recovery readiness.
• Proactively monitor workloads using Azure Monitor, Log Analytics, and third-party observability tools to identify and address issues.
• Implement database security measures, access controls, and encryption to protect sensitive data.
• Lead root cause analysis (RCA) for incidents and implement preventative measures to ensure business continuity.

Documentation and Knowledge Sharing

• Create and maintain documentation for database architecture, design decisions, and configuration settings.
• Share knowledge and best practices with colleagues, stakeholders, and end-users to promote efficient use of database resources.
• Conduct training sessions and workshops to enhance database expertise within the organization.

Data Analysis and Reporting

• Conduct data analysis and ad-hoc queries to support business intelligence, reporting, and decision-making processes.
• Collaborate with business users to understand analytical requirements and translate them into database solutions.
• Develop and maintain SQL queries, stored procedures, and views for data extraction and analysis

Service Improvement and Innovation

• Identify opportunities for service improvement, innovation, and automation to optimize service delivery processes and workflows.
• Champion service improvement initiatives, drive operational excellence, and promote a culture of continuous improvement within the service delivery team.

Vendor Management and Contract Negotiation

• Manage relationships with third-party vendors, service providers, and technology partners to ensure delivery of contracted services and solutions.
• Negotiate vendor contracts, service agreements, and procurement terms to optimize cost-effectiveness and service quality.

Competencies

• Customer Focus
• Instills Trust
• Cultivates Innovation
• Collaborates
• Situational Adaptability
• Business Insight
• Manages Complexity
• Plans and Aligns
• Balances Stakeholders
• Ensures Accountability
• Collaborates
• Cultivates Innovation
• Customer Focus
• Instills Trust
• Situational Adaptability
• Tech Savvy
• Develop people for long-term success
• Be an agent of change
• Collaborative

Education & Experiance : Minimum Academic, Professional Qualifications & Experience required for this position

• Bachelor's degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, or a related field. Master's degree or relevant certifications (e.g., ITIL Expert, PMP) preferred.
• 5+ years of experience in database administration, data analysis, or database development roles, with a focus on SQL databases (e.g., SQL Server, Oracle, MySQL).
• Strong proficiency in database design, data modeling, and SQL programming.
• Experience with database administration tools and performance tuning techniques.
• Solid understanding of data governance, security, and compliance requirements.
• Excellent problem-solving, analytical, and communication skills.
• Ability to work independently, prioritize tasks, and handle multiple projects concurrently.

Other Requirements (If Any)

• Certification in database administration (e.g., Microsoft Certified: Azure Database Administrator Associate, Oracle Database Administrator Certified Professional).
• Familiarity with NoSQL databases (e.g., MongoDB, Cassandra) and cloud-based database services (e.g., AWS RDS, Azure SQL Database).
• Knowledge of data warehousing concepts, ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) processes, and BI (Business Intelligence) tools.
• Experience with version control systems (e.g., Git) and database migration tools.
• Strong attention to detail and a commitment to delivering high-quality database solutions.

Our company provides equal employment opportunities (EE) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability or genetics.