Senior / Database Administrator

New Requirement for a Database Administrator & Senior Database Administrator for a 6-month contract in Herefordshire.

Applicants must have active DV Clearance.

Key Responsibilities:

• Team Leadership & Management: Oversee and mentor a small team of Database Administrators, providing guidance, training, and support.
• Database Administration & Maintenance: Provide technical support for MariaDB (MySQL) databases, ensuring optimal performance and availability.
• Backup & Disaster Recovery: Implement and oversee database backup and recovery strategies to mitigate data loss.
• Monitoring & Performance Optimization: Track system performance and identify bottlenecks affecting database efficiency and data integrity.
• Incident & Problem Management: Troubleshoot database-related incidents and implement proactive solutions to minimize downtime.
• Capacity Planning: Monitor and forecast database storage and performance needs, ensuring scalability.
• Upgrades & Patch Management: Plan and execute major database upgrades and periodic patching to maintain system stability.
• Database Logging & Monitoring: Configure and manage database logs for integration into a SIEM (Security Information and Event Management) solution for monitoring and security compliance.
• High Availability & Failover Management: Monitor, maintain, and orchestrate manual failover and failback procedures to maintain uptime.
• Automation & Scripting: Develop scripts using SQL, Bash, or Python to automate database maintenance and monitoring tasks.
• Documentation & Knowledge Sharing: Maintain database build and upgrade documentation, ensuring accuracy and accessibility for the team.
• Testing & Validation Support: Oversee execution of test scripts for database validation and performance assessment.

You will have:

• Proven experience as a Senior Database Administrator (DBA).
• Demonstrated leadership experience, with the ability to mentor and manage a technical team.
• Expertise in MariaDB or other relational databases (MySQL, Oracle, or SQL Server).
• Experience with backup and disaster recovery strategies for databases.
• Knowledge of database tuning, indexing, and query optimization.
• Understanding of networking protocols relevant to databases (TCP/IP, DNS, load balancing).
• Familiarity with IT Service Management (ITSM) tools, preferably ServiceNow.
• Familiarity with Agile/Scrum methodologies.
• Knowledge of ITIL/ITSM principles and best practices.
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Exceptional communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to collaborate effectively across teams.

Desirable Skills:

• Familiarity with security frameworks such as CIS benchmarks or ISO 27001.
• Hands-on experience with high availability clustering and replication.
• Familiarity with virtualization technologies.
• Experience with automated patch management in database environments.
• ServiceNow environment experience is desirable.
• Experience transitioning systems to service.