The South Africa Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO) is hiring a junior IT officer on a permanent contract in Cape Town. The successful candidate will be responsible for supporting IT services to SKAO staff Science Operations Centre (SOC) South Africa and beyond. They will also manage technical assistance and support on the SKAO desktop computing environment, including hardware, software and infrastructure, while ensuring that computing resources are kept up to date and functional in line with the internal service processes and operational framework.
Key Responsibilities
- Provide technical support to stakeholders by identifying and resolving hardware and or software issues, troubleshooting and patching systems;
- Monitoring network activity and identifying performance issues that may need to be addressed;
- Install, configure and troubleshoot computer hardware and software;
- Conduct root cause analysis and resolution management of technical issues;
- Identify and define desktop system security requirements and provide recommendations to the team for implementation;
- Actively respond to support requests;
- Responsible for the overall management desktop vulnerability solution at the SKAO;
- Server administration for non-critical systems, including patch management;
- Print server management;
- Domain user account management;
- Administration of the organisational service desk tool;
- Documentation of standard operating procedures within the IT Service and Operations team;
- Provide input into the design of security strategies, implementation, and monitoring of security measures for the proactive protection of desktop computer systems, networks, and information;
- Update existing security standard operating procedures and protocols for the desktop security environment;
- Configure and troubleshoot security infrastructure;
- Develop technical solutions and new security tools to help mitigate security vulnerabilities and automate repeatable tasks; and
- Manage the SKAO vulnerability management software to protect desktop computers against virus and malware threats.
Key Requirements
Qualifications
- National Diploma (NQF6) in Computer Science / Information Systems / Information Technology or equivalent with four years plus relevant experience; or
- Certificate Training (A+ and N+) or equivalent with six years plus relevant experience.
Experience
- Technical experience, thereby being able to provide direct IT support when required;
- Experienced in the administration of local area wired and wireless networks;
- Knowledge and experience in IT service provision;
- Experience in asset lifecycle management and software asset management;
- Experience in managing resources and prioritisation;
- A flexible team player who is adaptable to change;
- Strong communication skills with internal stakeholders;
- Able and willing to occasionally work out of regular working hours to meet service needs;
- Experience with Layer 3 configuration (Cisco or similar);
- Experience with firewall/VPN support (Cisco or similar).;
- Experience with Microsoft, Apple and Google computing devices, mobile device technologies, and device management systems;
- Experience with Microsoft Exchange and Microsoft Online services like O365; and
- Experience Cloud products such as Dropbox and Atlassian products or similar.
Knowledge
- Knowledge and background with IT Service Management disciplines and Frameworks such as ITIL/Cobit Change Management Risk Management and IT policies (DRP/Security);
- Dell Hardware (Certification would be advantageous);
- Infrastructure design;
- Supply Chain Management;
- Cyber Security (Mimecast or similar);
- ICT Capex and OPEX;
- Server Administration;
- Vmware;
- Cisco CCNA is advantageous;
- MCSE; and
- Mimecast.
Additional Notes
- Strong critical thinking and decision-making skills;
- Capacity to assess, learn and adopt new IT technologies;
- Strong interpersonal and communication skills for managing teams and internal and external stakeholders; and
- Personal integrity in handling sensitive and personal data.
How to apply
Applicants should submit a comprehensive CV here before 31 May 2023. Furthermore, applicants should include a letter of motivation indicating their suitability for the position in their applications. In addition, the applicants must provide at least three referees’ names and contact details.
South Africa’s National Research Foundation (NRF) offers a challenging career and competitive remuneration package commensurate with qualifications and experience. Also, the NRF is committed to employment equity and redress, and appointments to the position will align with the NRF Employment Equity Plan. In addition, the NRF reserves the right not to make an appointment and will send correspondence to short-listed candidates only.
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