System and Cloud Administrator

• Suva-based position (Fiji)
• Attractive expatriate package
• Join the principal development organization in the Pacific region

Description 

The Pacific Community (SPC) is the principal scientific and technical organisation in the Pacific region, supporting development since 1947. We are an international development organisation owned and governed by our 27 country and territory members. In pursuit of sustainable development to benefit Pacific people, our organisation works across more than 25 sectors. We are known for our knowledge and innovation in such areas as fisheries science, public health, geoscience, and conservation of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture.

The Operations and Management Directorate (OMD) provides corporate services to all SPC Divisions and Programmes. It consists of three key departments: Finance, Human Resources and Information Services. OMD is focused on improving the effectiveness of systems, policies and management to provide high-quality customer-oriented services.

The role – System and Cloud Administrator will provide specialized knowledge in ICT systems infrastructure related disciplines to manage, administer, maintain, implement and optimize infrastructure systems that enable and support SPC strategic objectives.

The key responsibilities of the role include:

Administration and Support of SPC ICT on premise and cloud infrastructure

• Provide operational support, monitoring and management of all ICT systems (servers, cloud-based services, networking, and webservers and websites).
• Perform regular maintenance, routine backups and disaster recovery procedures.
• Establish and maintain security, integrity and business continuity controls and documentation.
• Administer the organization on premise and cloud-based infrastructure.

Provide Technical leadership in ICT infrastructure related disciplines

• Identify opportunities for training or skill development to enhance the knowledge and efficiency of all customers, through the proper use of installed application systems.
• Work with Technical Trainer to develop required E-Learning Modules for the Learning Management System.
• Ability to explore and provide recommendations for alternate solutions that meet customer requirements.

Implement approved ICT solutions and projects to enable and support SPC strategic objectives

• Collaborate with stakeholders and senior ICT staff to ensure plans and identified solutions meet needs and expectations.
• Participate in the development and use of endorsed SPC project guidelines and standards, and apply those techniques to manage, implement and deploy approved ICT projects.
• Implement, and test approved ICT solution designs to enable and support SPC strategic objectives.

Operational Support, Monitoring and Optimization of ICT on premise and cloud Infrastructure

• Performs analysis and review of cloud and hosted systems and develop, test and implement performance tuning and optimization.
• Design, develop, test and implement systems management tools and automation tools which enable efficiencies in operational support of ICT on premise and cloud-based systems.
• Ensure that implementations align to security standards.

Active Involvement in Continuous Improvement (CI) Initiatives

• Identify opportunities for system improvement within the Cloud, and on-Premises Infrastructure.
• Identify opportunity to improve processes for efficiency and security.
• Work collaboratively with relevant ICT teams to implement approved CI projects.

For a more detailed account of the key responsibilities, please refer to the online job description.

Key selection criteria

Qualifications

• Specialized degree in computer science, IT or related field and or equivalent/relevant work experience.

Technical expertise

• More than 5 years of experience in administration of cloud-based services and infrastructure (Microsoft Azure, third parties cloud hosted services (Vultr, Cloud ways, Oktaetc).
• More than 4 years’ experience in administering and maintaining MS 365, including user management, license allocation and troubleshooting.
• More than 10 years' experience in medium-sized LAN and WAN environments running Microsoft technologies such as Windows Server, Office 365, SharePoint, SQL Services and Linux.
• Demonstrated experience with MFA, SSO, Reverse proxies and WAF technologies (Cloudflare, Fastly, nginx, Okta).
• More than 5 years' experience in the use of corporate system backup and recovery solutions.
• Proven work experience with Microsoft Windows desktop, Linux (Ubuntu), and Mac OS operating systems.
• Maintain and optimize medium LAN/WAN network technologies firewall, routing and switching.
• Demonstrated ability in identifying technology and process improvements.
• Experience in good customer care, with additional focus on the support of remote users and logistical arrangements, which are common in small Pacific Island countries.         

Language skills

• Excellent English communication skills (oral and written) with a working knowledge of French being an advantage.

Interpersonal skills and cultural awareness

• Ability to work in a multicultural, inclusive and equitable environment.

Salary, terms and conditions

Contract Duration – 3 years – subject to renewal depending on funding and performance.

Remuneration – The System and Cloud Administrator is a band 10 position in SPC’s 2023 salary scale, with a starting salary range of 2,575‒3,218 SDR (special drawing rights) per month, which currently converts to approximately FJD 7,595–9,494 (USD 3,450–4,313; EUR 3,268–4,085). An offer of appointment for an initial contract will normally be made in the lower half of this range, with due consideration given to experience and qualifications. Progression within the salary scale will be based on annual performance reviews. Remuneration of expatriate SPC staff members is not subject to income tax in Fiji; Fiji nationals employed by SPC in Fiji will be subject to income tax.

Benefits for international employees based in Fiji – SPC provides a housing allowance of FJD 1,350–3,000 per month. Establishment and repatriation grant, removal expenses, airfares, home leave travel, health and life and disability insurances and education allowances are available for eligible employees and their eligible dependents. Employees are entitled to 25 working days of annual leave per annum and other types of leave, and access to SPC’s Provident Fund (contributing 8% of salary, to which SPC adds a matching contribution).

Languages – SPC’s working languages are English and French.

Recruitment principles – SPC’s recruitment is based on merit and fairness, and candidates are competing in a selection process that is fair, transparent and non-discriminatory. SPC is an equal-opportunity employer, and is committed to cultural and gender diversity, including bilingualism, and will seek to attract and appoint candidates who respect these values. Due attention is given to gender equity and the maintenance of strong representation from Pacific Island professionals. If two interviewed candidates are ranked equal by the selection panel, preference will be given to the Pacific Islander. Applicants will be assured of complete confidentiality in line with SPC’s Privacy Policy.

Application procedure 

Closing Date: 28 January 2024 at 11:59pm (Fiji time)

Job Reference: JM000522

Applicants must apply online at http://careers.spc.int/

Hard copies of applications will not be accepted.

For your application to be considered, you must provide us with:

• an updated resume with contact details for three professional referees
• a cover letter detailing your skills, experience and interest in this position
• responses to all screening questions

Your application will be considered incomplete and will not be reviewed at shortlisting stage if all the above documents are not provided. Applicants should not attach copies of qualifications or letters of reference. Please ensure your documents are in Microsoft Word or Adobe PDF format.

For international staff in Fiji, only one foreign national per family can be employed with an entity operating in Fiji at any one given time. SPC may assist on a case-by-case basis with submissions to Fiji Ministry of Foreign Affairs for their consideration and final approval. SPC cannot and does not make any guarantee whatsoever of approval for such applications to Fiji Ministry of Foreign Affairs and where an application is approved, the spouse or partner will subject to such terms and conditions as may be set from time to time by the Ministry.

SPC does not charge a fee to consider your application and will never ask for your banking or financial information during the recruitment process. 

Screening Questions (maximum of 2,000 characters per question):

1. Could you please outline your experience in administration on IT services with a particular focus on cloud services? (from design to implementation and administration).
2. Describe your level of experience with tools used for monitoring and analysis to identify opportunities to optimise existing infrastructure.
3. Describe your level of experience and ways that you have used Reverse proxies and WAF technologies for complex configurations.