Windows Server & Security Engineer

Role purpose: 

Vodacom is looking for a highly skilled and experienced Windows Server and Security Administrator to join the Technology Operations area. The ideal candidate will have a strong background in Windows administration, with expertise in patching using SCCM, vulnerability remediation and basic Azure administration.
The purpose of this role is to manage, configure, maintain, support and safeguard of the organization Windows based IT infrastructure and related services, focusing on ensuring the availability, performance, stability and optimization, while ensuring security compliance and providing operational support, automation, and troubleshooting expertise, working closely with various IT teams to support business objectives. 
This role combines expertise in both, Windows Server Administration and IT security practices to protect data and systems while optimizing performance, and will closely interact with Cyber Security functions, to ensure compliance with controls and policies, report potential security risks or gaps to the management, highlighting possible and existing compliance issues and eventually developing and implementing action plans for addressing them within given compliance milestones. The 2 areas are critically connected as cybersecurity underpins critical infrastructure that protects data, thereby safeguarding personal information.

Key accountabilities and decision ownership: 

Administration & Maintenance:

•    Manage and maintain Windows Server operating systems and related services, including installation and configuration, ensuring high availability, performance, and scalability through SLO’s and CI/CD enforcement.
•    Manage Active Directory, DNS, DHCP, Active Directory Certificate Services (AD CS), Group Policy and other core Windows services.
•    Assist in integration with Windows infrastructure services.
•    Perform routine system maintenance tasks such as backups, restorations, and health checks.
•    Manage and support virtual infrastructure, including windows based virtual machines, storage, and networking.
•    Develop workflows, scripts and implement solutions to enhance monitoring, operation, maintenance and troubleshooting tasks, automate repetitive tasks and streamline operations to improve efficiency. 
•    Work closely with Planning/Delivery teams to ensure that Infrastructure platforms and services are designed with "operability" in mind.

Operational Support & Incident Management:

•    Provide technical support and resolve issues related to Windows Server infrastructure, ensuring minimal downtime.
•    Respond to alerts, outages, and performance issues in a timely manner.
•    Conduct root cause analysis (RCA) and implement preventive measures to avoid repetitive incidents.
•     Conduct post-mortems and escalate issues to vendors/suppliers support as needed according to an appropriate Service Level Agreement.
•    Configure, monitor, and manage backup solution (EMC Networker, Power Protect Data Manager, etc).
•    Perform regular monitoring of health, performance and capacity of Windows Server infrastructure, including vSphere, vCenter, ESXI hosts and virtual machines, to identify and address bottlenecks and areas for improvements.
•    Perform failover testing to validate DR readiness.
•    Develop and test disaster recovery plans to ensure system availability and data integrity.
•    Continuous improvement of operational processes to obtain simple and efficient lifecycle.
•    Participate in on-call rotation for after-hours support.

Security & Compliance:

•    Work closely with different IT, business and project teams to ensure security controls and procedures are understood, successfully implemented and actively monitored.
•    Act as a point of contact for Cybersecurity team to perform vulnerability assessments, security audits and compliance checks on all Infrastructure Operations team environment.
•    Ensure configurations are aligned to best practices and compliant with organizational security guidelines and industry standards.
•    Plan, schedule, and execute all regular maintenance changes and lifecycle management using System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM) to ensure stability and security.
•    Monitor the fulfilment of the technology security requirements.

Documentation & Reporting:

•    Maintain up-to-date system, configurations, processes, and procedures documentation.
•    Ensure accurate reports on server performance, vulnerability and compliance status.
•    Collaborate with internal teams to maintain accurate inventory of Infrastructure Operations assets.

Core competencies, knowledge and experience:

•    Deep understanding of Windows Server, Active Directory, DNS, DHCP, and Group Policy.
•     Proficiency in System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM). 
•    Experience with backup and recovery solutions.
•    Experience with troubleshooting complex issues, identify the root cause, and develop effective solutions.
•    Strong problem-solving, organizational, and analytical skills.
•    Understand monitoring and performance metrics to ensure availability and performance of the environment.
•    Understand of security principles, practices and standards and how they translate into real world technical solutions.
•    Knowledge of ITIL practices and methodologies.
•    Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
•    Experience with VMware based environments is an advantage.
•    Experience with cloud platforms such as AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud is an advantage.

Must have technical/professional qualifications:
 
•    Degree in Computer Science, IT or related field.
•    5+ years of experience in IT Operations, with a minimum of 3 years focused on Windows Server administration.
•    Proficiency in Windows Infrastructure and related services including but not limited to: AD, AD CS, SCCM, DNS, DHCP and Group Policy.
•    Relevant certifications (e.g., MCSA, MCSE, ITIL) are an advantage.
•    Excellent problem-solving skills and attitude to manage emergency situations to deliver results and improve performance.
•    Good communication skills and ability to work in a dynamic team environment.

Key performance indicators:

•    Availability (SLOs, SLIs), performance, and compliance levels.
•    Incident management (number of incidents and MTTx metrics).
•    Change failure rate.
•    Proactive monitoring and alerting.
•    Customer satisfaction.
•    Capacity planning and optimization.
•    Automation and efficiency initiatives