Senior Specialist: Cloud Infrastructure Operations - MTN

Mission/ Core purpose of the Job 

Working closely with the MTN Executive Leadership Team and the Opco CEOs, the Executive: Group  

• A cloud Infrastructure specialist is a highly skilled professional responsible for designing, developing, and managing cloud-based infrastructure, applications, and services. Cloud computing enables organizations to optimize IT resources, improve scalability, and reduce operational costs. Cloud engineering is a multifaceted job that involves various cloud computing tasks and responsibilities 
• Primary responsibility is to ensure the smooth functioning of an organization's cloud infrastructure. They work closely with other IT professionals, such as developers, architects, and system administrators, to design, implement, and maintain cloud-based solutions. The job description for cloud computing includes migrating applications, optimizing resources, and ensuring data security and compliance 
• As a Cloud Infrastructure Specialist, your role in the Information Technology industry would involve building and maintaining the infrastructure that enables cloud computing. You would be responsible for designing, planning, and implementing cloud-based solutions that meet the needs of MTNSA, ensuring they are secure, scalable, and sustainable. 
• Strategic Project Execution – Own project-level cloud issues and actively drive them towards resolution whilst ensuring support and engineering readiness for key milestones. 
• Utilise containerization technologies such as Docker and container orchestration platforms like Kubernetes and manage and orchestrate containerized applications to ensure scalability, resilience, monitoring, and performance. 
• Work closely with development teams to understand application requirements and optimise cloud resources and documenting processes, configurations, and best practices for knowledge sharing and future reference. 
• Security and Compliance needs to be developed and implement at all levels of the cloud infrastructure to protect data and systems. 
• Infrastructure as Code (IaC) is a key responsibility for a Cloud Infrastructure Specialist, involving the use of tools like Terraform and Bicep to ensure the smooth functioning of cloud infrastructure. 
• It's important to have a working knowledge of the Microsoft O365 platform and to understand the impact of cloud infrastructure on the company's strategic needs.

Job Requirements (Education, Experience and Competencies) 

Creativity (improvement/innovation inherent) indicates the potential for improvement and/or innovation inherent in a position. 

• Research new Infrastructure Technologies and Conduct Proof of concept Projects to demonstrate possible value to Business  
• Business improvements to meet operational and in turn organizational requirements 
• Knowledge transfer between Senior Infrastructure Architects with different Specialities 
• Problem-solving and lateral thinking 
• Continuous reassessment, improvement and analysis of existing processes and policies 
• Continuous improvement in cost, quality, service, and Operational product innovation 
• Automation of manual tasks which results in efficient resource utilization and improved service availability 
• Be proactive in anticipation of new technologies resulting in continuous service improvement 
• Utilise MTN SA Academy/U-learn platforms to grow Technical experience and knowledge

Vulnerabilities (control span) refer to the latent difficulties or things that could potentially go wrong that affect a specific position. Such vulnerabilities may/may not be under the control of the incumbent. Direct implication or first level of impact.

Qualifications

Education: 

• Minimum 3 year Diploma or Degree in Information Systems or Engineering (Bsc IT, Bcom IT, Diploma IT) 
• Project management (PMBOK, PMP) or any other project management accreditation  
• Azure fundamentals, Azure administrator, Microsoft Azure Infrastructure Solutions, Microsoft Azure Architect Technologies 
• Virtualization, SAN, Networking certification, server Infrastructure  
• Any other qualification or certification relating to the job profile will be welcomed.  

Experience:  

• 5 years technical coordination or project management experience in a complex, multi-system, multi-environment role 
• Extensive experience with multi-tier systems and supporting application and infrastructure deployments 
• Knowledge of various infrastructure technologies such as server clustering, intra-site load balancing, fail-over replication and mirroring, and identity management 
• Ability to analyse problems, drive issues to resolution 
• Strong interpersonal, communication skills are essential 
• Must be able to lead and drive collaborative work sessions 
• Must work well in a fast-paced, dynamic environment and be able to manage multiple tasks, projects, and initiatives all with different priorities at the same time 
• 5 years of working with WebLogic, Oracle DBMS, WebSphere, and network devices and firewalls, either as a project manager, technical coordinator, engineer, or system administrator

Training: 

• IT-related training and Technology specific certification 
• Architecture framework-related training – eg TOGAF 
• Project Management, General Management 
• ITIL Foundation Certificate 
• Infrastructure-related training or certifications

Competencies  

Knowledge: 

• Knowledge of the Telecommunications industry is an advantage. 
• Ability to understand how the IT technology supports the business 
• Solid understanding and technical expertise in a broad range application and technical architecture components (applications/OS, database, network)  
• Ability to assimilate information into an actionable model and plan 
• Strong OS, DB, Storage, HW and Networks knowledge 
• A good understanding of available and emerging IT technologies

Skills / physical competencies: 

• People management skills. 
• Business acumen 
• Strong Negotiating skills 
• Project Management and Planning skills 
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and conceptual skills 
• Good interpersonal skills for written, oral and face-to-face communications 
• A good understanding of statistical and analytical principles and processes 
• Ability to work effectively with clients, management and staff members 
• Resourceful 
• Be Innovative 
• Integrity 
• Perseverance