Who are we?

Howden is a collective – a group of talented and passionate people all around the world. Together, we have pushed the boundaries of insurance. We are united by a shared passion and no-limits mind-set, and our strength lies in our ability to collaborate as a powerful international team comprised of 15,000 employees spanning over 100 countries.

Our people are our biggest asset as well as our largest shareholder group and are everything that makes us unique; our inclusive culture, the quality service we offer our clients, and our continued growth, all come from our people-first approach. There’s no such thing as individual success. We all need to play our part, contributing our skills and experience to make a true difference. That’s Howden.

Why work at Howden?

We have always been employee-owned and driven by entrepreneurial spirit. Right from the beginning, we've focused on employing talented individuals and empowering them to make a real difference to the company, whilst building successful and fulfilling careers at the same time. Simply put, we hire talented specialists and give them what they need to make a difference for clients. Always have, always will.

People join Howden for many different reasons, but they stay for the same one: our culture. It’s what sets us apart, and the reason our employees have been turning down disappointed head-hunters for years. Whatever your priorities – work/life balance, career progression, sustainability, volunteering – you’ll find like-minded people driving change at Howden.

Job Description – IT Infrastructure SQL/MySQL DBA

Job Title

IT Infrastructure DBA

Job Role

IT Infrastructure Support

Group Company

Howden Group Holdings

Division

IT

Department

Infrastructure & Operations

Reporting to

IT Infrastructure Data Manager

Role Summary

This role forms part of a distributed, global infrastructure team that is responsible for the continued availability and support of a hybrid on-premise and cloud infrastructure.As part of this role you will be expected to liaise with internal teams and external suppliers and build a good working relationship.  You will need to be able to multitask, the database team are involved in at least 10 projects at anyone time and all team members must be able to switch between work streams.Specifically, working within IT infrastructure support, providing support for Cloud and Data Centre infrastructure by drawing upon their wealth of practical and technical experience.The role will be expected to work within a fast-pace environment, support business throughout UK, Europe and Asia.

 

Job Specific Skills Profile

Technical skills required for the role: Database Installation and Configuration and ongoing maintenance,Implement best practices for server and database configurations.Performance Tuning and Optimization:Monitor and optimize database performance.Identify and resolve performance bottlenecks.Conduct regular performance tuning activities.Backup and Recovery:Implement and manage database backup and recovery strategies.Ensure data integrity and availability through regular backups.Security Management:Implement and manage database security policies.Monitor and audit user access.Apply security patches and updates.High Availability and Disaster Recovery:Configure and maintain high availability solutions (e.g., clustering, mirroring, AlwaysOn).Develop and test disaster recovery plans.General skillsT-SQL code.Respond to alerts and proactively address issues.Collaborate with developers in database design and optimizationCollaborate with cross-functional teams, including developers, system administrators, and network engineers.

Experience as a SQL Server DBA.Experience as a SQL Server DBA.Experience as a MySQL/PostgreSQL DBA.

Desirable ExperienceExposure to cloud computing such as Azure, in particular the following:Azure SQL DatabaseAzure Data FactoryMicrosoft FabricAzure Blob storageSome ability with coding languages (PowerShell, C#, T-SQL etc).Recent MS certificationsData Lake technologies.

 

The role requires:Demonstrate examples of similar successful positions in the past.Be highly collaborative with the current team, management structure and business leaders.Demonstrate a very high level of customer service and empathy to the customer issues.Worked in the insurance or financial services sector previously.Demonstrate a ‘Can-Do’ attitude.Be an excellent all-round communicator through verbal and written communication, possibly multi-lingual with Spanish being highly desirable.

Core Responsibilities for all Staff

Achieve Results through Relationships with All Parties

Deliver a personal performance that contributes towards Group and/or Company achieving their objectivesAchieve lasting relationships with all parties (internal clients, suppliers, third parties and other staff)

Delivery of Service

Consistently deliver an excellent and comprehensive service

Conduct and Integrity

Ensure all dealings are carried out with integrity and professionalismAct in utmost good faith, in accordance with Group and/or Company policies and never risk the Company’s or the Group’s reputation

Development and Professionalism

Continuously develop skills and knowledgeDevelop others where you are responsible for their performanceMust possess a passion for quality and continuous improvementAble to multi-task and prioritise appropriately

General Responsibilities

ClientsDevelop strong relationships with the Business UnitsRespond to the Business Units’ requirements as appropriateSupport the business units with their use of the IT systemsBehave with all clients (both internal and external) fairly and ethically with excellent customer serviceTake ownership of issues and provide updates to users on outstanding issues.AdministrationEnsure up to date records are maintained at all times on the Group and Company systemsInterpret instructions and issues arising, and then implement actions according to policies and procedures

SupportProviding escalation support to the Group IT Service DeskEnsuring all changes to production services are subject to change controlProducing and update documentation to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of systemsConducting root cause analysis following unplanned disruptions to improve system availabilityConduct Problem Management of repeat incidents affecting business servicesExperience with incident management systems, identify incident trends and gather relevant information systematically to troubleshoot and resolve issuesStrong analytical, problem solving and decision making skills

ComplianceEnsure compliance with all applicable Group and /or Company policies and proceduresEnsure correct authorisation is obtained and processes followed when required by the Group and/or Company policies and proceduresEnsure compliance with legal and regulatory requirementsEnsure that own performance, HR and T&C records are up to date and meet the Group’s requirementsMaintain accurate records and deal with correspondence appropriatelyEnsure compliance with Anti Bribery and Corruption policy and proceduresWho we’re looking for

At Howden we value diversity - there is no one Howden ‘personality type’. Instead, we’re looking for individuals who share the same values as us:

Our successes have all come from someone brave enough to try something new

We support each other, in the small everyday moments and the bigger challenges

We are determined to make a positive difference, at work and beyond

What do we offer in return?

A career that you define.

Our business succeeds by allowing our people to make a mark in the areas they care about most: personal development, volunteering, and fundraising for charity, or creating new insurance products that address society’s greatest challenges.

And we know that separate home and work lives don't really exist. If you're happy and healthy at home, you're more likely to be happy and fulfilled at work – and vice versa. That's why we do our best to support our people in every aspect of their lives.

Diversity and Inclusion

At Howden, we consider our people our chief competitive advantage and as such we treat colleagues, candidates, clients, and business partners with equality, fairness, and respect – regardless of age, disability, race, religion or belief, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, or family circumstances.

Our sustainability promise

We’re on a life-long journey to become an ever-more sustainable group. It's a commitment to taking care of our people and the world we live in, to doing good business, and to making a positive impact wherever we can. Our governance processes, company policies, and review systems are all geared towards our goal of making a positive impact in the world. You can read more about our sustainability work here.

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