Windows Server Administrator

Job Summary
The Windows Server Administrator will ensure a secure, highly available Data Centre environment to support business requirements. The role involves monitoring and managing Windows Server systems, platforms, and environments for availability, capacity, and performance. Responsibilities include configuration management, asset reporting, infrastructure refresh activities, backup and recovery, disaster recovery, high availability, incident management, security administration, and coordination with third parties to maintain operational efficiency and compliance with established policies and procedures.

Key Responsibilities
• Ensure a secure, highly available Data Centre environment to support business requirements.
• Continuously monitor systems, platforms, and environments for availability, capacity, and performance.
• Manage configuration, asset reporting, and infrastructure refresh activities to minimize service disruptions.
• Provide backup and recovery, disaster recovery services, and high-availability environments as required.
• Manage incidents and problems by following established escalation and notification procedures.
• Coordinate with third parties to ensure compliance with industry best practices, organizational policies, procedures, and regulatory requirements.
• Monitor Data Centre facilities to ensure adequate infrastructure for current and planned server and computing requirements, including rack space, power, UPS support, network and SAN cabling, core switch and firewall port availability, HVAC systems, blade chassis slots, and physical security.
• Support SQL, SMS, and VMware infrastructure as required.
• Provide daily, weekly, and monthly standard performance reports.
• Maintain documented and agreed-upon performance thresholds and triggers.
• Support team leadership responsibilities, ensuring service goals, objectives, and overall service quality are achieved.
• Coordinate with team members, client representatives, vendors, and management to address and resolve day-to-day operational issues.
• Support systems architecture, planning, and management of operational projects, including upgrades and enhancements.

Data Center Services
• Provide and maintain hardened and secure Data Centre environments.
• Follow industry best practices for facility services, including power redundancy and air conditioning.
• Coordinate escorted access for non-authorized personnel and representatives.
• Manage environmental controls, including temperature and humidity within raised-floor spaces.
• Support fire alarms and fire suppression systems.
• Maintain conditioned UPS-based electrical circuits and uninterruptible power supply systems.
• Ensure physical security of equipment, forms, tapes, and documentation.
• Provide temporary access to shared office facilities as appropriate.
• Maintain redundant data communication entry points to the facility.
• Prepare audit reports as required by internal audit teams.

Capacity Management
• Project future capacity trends and requirements for new projects and communicate findings to appropriate personnel.
• Monitor and document current workload trends.
• Provide capacity-related information to management to support future infrastructure planning.

Performance Management
• Define current and future capacity and performance requirements.
• Execute approved requests for additional capacity for Intel Windows-based servers.
• Test server performance, capacity, and throughput for new or modified applications before deployment.
• Establish schedules for dedicated server maintenance, including virus and malware detection, backups, and disk space cleanup.
• Implement modifications and enhancements to minimize the impact on environment availability.
• Define performance thresholds and indicators using selected monitoring tools for Windows Server platforms.
• Install and configure system management agents using Server Resource Management (SRM) tools or equivalent.
• Perform appropriate resolution activities, including performance tuning, when server performance is impacted.
• Monitor, collect, and analyze server performance and utilization data, including CPU, memory, and disk space.
• Compile configuration data and performance trends.
• Establish performance thresholds and exception reporting procedures.

Availability Management
• Work with business units to define availability requirements.
• Coordinate with appropriate personnel to isolate and resolve server-related problems.
• Develop and maintain availability plans.
• Track, analyze, and report on system availability.
• Provide hardware maintenance in accordance with equipment manufacturer's specifications.
• Recommend improvements to system availability.

Processing Operations
• Support the selection and definition of application software requirements.
• Operate application software that conforms to established operating environment standards.
• Provide computer room operations support and perform console monitoring for alerts generated by systems management tools.
• Schedule system maintenance with Service Owner approval to minimize disruption to business operations.
• Monitor ad hoc job submissions to production and User Acceptance Testing (UAT) Windows systems to verify successful completion.

Systems and Technical Support
• Perform technical system support operations, including tape management, system programming, capacity planning, and performance tuning for Intel-based systems.
• Provide support for Intel-based Windows operating systems.
• Evaluate, recommend, install, and maintain systems software, including vendor-supplied patches, service packs, quality packs, hotfixes, and releases.
• Apply preventive maintenance and program temporary fixes to correct software defects.
• Provide or obtain new versions, releases, upgrades, replacements, and additional systems software as agreed with the Service Owner.
• Support operating systems, subsystems, compilers, standard products, and operational tools.
• Maintain and manage stored server images, including upgrading and patching systems software, system management software, tools, and agents.
• Ensure backups of stored server images are performed.
• Monitor and tune environment performance to achieve improved performance levels.
• Manage and maintain server consoles.
• Install, maintain, and manage required system management software and agents.
• Shut down or restart operational environments and their components as required, following established procedures.
• Monitor and administer security for operational environments in accordance with organizational security policies, including reporting security violations to the appropriate teams.
• Provide Tier 2 technical support and ensure adequate support coverage.
• Rebuild servers, including hardware, operating system software, application software, and data, following server failures.
• Perform graceful server shutdowns during power outages.

Virus Management
• Assist in defining policies and procedures for antivirus management, including update frequency, antivirus software, and incident management in the event of a security breach.
• Provide virus detection software and services for supported platforms and networks and install vendor updates as they become available.
• Recommend upgrades or replacements for platforms that lack adequate virus protection capabilities.
• Protect, repair, and secure operating system software, application software, and hardware against viruses.
• Prevent, detect, remove, and isolate computer viruses.

Hardware Maintenance and Monitoring
• Proactively coordinate and execute preventive maintenance activities to minimize service failures.
• Manage relationships with hardware vendors.
• Configure and maintain peripherals associated with Intel-based servers.
• Perform detailed hardware monitoring and configure alerts for hardware failures to improve response times and reduce downtime.

Service Level Management
• Collect service requirements from user organizations.
• Document business requirements for discussion with Vendor Management.
• Prepare monthly internal service reports based on collected reports for supported applications.
• Review the quality and accuracy of internal service reports.
• Evaluate Service Level Agreement (SLA) performance against established indicators and standards.
• Provide input for Service Level Understandings (SLUs).
• Contribute to the selection and procurement of required products and services.
• Review and update Operating Level Agreements (OLAs) and SLUs.
• Consolidate monthly Service Level Objective (SLO) reports.
• Coordinate with Vendor Management regarding service level management.
• Regularly evaluate service performance in consultation with customers and vendors.
• Organize periodic service reviews and assess agreement quality.

Technical Documentation
• Maintain technical documentation for supported services, including server configurations.
• Document IP addresses and domain names of supported hardware.
• Maintain cluster and contingency plans for hardware failures.
• Maintain network infrastructure diagrams showing connected devices.
• Maintain preventive maintenance and repair logs provided by third-party support vendors.
• Maintain directories and documentation for supported equipment.
• Maintain server build documents and VLAN resource assignments.

Required Qualifications
• Hands-on experience with Windows Server configuration and administration.
• Demonstrated commitment to continuous improvement.
• ITIL certification, such as Foundation or Service Manager.

Preferred Qualifications
• Experience with Azure Windows environments.
• Experience with virtualization technologies across multiple disciplines.

Education: Bachelors Degree

Certification: ITIL Foundation , ITIL Service Manager