Database Administrator (DBA)

Position Title: Database Administrator (DBA)

Department: Information Technology

Position Level: Level 1 Officer

Reports To: Head of Information Technology

Employment Type: Full-time

Location: Mogadishu, Somalia

·         Background The Somali Payment Switch (SPS) is the national retail payment infrastructure responsible for real-time clearing and settlement of payments across Somali financial institutions. As a central component of Somalia’s financial ecosystem, SPS enables secure interoperability among banks, mobile money operators, government institutions, and other approved payment service providers. As SPS operates critical national financial infrastructure, its systems and services are subject to strict requirements for availability, security, confidentiality, integrity, auditability, change control, and business continuity. SPS is therefore strengthening its database administration and resilience capacity through the re-advertisement of the Database Administrator position. ·         Position Summary

The Database Administrator administers, secures, optimizes, monitors, backs up, and recovers SPS databases across on-premises, cloud, high-availability, and disaster-recovery environments. The role safeguards the confidentiality, integrity, availability, consistency, performance, and auditability of transactional and operational data while supporting secure application integration, controlled change, and continuity of SPS payment services.

·         Key Responsibilities:

Database Administration and Platform Management

·         Install, configure, harden, patch, upgrade, and maintain approved Oracle Database and PostgreSQL platforms in production and non-production environments.

·         Administer database instances, schemas, tablespaces, storage, extensions, jobs, parameters, users, roles, and service accounts in accordance with approved standards and procedures.

·         Perform core Oracle administration using RMAN, Data Pump, AWR, Oracle Wallet, Data Guard or an equivalent high-availability configuration, and other approved monitoring and diagnostic tools.

·         Administer PostgreSQL backup, replication, maintenance, monitoring, and performance capabilities using SPS-approved tools and procedures.

·         Maintain accurate inventories of database versions, hosts, instances, owners, dependencies, licensing or support status, and end-of-support risks.

·         Ensure production changes and direct data interventions are supported by approved tickets, documented instructions, maker-checker review where required, and retained evidence.

·         Do not alter transaction outcomes, balances, settlement information, or audit records outside approved and documented SPS procedures.

Cloud and Hybrid Database Management

1.       Deploy, administer, secure, monitor, and optimize Oracle and PostgreSQL databases across SPS on-premises, OCI, hosted, and hybrid environments.

2.       Lead the database workstream for approved cloud migrations, platform transitions, replication arrangements, and hybrid deployments.

3.       Administer OCI database services, including DB Systems and, where adopted by SPS, Autonomous Database, Oracle Data Safe, and relevant OCI monitoring services.

4.       Establish and maintain secure database connectivity through approved virtual cloud networks, private endpoints, encryption, and access controls in coordination with network and Information Security teams.

5.       Manage database-layer backup, recovery, replication, patching, capacity, performance, and high-availability requirements in cloud environments.

6.       Maintain current cloud and hybrid database architecture diagrams, configuration records, operating procedures, and technical support information.

Availability and Resilience

1. Design, implement, operate, and monitor approved replication, clustering, connection management, failover, and high-availability controls for Oracle and PostgreSQL platforms.

1. Monitor replication lag, recovery health, transaction logs, blocking, locks, connection pools, storage, and resource saturation, and escalate risks before they affect payment processing.

1. Maintain database dependencies, configurations, connectivity, and recovery readiness at the disaster-recovery site.

1. Plan and execute controlled switchover, failover, and failback activities and tests, subject to formal authorization under SPS change and incident-management procedures.

1. Maintain evidence and regular status reporting on database availability, replication health, resilience testing, and unresolved risks.

Backup, Recovery and Disaster Recovery

1.       Implement encrypted, monitored, database-aware backups with approved off-host storage and protected retention arrangements.

2.       Verify backup completeness, integrity, encryption, retention, and recoverability, and promptly investigate and correct failed or incomplete backup jobs.

3.       Perform scheduled restoration, point-in-time recovery, and representative application-recovery tests across production-supporting database platforms.

4.       Document achieved recovery point objectives and recovery time objectives and escalate any inability to meet approved SPS recovery requirements.

5.       Ensure snapshots supplement rather than replace database-consistent backups.

6.       Maintain tested backup, restoration, recovery, switchover, failover, and failback procedures and the supporting test evidence and reports.

Performance and Capacity Management

1.       Establish and maintain baselines for transaction volume, query latency, resource consumption, database size, growth, connection usage, and peak processing periods.

2.       Analyze and tune SQL and PL/SQL, indexes, statistics, partitions, execution plans, vacuum and maintenance processes, memory, storage, and connection behaviour.

3.       Use AWR and other approved database diagnostic and monitoring tools to identify performance bottlenecks and support root-cause analysis.

4.       Review execution plans and advise application teams on secure and efficient data-access design.

5.       Produce capacity forecasts and escalate storage, connection, licensing, processing, or recovery constraints before approved thresholds are threatened.

6.       Prepare accurate periodic reports covering database availability, performance, capacity, patching, and material operational risks for the Head of Information Technology.

Database Security and Compliance

1.       Implement database security policies, standards, and controls approved by SPS and the Information Security function.

2.       Enforce least privilege, segregation of duties, strong authentication, encryption, approved network access, and secure configuration across database environments.

3.       Administer privileged database access through approved identity and access-management processes; the DBA may not independently approve their own access, risk exceptions, or control effectiveness.

4.       Review privileged, dormant, excessive, shared, and service accounts at the required frequency in coordination with Information Security and system owners.

5.       Enable, protect, retain, and support review of audit records for privileged activity, security events, and material data changes.

6.       Support data classification, retention, masking, tokenization, and secure non-production data controls, and coordinate credential, certificate, and key rotation without avoidable service interruption.

7.       Monitor database vulnerabilities, apply approved remediation, and maintain evidence for audit, risk, and regulatory review.

8.       Implement database-layer controls supporting Central Bank of Somalia requirements, PCI DSS where applicable, ISO/IEC 27001 controls adopted by SPS, and other applicable legal, contractual, privacy, security, continuity, and SPS policy obligations.

Change, Release and Development Assurance

• Review database changes, migrations, schema updates, rollback scripts, locking risk, runtime, capacity impact, security impact, and backup prerequisites before implementation.

• Require tested rollback or roll-forward procedures for material database changes and maintain schema-version and change evidence.

• Participate in approved maintenance windows and validate database health, replication, performance, and application connectivity after implementation.

• Review database schemas, data models, SQL, indexes, execution plans, integrations, and migration designs and advise development teams on secure, scalable, and efficient data-access practices.

• Support application testing, deployment, integration, performance, migration, and failover activities where database components are involved.

• Maintain clear separation between database assurance responsibilities and routine application development or general source-code ownership.

Monitoring, Incident Response and Reporting

• Maintain actionable monitoring and alerts for database availability, replication, backups, storage, corruption, performance, security, connections, and capacity.

• Provide normal business-hours support and participate in an approved on-call rota for critical incidents, recovery activities, and maintenance windows.

• Lead or support database diagnosis during incidents when assigned, including emergency recovery, restoration, switchover, and failover activities.

• Preserve logs and technical evidence and prepare incident timelines for failed transactions, data anomalies, performance degradation, corruption, or suspected unauthorized changes.

• Produce database-related root-cause analyses and track agreed corrective and preventive actions to closure.

• Participate in approved disaster-recovery, cyber, operational-resilience, and crisis-management exercises.

• Provide accurate operational reports and risk escalations to the Head of Information Technology; departmental SLA and executive reporting remain the responsibility of the Head of Information Technology.

• Participation in after-hours support will be managed in accordance with SPS Human Resources policy.

Documentation and Continuous Improvement

1. Maintain current database architecture diagrams, data dictionaries, inventories, configurations, operating procedures, recovery runbooks, change records, and audit evidence.

1. Identify and implement approved opportunities to improve reliability, security, automation, observability, capacity, and operational efficiency.

1. Maintain continuous professional development in Oracle, PostgreSQL, OCI, Linux, database security, resilience, automation, and payment-system technologies.

1. Obtain a second SPS-approved professional certification within twelve months of appointment as a mandatory professional-development and performance objective.

1. Perform other database-related duties assigned by the Head of Information Technology that are consistent with the position level and departmental mandate.

·  

       Qualifications and Skills:

Minimum Qualifications and Experience

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Information Technology, Database Administration, or a related discipline.

Minimum of four years of hands-on database-administration experience, including responsibility for production database environments.

At least one year of experience supporting financial services, payment systems, telecommunications, government infrastructure, or another regulated or critical operating environment.

Strong practical administration of both Oracle Database and PostgreSQL, including installation, configuration, patching, backup and recovery, replication, high availability, performance tuning, monitoring, and security.

Practical experience with OCI, Linux, SQL, PL/SQL, and scripting or automation using tools such as Bash or Python.

Hands-on competence with RMAN, Data Pump, AWR, Oracle Wallet, relevant Oracle monitoring tools, and Oracle Data Guard or an equivalent Oracle high-availability configuration.

Demonstrated experience with disaster recovery, point-in-time recovery, database change control, privileged-access management, capacity planning, and production incident support.

Working knowledge of Central Bank of Somalia requirements, PCI DSS where applicable, ISO/IEC 27001 controls, and database-security and data-protection obligations relevant to regulated systems.

A current and verifiable Oracle or PostgreSQL database-administration certification at the time of appointment.

Professional written and spoken communication in English and Somali.

Desirable Qualifications and Experience

Experience administering MariaDB where used by business applications or supporting services.

Experience supporting payment switching, banking, fintech, very high-volume transactional platforms, or other systems requiring continuous availability and strict data integrity.

Experience with Oracle RAC, Autonomous Database, Oracle Data Safe, Exadata, Oracle Enterprise Manager, advanced OCI networking, or hybrid-cloud migration.

Additional certifications in Oracle, PostgreSQL, OCI, Linux, cloud infrastructure, database security, or business continuity.

·         Key Competencies

• Strong analytical and structured problem-solving skills

• Detailed understanding of database transactions, consistency, locking, replication, recovery, and performance

• Precision, evidence-based decision-making, and discipline in privileged production administration

• Calm and methodical decision-making during incidents, failover, restoration, and recovery activities

• Strong scripting, automation, and technical troubleshooting discipline

• Clear written and verbal communication in English and Somali

• Ability to explain database risks and technical issues to management and non-technical stakeholders

• Strong organization, technical documentation, and meticulous recordkeeping

• Ability to manage multiple priorities and work effectively under pressure

• Effective cross-functional collaboration with infrastructure, operations, security, development, risk, audit, and business-continuity teams

• Integrity, confidentiality, professional judgment, and willingness to escalate unresolved risks

• Commitment to continuous learning, certification, and professional development

·   Application Process

This position is being re-advertised. Candidates who applied under the previous advertisement and remain interested must submit a new application to be considered.

Interested candidates should submit their CV and a cover letter detailing their relevant experience and qualifications. The selection process includes an interview, competency assessment, and background checks. Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.

Applications should be submitted through the following link: https://erp.sps.so/jobs

For any clarifications or questions regarding this vacancy, please contact [email protected]  Applications submitted by email may not be considered; all applications should be submitted through the official SPS recruitment portal.

📅 Deadline for submission: 17th August 2026, 11.59 PM Mogadishu time.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.