System Administrator II

Staff - Non Union

Job Category
M&P - AAPS

Job Profile
AAPS Salaried - Information Systems and Technology, Level D

Job Title
System Administrator II

Department
UBC IT | Academic Systems | Technical

Compensation Range
$8,063.17 - $12,575.08 CAD Monthly

The Compensation Range is the span between the minimum and maximum base salary for a position. The midpoint of the range is approximately halfway between the minimum and the maximum and represents an employee that possesses full job knowledge, qualifications and experience for the position. In the normal course, employees will be hired, transferred or promoted between the minimum and midpoint of the salary range for a job.

Posting End Date
February 9, 2024

Note: Applications will be accepted until 11:59 PM on the day prior to the Posting End Date above.

Job End Date

Aug 26, 2024

At UBC, we believe that attracting and sustaining a diverse workforce is key to the successful pursuit of excellence in research, innovation, and learning for all faculty, staff, and students. Our commitment to employment equity helps achieve inclusion and fairness, brings rich diversity to UBC as a workplace, and creates the necessary conditions for a rewarding career. 

Job Summary
The Systems Administrator II designs systems hardware and software solutions, defines systems scope, and provides recommendations for all systems-supported infrastructure as part of regular operations.
Organizational Status

The Academic Systems team within Academic Systems is responsible for the suite of applications including; the Student Service Centre, Faculty Service Centre, Awards Module, Consolidated Billing Module, and Application System along with a number of third-party provided modules. The team has a gatekeeper role to ensure that all promotions to the production environment are tested and that information has been transitioned to allow the team to support the changes.
Reports to the Manager, Academic Systems. Works independently and jointly within the Academic Systems Team. Provides leadership depending on the current assignment. Collaborates with management and staff from all sections of UBC Information Technology, other administrative and academic offices, and faculty to coordinate systems development and enhancement projects.
Work Performed

Specific Duties:
- Analyzes and reviews functional requirements, system features, integration requirements, security requirements, and scalability and performance requirements. Reviews implementation options, discuss approaches and recommendations with systems staff and users and provide input to technology recommendations for new and changing systems requirements.
- Contributes to the ongoing planning and development of systems enhancements in support of current or new enterprise services. Collaborates with peers/team members to identify, analyze, recommend, and implement appropriate system enhancements that will improve existing information systems and improve business processes and productivity. This may include assisting with the management of the lifecycle of a service or product.
- Investigates and remains current with industry technology trends in Applications fields such as: Security, privacy, e-commerce, PCI, workflow, systems development methodologies, web services, applications middleware (apache, tomcat, etc.), anti-spam and anti-virus, electronic forms,
- Provides advice to and consults with UBC IT colleagues or others as appropriate on complex system design issues and provides technical opinions on the viability or suitability of techniques and methodology to meet project and/or Academic Systems Support Manager's objectives and goals.
- Implements customized tools and applications, prepares functional specifications and builds proof-of-concept test environments. Develops technical specifications for system development, testing, and conversion processes, within established UBC IT s technical architecture and database design.
- Provides Tier 2 operational support for production systems including troubleshooting system problem reports, resolving issues with production systems, defining operational support processes, patching systems and applications, documenting and reporting problems and providing end-user support as required.
- Prepares training plans, and training materials, and trains staff as required during system implementation.
- Develops a high level of expertise in the functionality of vendor product(s). Works directly with the vendor s technical support center in order to resolve product issues.
Core Duties:
- Design solutions to resolve system-related business problems, meet user requirements, and streamline system workflows.
- Formulates and defines system scope and objectives and recommends a strategy, potential solution, or workaround.
- Monitors and analyzes systems issues and provides recommendations for all systems-supported infrastructure as part of regular operations.
- Provides guidance and training to less experienced analysts.
- Writes and maintains systems documentation including user and technical manuals.
- Designs, provisions, and configures systems.
- Acts as a liaison between technical groups and stakeholders to coordinate the system s installation and ensure technical compatibility and satisfaction.
- Prepares documentation and defines system specific dependencies to assist in problem analysis.
- Provides recommendations for improving procedures and coordinating system implementation.
- Integrates development of best practices, standards, procedures, and quality objectives across systems infrastructure or platforms.
- Maintains appropriate professional designations and up-to-date knowledge of current information technology techniques and tools.
- Performs other related duties as required
Consequence of Error/Judgement
Information Technology plays a key role in enabling the University to achieve its goal of becoming one of the world s leading universities. The services supported by Information Technology require reliable application systems in order to provide critical functions that support all students, faculty, and staff. These systems must be available on a 7x24 basis.
 

Decisions and actions taken by the Systems Administrator will have a direct impact on how efficiently and effectively the systems will perform and function. Errors in judgment, poor development, or failure to act decisively could have a detrimental effect on these systems. Unreliable systems or failure to meet contractual obligations for performance and availability will damage the reputation of Information Technology and UBC. This could adversely impact the University community, including the large majority of students, faculty and staff, and could cost hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost productivity, funding and revenue.
Supervision Received
Works under the general direction of the Manager, Academic Systems and the daily direction of a Team Lead or project manager as assigned. The Systems Administrator must be able to work independently as well as contribute actively and collaborate openly as a team member.
Supervision Given
May mentor newly hired systems administrators and other resources within the group who assist with application support and maintenance.
Minimum Qualifications
Undergraduate degree in a relevant discipline. In-depth knowledge of applications and the business requirements supporting them. Minimum of five years of related experience, or the equivalent combination of education and experience.
- Willingness to respect diverse perspectives, including perspectives in conflict with one’s own

- Demonstrates a commitment to enhancing one’s own awareness, knowledge, and skills related to equity, diversity, and inclusion

Preferred Qualifications

Undergraduate degree in a relevant discipline.A minimum of 5 years of experience, in-depth knowledge of applications and the business requirements supporting them or the equivalent combination of education and experience.Minimum 5 years of IT systems administration.
 

A minimum of four years in a systems support capacity in the software development organization
Experience running applications in a virtual environment and using backup and recovery tools (VMWare preferred.)
Experience designing, developing and implementing medium to large scale application development projects.
Experience with databases, programming languages, security.
Expert ability to work in all areas, and troubleshoot Java, Linux , Windows, and VM (Virtual Machines).
Experience with managing and supporting Windows Server, MS-SQL and MySQL, and Unix/Linux-based systems (Solaris and Redhat preferred.)
Experience with managing and supporting Microsoft Active Directory, Windows Server, MS-SQL and SharePoint, and Unix/Linux-based systems (Solaris and Redhat preferred.) Ability to prepare complete, concise, and understandable technical documentation. Ability to communicate effectively verbally and in writing. Familiarity and ability to effectively use some of the following current development tools and environments is an asset: Java, Perl, SQL, Oracle, Cold Fusion, UML, XML, XSL, SOAP, J2EE, Tomcat, Apache, JDK environments.
Sound knowledge of standard office productivity tools (e.g. MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Visio, etc...)
Knowledge of unified communications systems.
Knowledge of IT application development and implementation best practices, rules of thumb, and benchmarks.
An understanding of key trends and players in the IT industry and higher-education sector.Applies problem-solving methodologies and tools to diagnose and solve operational and interpersonal problems.Ability to conduct needs analyses, plan, organize, manage, monitor, complete, and evaluate projects within allocated time and resources.Collaboration - Actively solicits ideas and opinions from others to efficiently and effectively accomplish specific objectives targeted at defined business outcomes. Openly encourages other team members to voice their ideas and concerns. Shows respect for differences and diversity, and disagrees without personalizing issues. Utilizes strengths of team members to achieve optimal performance.
Communication for Results - Conducts discussions with and writes memoranda to all levels of colleagues and peer groups in ways that support troubleshooting and problem-solving. Seeks and shares relevant information, opinions, and judgments. Handles conflict empathetically. Explains the context of interrelated situations, asks probing questions, and solicits multiple sources of advice prior to taking action when appropriate.
Problem-Solving - Applies problem-solving methodologies and tools to diagnose and solve operational and interpersonal problems. Determines the potential causes of the problem and devises testing methodologies for validation. Shows empathy and objectivity toward individuals involved in the issue. Analyzes multiple alternatives, risks, and benefits for a range of potential solutions. Recommends resource requirements and collaborates with impacted stakeholders.
Accountability - Sets objectives that meet organizational needs. Provides recommendations to individuals and teams on ways to improve performance and meet defined objectives. Monitors and provides feedback on individual and team performance against defined standards.
Information Systems Knowledge - Resolves escalated problems of technical support. Identifies root causes. Sets up and integrates new and enhanced information systems. Identifies customer needs and determines the appropriate approach to apply and ensures resolution. Solicits the input of appropriate technical experts and managers as required.
Initiative - Seeks out new challenges that require risk-taking. Determines the resources, team support, and technical needs necessary to enable success and procure them. Keeps responding to the challenge in spite of obstacles and setbacks