One Acre Fund SQL Server Administrator Job in East Africa

Wanted
Exceptional professional to build and improve on our current server architecture, as well as plan ahead for future scaling.

Job Location
East Africa.

Duration
Minimum 2 years commitment, full-time job.

Organization Description
Most of the world's poor are farmers, representing the largest and most uniform group of poor people in the world. One Acre Fund is a growing social enterprise in Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, and Tanzania that is innovating a new way of helping farm families to achieve their full potential. Instead of giving handouts, One Acre Fund invests in farmers to generate a permanent gain in farm income. We provide farmers with a "service bundle" that includes education, finance, seed and fertilizer, and market facilitation. Our program is proven impactful – every year, we weigh thousands of harvests and measure 50-100% average gain in farm income per acre. We have laser-like focus on generating better lives for the people that we serve.

Job Description
One Acre Fund has several applications implemented as a SQL server merge replicated architecture using web synchronization to a hosted server. There are nearly 40 locations in 5 different countries which communicate with our main production server. In addition we are replicating data to a separate hosted server for business reporting.

As we expect the number of locations and countries to grow over time, we are seeking an exceptional professional to serve as SQL Server Administrator who can build and improve on our current server architecture, as well as plan ahead for future scaling. In addition the SQL Server Administrator will assist with trainings when One Acre Fund expands to new countries.

The SQL Server Administrator will start off in one of our field countries for the first 12 months, after which they can negotiate relocating. During the initial period some general IT administration tasks will be required and there will be the opportunity to understand the technical constraints a lot of our field offices are under.

Primary Duties and Responsibilities
The SQL Server Administrator will perform the following and other duties as assigned:

• Server maintenance and security.
  • Create and maintain security policies for developers connecting to SQL server.
  • In addition to database security, monitor firewall settings and prevent intrusion attempts.
  • Monitor and test automated backups, ensure offsite storage and perform consistency checks.
  • Evaluate Server performance and make recommendations for improvements.
  • Anticipate scaling needs.
  • Create disaster recovery and emergency failover procedures.
• Communicate with our developers and field operations team.
  • Act as gatekeeper for direct data manipulation/cleaning requests.
  • Create scripts for setting up a test environment with production data for developers.
  • Create and maintain a training environment tailored to different country program needs.
  • Assist with database architecture changes and staging data migrations.
• Support.
  • Maintain and improve client installation scripts.
  • Monitor client database performance.
  • Monitor replication performance.
  • Assist local IT staff with troubleshooting in case of connectivity problems with the database.
• New country setup.
  • Provide trainings for our main database tools to new Country Directors and Bookkeepers.
  • Assist new countries with hiring local IT staff.
• Other
  • Our IT needs keep growing and the SQL Server Administrator may be asked to help out in other areas occasionally.

Career Growth and Development
One Acre Fund invests in building management and leadership skills. Your manager will invest significant time in your career development. We provide constant, actionable feedback delivered through mentorship and through regular management consulting-style career reviews. We also have regular one-on-one meetings, where we listen to and discuss career goals, and work collaboratively to craft roles that each person can be passionate about.  Because of our rapid growth, we constantly have new high-level roles opening up and opportunities in many functions. This results in fast career growth for our staff.

Qualifications
Professional Qualifications and Attributes
The successful candidate will have:

• Excellent communication skills. The person in this position will have to communicate with team members remotely on a regular basis.
• Knowledge of SQL server and replication, strong scripting skills, and the ability to create clear documentation.
• Previous experience with server/network administration a plus.
• Language: English required; French a strong plus.

Personal Attributes
The following personal attributes are desired:

• A deep and genuine commitment to serving the poor.
• A passion for One Acre Fund’s program.
• A tremendous attention to detail.
• Humility and positive attitude.
• A sense of humor.

Preferred Start Date
Flexible

Compensation
Commensurate with experience.

Benefits
Health insurance, immunizations, flight, room and board.

Sponsor International Candidates
Yes

To Apply
Complete this form. You will be prompted to submit your CV and cover letter. You may also be asked to submit work samples for some positions. Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs), please submit a copy of your Description of Service (DOS) in the appropriate section.