Infrastructure Analyst

Review: Infrastructure Analyst - University of Staffordshire Transformation Initiative

The University of Staffordshire is embarking on a significant and exciting transformation, aiming to become the UK's leading Digital University. This ambitious vision presents a compelling opportunity for an experienced and enthusiastic Infrastructure Analyst to play a pivotal role in shaping the future of higher education technology. If you are passionate about driving innovation in server, storage, and Azure Cloud services, this position offers a chance to make a substantial impact.

Key Advantages for Candidates:

• Be at the Forefront of Digital Transformation: This role places you at the heart of a pioneering initiative in the higher education sector. You'll be instrumental in delivering and developing cutting-edge server, storage, and Azure Cloud infrastructure, contributing directly to the University's digital ambitions.
• Hands-On Technical Development: The position involves the installation, operation, management, and support of a comprehensive digital infrastructure, encompassing both physical and virtual environments. You will gain invaluable experience in managing the full lifecycle of systems, from deployment to decommissioning.
• Azure Cloud Expertise: A significant focus of this role is on provisioning, building, deploying, and maintaining SaaS, IaaS, and PaaS environments within Azure Cloud, including AKS, and virtual servers in Azure Local (HCI). This offers a prime opportunity to deepen and expand your cloud expertise in a practical, applied setting.
• Automation and Efficiency Focus: The job description highlights the consideration and implementation of options to automate current processes. This is a forward-thinking aspect that allows candidates to contribute to improving operational efficiency and streamlining workflows, a highly sought-after skill in today's IT landscape.
• Proactive Systems Management: You'll be responsible for monitoring system performance, capacity planning, and administering storage and backup systems to ensure agreed service levels and a robust backup policy. This emphasizes a proactive approach to infrastructure management, fostering resilience and reliability.
• Problem Resolution and Documentation: The role demands rapid and permanent resolution of system and service issues, requiring coordination across teams. The emphasis on documenting incidents and problems is crucial for knowledge sharing and continuous improvement.
• Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity: Involvement in disaster recovery activities, including regular testing, is a core responsibility. This provides critical experience in ensuring business continuity and preparedness for unforeseen events.
• Cybersecurity Focus: Researching and implementing software updates, particularly for critical patches and swift cyber security vulnerability remediations, is a key duty. This aligns with current industry demands for robust security practices.
• Career Growth and Impact: This is an excellent opportunity for a skilled Infrastructure Analyst with a strong foundation in cloud technologies, systems management, identity management, networking, databases, and data storage strategy. Your contributions will be visible and directly influence the University's strategic direction.

Key Considerations for Candidates:

• Technical Breadth Required: The role requires a broad range of technical skills, including server management (physical and virtual), storage and backup administration, and extensive experience with Azure Cloud services (AKS, IaaS, PaaS, SaaS, HCI). Candidates should assess if their current skill set aligns with these requirements or if they possess a strong desire to develop in these areas.
• Problem-Solving Acumen: The ability to rapidly and permanently resolve complex technical problems is paramount. Candidates should be adept at troubleshooting and possess strong analytical and problem-solving capabilities.
• Collaboration and Communication: Effective coordination with other teams for problem resolution and project delivery is essential. Strong communication and interpersonal skills will be beneficial.
• Commitment to Continuous Learning: The fast-paced nature of digital transformation and cybersecurity demands a commitment to continuous learning and staying abreast of the latest technologies and security best practices.
• Service Delivery Mindset: Participation in the Service Duty Officer Rota and adherence to agreed SLAs for ticket completion indicate a need for a strong customer service and service delivery orientation.
• Documentation Proficiency: The emphasis on preparing and maintaining operational and disaster recovery documentation suggests that meticulous record-keeping and clear technical writing skills are valued.

This role at the University of Staffordshire offers a rewarding career path for an Infrastructure Analyst who is eager to contribute to a groundbreaking digital transformation, gain deep expertise in cloud technologies, and drive operational excellence within a leading educational institution.