Job Description:

The Organisation:

MultiChoice Group (MCG), a subsidiary of Groupe CANAL+, is a leading provider of entertainment and related consumer services. The company has an expanding ecosystem, underpinned by scalable technologies, and track record now spans almost 40 years. MCG provides video entertainment products and services through its linear and streaming platforms to millions of households across 50 countries on the African continent. Continues to grow by producing and acquiring the best local, sport and international content, offering tiered subscription packages and aggregated streaming services to its customer base. MCG’s superior technology capabilities enable it to continue innovating around distribution, digital, payment solutions and content security to offer the best customer experience across the continent. Reaching up to 100million individuals daily, the MultiChoice Group is using its scale and distribution to expand its platform to include sports betting and interactive entertainment, fin-tech services, household services (focused on internet connectivity with emergency response services) and ed-tech.

Irdeto which is MCG’s technology business, provides platform cybersecurity services which protect over 6 billion devices and applications globally for some of the world’s best media and technology brands, as well as clients in the connected industry.

Purpose of the Position:

The Senior Manager: Databases is responsible for the strategy, architecture, implementation, optimisation and operational management of enterprise database platforms across on-premises and cloud environments. This role ensures high availability, performance, security, and scalability of databases to support business-critical applications, analytics, and digital transformation initiatives, in alignment with enterprise architecture and data strategies.

Key Performance Objectives

Tasks

Database Strategy & Architecture

Define and execute the enterprise database strategy aligned to IT and business objectives
Design and oversee database architecture (relational, NoSQL, data platforms) within defined enterprise standards
Develop and execute roadmaps for modernization, migration, and cloud adoption
Ensure alignment with enterprise architecture standards and data strategies
Define target-state architectures for high availability, performance, security, and disaster recovery
Establish standards, frameworks, and design principles to guide database platform implementation
Enterprise database strategy and roadmap
Highly available and resilient database platforms
Optimized database performance and cost efficiency
Secure and compliant data environment
Effective backup and disaster recovery framework

Database Platform Management

Oversee all database technologies (Oracle, SQL Server, MySQL, PostgreSQL, NoSQL)
Manage on-premises, hybrid, and cloud database services (Azure, AWS, GCP)
Ensure high availability, clustering, replication, and failover capabilities
Drive database standardisation and consolidation initiatives

Operations & Service Delivery

Lead database operations, including performance tuning, monitoring, and capacity planning
Ensure SLAs for uptime, performance, and data integrity are met
Manage backup, recovery, and disaster recovery (DR) strategies
Oversee patching, upgrades, and lifecycle management
Enterprise database strategy and roadmap
Highly available and resilient database platforms
Optimized database performance and cost efficiency
Secure and compliant data environment
Effective backup and disaster recovery frameworks

Data Security & Compliance

Implement database security controls (encryption, masking, access controls)
Ensure compliance with regulations (e.g., POPIA, GDPR, ISO 27001, SOX where applicable)
Conduct audits, vulnerability assessments, and remediation
Collaborate with cybersecurity teams to minimize data-related risks

Performance Optimization

Drive database performance tuning and optimization across environments
Implement indexing strategies, query optimization, and workload balancing
Monitor and resolve performance bottlenecks

Leadership & People Management

Manage vendors, licensing, and database support contracts
Oversee budgeting, cost optimization, and financial planning
Lead, coach, and mentor team members to build capability, and drive performance
Plan workforce requirements, support recruitment, onboarding, and resourcing in partnership with Human Resources.
Identify development needs and related training and capability-building initiatives.
Set clear performance expectations, provide ongoing feedback and recognition, and address underperformance through formal processes.
Manage grievances and disciplinary issues, in line with company policies.

Transformation & Innovation

Support migration to cloud-native database platforms (DBaaS, PaaS)
Implement automation and Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC) for database deployments
Support big data, analytics, and data platform initiatives
Evaluate emerging technologies (AI-driven database tuning, autonomous databases) and recommend adoption where appropriate

Qualifications

Postgraduate degree in Computer Science, IT, or related field
Relevant certifications (preferred):
Oracle Certified Professional (OCP)
Microsoft Certified: Azure Database Administrator / SQL certifications
AWS Certified Database Specialty
ITIL Foundation

Experience

8–10 years in database administration or data platform engineering, including enterprise-scale environments
5-8 years in leadership or management roles overseeing database or infrastructure teams
Strong experience in enterprise database environments, including high availability, performance optimisation, and data resilience
Proven experience defining enterprise database strategy, governance and cloud transformation initiatives.
Proven experience in database transformation or cloud migration initiatives

Technical Competencies

RDBMS: Oracle, SQL Server, MySQL, PostgreSQL
NoSQL: MongoDB, Cassandra, Cosmos DB (or similar)
Cloud Databases (Azure SQL, AWS RDS, Google Cloud SQL / BigQuery)
Database Performance Tuning & Optimization
Backup & Recovery Solutions
High Availability & Replication Technologies
Database Security (encryption, masking, access control)
Database Monitoring, Alerting, & Performance Management Tools

Behavioural Competencies

Goal Setting and Alignment: Sets clear, aligned goals for team success within department objectives.
Decision-Making Agility: Makes informed decisions quickly to drive operational success.
Team Empowerment: Empowers teams by fostering autonomy and accountability.
Resource Optimisation: Manages resources effectively to maximise departmental output.
Continuous Improvement Mindset: Encourages innovation and improvement within the team.
Communication: Clearly and effectively communicates complex information across teams.

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