Database Administrator – SQL Server

Database Administrator – SQL Server

FGH Business Centre 66-70 Vicar Ln, Bradford BD1 5AJ

Hybrid flexibility: 2 office days per week

The Database Administrator (DBA) is responsible for the operational management, performance, resilience, and security of the organisation’s database platforms, primarily Microsoft SQL Server, with additional exposure to Oracle and Teradata.

The role ensures high availability, disaster recovery, data integrity, and optimal performance of critical systems, including the management of replication, failover, backup, and recovery processes. The DBA leads incident response and recovery where required.

Working with engineering and analytics teams, the DBA provides guidance on database design and optimisation and supports data integration and reporting platforms (e.g. SSIS, SSRS).

The role will also support the evolution of the data platform, including alignment with Microsoft Fabric.

Now is a fantastic time to join our Technology and Digital Team as we embark on an exciting and ambitious transformation programme to modernise our digital capabilities and optimise and enhance our customer journey.

Innovation is key as we look for new ideas which will improve the customer experience and our business processes.

• Administer, monitor, and maintain Microsoft SQL Server environments across development, test, and production, ensuring consistency and stability
• Ensure high availability, resilience, and performance of database platforms, including management of replication, failover (e.g. Always On), and recovery processes
• Design, implement, and manage backup, restore, and disaster recovery strategies, regularly validating recovery procedures
• Proactively monitor database health, performance, and capacity, identifying and resolving incidents, bottlenecks, and risks before they impact the business
• Lead database‑related incident response and recovery, providing clear ownership during major incidents
• Plan and execute database patching, upgrades, and configuration changes in line with change and release governance processes
• Maintain database security, access controls, and compliance with internal standards and regulatory requirements
• Support database migration activities and platform modernisation initiatives, ensuring minimal risk and disruption to business operations.
• Contribute to the evaluation of future database technologies and architecture options, including alignment with cloud and hybrid data platform strategies

• Review and optimise database performance, including query tuning, indexing strategies, and execution plan analysis
• Provide guidance and oversight on database object design (e.g. stored procedures, views, functions) to ensure performance, scalability, and maintainability
• Collaborate with application and engineering teams to promote efficient data access patterns and minimise database contention
• Identify and resolve performance bottlenecks across database workloads, including blocking, deadlocks, and resource contention
• Establish and promote best practices for SQL development, database design, and data modelling standards
• Support performance testing and capacity planning activities to ensure the platform scales effectively

• Provide platform support for ETL and reporting solutions (e.g. SSIS, SSRS), ensuring reliability, performance, and availability
• Troubleshoot and resolve issues affecting data pipelines, integrations, and reporting workloads
• Monitor and optimise database performance related to ETL processes, including scheduling, resource utilisation, and contention
• Support data quality and reconciliation processes from a database perspective, ensuring integrity and consistency across platforms
• Collaborate with data engineering and analytics teams to ensure efficient use of database resources and adherence to platform standards

• Act as a subject‑matter expert on SQL Server, advising on design and best practice
• Support incident investigations and root‑cause analysis.
• Contribute to technical documentation and knowledge sharing across teams