Senior Database Administrator

Key Responsibilities

• To maintain a high level of Database and Application availability & performance. This will be done by monitoring, measuring, and improving the database schema & queries wherever possible.
• Manage the monitoring of all SQL databases and servers to ensure that we are alerted to performance issues prior to them impacting customers.
• Provide support to both Internal & External customers, assisting with the ParentPay database / data queries and related data quality and application problems.
• Undertake capacity planning to ensure that there is adequate capacity within the system to cope with long term growth plans and peak trading period.
• Work with Development to ensure that bottlenecks that might affect performance are identified and eliminated.
• Assist with the production of ad-hoc reporting for management and external customers via data extract or SRS report production.
• Ensure data security and best practices are maintained, including evidence of backup schedules, encryption, retention and restore testing.
• Introduce new tools and methodologies to improve efficiency across the estate.
• Support SQL Server instances through their lifecycle (maintain, update, migrate), on-premises and in Azure.
• Ensure incidents, tasks and changes are accurately documented and progressed in ServiceNow.

Skills, Knowledge and Expertise

• Proven experience of at least two years as a database administrator in an enterprise environment, with the ability to create and optimize SQL queries and stored procedures, using SQL Server and T-SQL
• Working knowledge of database monitoring tools across both on-premises and Azure-hosted environments.
• Working knowledge of ITSM tooling for accurate documentation and progression of incidents, tasks and changes.
• Awareness of backup/DR requirements, including encryption, retention and restore-testing practices, across on-premises and Azure-hosted databases.
• Excellent problem-solving and analytical skills
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills
• Experience in performing migrations/upgrades of SQL Server
• Knowledge of infrastructure (compute, storage, networks), primarily on-premises with growing exposure to Azure-hosted database services.
• Ability to take personal responsibility for training and self-development

About
At ParentPay Group, we believe that when schools run well, students thrive. That’s why we’ve spent decades building the operating system that supports well‑run schools – a seamless layer of tools, insights, and support that makes school life simpler for teachers, leaders, caterers, parents, and students alike.From cashless payments and parent engagement to catering management, library systems, and MIS platforms, we connect the everyday parts of education through simple, secure, and connected tools. What began as a way to make school payments easier has grown into Europe’s leading EdTech group – trusted by over 20,000 schools and 9 million users across the UK and Europe.Every day, our platforms process millions of payments, messages, and data points, quietly working in the background so schools can shine out front. Together, we’re helping schools save time, cut costs, and create more time for learning.ParentPay Group is more than a collection of brands. We are a group of people dedicated to supporting well‑run schools and giving time back to teachers, parents, caterers, admin staff – and most importantly, to students.