A Data Administrator is a professional who is responsible for managing and organizing an organization's data assets. They ensure the integrity, security, and availability of data by implementing and maintaining database systems, designing data structures, and overseeing data operations. In this blog post, we will describe the primary responsibilities and the most in-demand hard and soft skills for Data Administrators.

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Main Responsibilities of a Data Administrator

The following list describes the typical responsibilities of a Data Administrator:

Administer

Administer employee data changes.

Analyze

Analyze and interpret employee data.

Assess

Assess processes and highlight any areas for improvement.

Assist

• Assist Ambient Group with daily / weekly client reports.

• Assist counsel in preparation for trials.

• Assist in conducting and documenting interviews and record searches.

• Assist in CRM activity setting for all marketing campaigns.

• Assist the Sales team(s) to research key market sectors, providing insight and updates.

• Assist with promotions and preparing for special events.

Clean up

Clean up client data, starting with Key accounts and current clients.

Close

Close cross-internal department daily communication.

Collaborate with

• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to align data management strategies with business objectives.

• Collaborate with data analysts and data scientists to support data analysis and reporting.

• Collaborate with development teams to design and optimize database queries.

• Collaborate with system administrators to ensure database server availability and performance.

• Collaborate with the product and UX team to create user stories from epics.

Collect

• Collect and document user requirements.

• Collect data from teams and conducting data entry tasks, such as collecting and entering SKU data.

Communicate

Communicate with honesty and kindness, and create the space for others to do the same.

Compile

Compile reports and send them out within required timeline.

Complete

Complete complex data loads.

Conduct

• Conduct ad hoc data requests to uncover key contacts for the Business Development team(s).

• Conduct data audits of contingent worker employee data in Workday.

• Conduct database performance monitoring and capacity planning.

• Conduct database performance testing and optimization.

• Conduct regular data backups and ensure data integrity and availability.

Contribute to

• Contribute to new product launches through product data configuration.

• Contribute to the market data cost reporting framework and respond to ad-hoc report requests.

Coordinate

Coordinate general edits and technical support for the firm's website.

Create

• Create a definition of products and components utilised in the MCR Operations part of the business.

• Create and manage database schemas, tables, and views.

• Create and modify enrollment-related records for child care centres.

• Create master data in LIMS for entry of assay testing parameters.

• Create surveys & reports tracking various client metrics.

Define

Define and enforce data standards and data governance policies.

Design

• Design and develop automated ETL process and architecture.

• Design and develop database systems to meet organizational requirements.

Develop

• Develop and enforce data access and security policies.

• Develop and implement data administration policy, standards and models.

• Develop and implement database backup and recovery strategies.

• Develop and maintain data backup and recovery procedures.

• Develop and maintain data dictionaries and data documentation.

• Develop and maintain data replication and synchronization processes for distributed databases.

• Develop and maintain disaster recovery plans for databases.

• Develop end to end process documentation for product data management.

• Develop policies and procedures for the backup and recovery of data.

• Develop productive working relationships with internal and external parties.

Document

Document, compile, sort, and archive cGMP data records.

Draft

Draft, review and approve cargo documentation.

Ensure

• Ensure activities are always in place and updated against open leads and opportunities.

• Ensure common work area are kept clean at all times.

• Ensure compliance with data privacy regulations, such as GDPR or HIPAA.

• Ensure proper use of personal monitors, and all required PPE.

• Ensure regulated processing is accurate based on clients standards and guidelines.

• Ensure that any new clients that are set up meet standards, train users to do this properly.

Enter

Enter timesheets into the payroll system weekly.

Establish

Establish regular reporting activities for internal and external stakeholders.

File

File the documents in the technical files and ensure naming conventions are maintained.

Follow

Follow good documentation practices to records results.

Foster

• Foster Collaboration and Teamwork.

• Foster connection by putting people first and building trusting relationships.

Fulfill

Fulfill data entry requests submitted by client experience coordinators.

Help

• Help complete PSS RoHS product certifications.

• Help drive business decision-making by educating and informing teams on digital metrics.

Identify

• Identify and participate in continuous improvement initiatives.

• Identify and resolve database performance bottlenecks.

• Identify, document, communicate and enforce standard business processes as they relate Salesforce.

• Identify duplicate locations and liaise with the field to clarify accuracy.

• Identify operational inefficiencies and drive cross-functional improvement initiatives.

Implement

• Implement and maintain database security measures, including user access control and data encryption.

• Implement and maintain data quality and data cleansing processes.

• Implement and track temporary centre closures.

• Implement data replication and synchronization strategies.

• Implement new features to our existing web apps, writing readable, maintainable and testable code.

Inform

• Inform the Operations Supervisor immediately of any customer service issues as they become apparent.

• Inform the Operations Supervisor of any quality or data issues as soon as they become apparent.

Install

Install, configure, and maintain database management systems (DBMS).

Integrate

Integrate fun and joy as a way of being and working, aka don't take yourselves too seriously.

Interact with

Interact with the Client on daily basis to define the scope of different applications.

Investigate

Investigate issues with lab data.

Know

Know the differences between data store options (s3, document database, relational database).

Lead

• Lead with courage, knowing the possibility of greatness is bigger than the fear of failure.

• Lead with Integrity and Respect.

Leverage

Leverage databases to help the business with insights and reporting.

Liaise with

Liaise with other Support Centre departments to maintain centralized data elements.

Maintain

• Maintain a high level of confidentiality in accordance with global privacy requirements.

• Maintain and develop documentation for operational procedures.

• Maintain and operate our Enterprise Resource Program JD Edwards (JDE).

• Maintain a positive and cooperative work attitude.

• Maintain code quality through linting and code review.

• Maintain relationships within the Industry.

• Maintain set service level agreements, meet audit requirements set out by clients.

Make

Make content updates as provided by other members of the department and the firm.

Manage

• Manage and resolve contingent worker cases within SLA, providing high quality and accurate solutions.

• Manage / clear the VFX3 report.

Monitor

• Monitor database activity logs and perform regular audits.

• Monitor database performance and troubleshoot issues, such as slow queries or system failures.

• Monitor releases with appropriate metrics and alerting to indicate system health.

Operate

Operate database management systems to analyze data.

Optimize

Optimize database performance by monitoring and tuning database parameters.

Participate in

Participate in testing and implementing system upgrades and rollout of new features.

Perform

• Perform database schema changes and data migrations as required.

• Perform data entry for the daily work as scheduled by the Operations Supervisor.

• Perform data entry into the various Leak Detection & Repair / Fugitive Emission Monitoring databases.

• Perform ordering and receiving duties using FLEX.

• Perform quality testing of LIMS master data setup.

Plan

Plan and execute database capacity planning and scalability initiatives.

Prioritize

Prioritize based on number of parts remaining.

Produce

Produce regular and adhoc accounting related reports.

Provide

• Provide administrative support to Operations Supervisor and Customer Service Team.

• Provide back-up support to other team members on daily tasks.

• Provide excellent customer service by always presenting a professional and cooperative attitude.

• Provide guidance on the design and integration of ETL to ETL Developers.

• Provide on-site support ensuring stability of existing products and adoption of technology solutions.

• Provide recommendations and solutions to identified technical issues.

• Provide technical support and troubleshooting assistance to database users.

• Provide trouble-shooting support for LIMS data.

Research

• Research products to meet new business requirements or alternatives to achieve cost savings goals.

• Research public websites to collect materials compliance data.

Respond to

Respond to inquiries from the vendor or manager.

Review

• Review and monitors DHL, Pfizer SAP and CRM exception logs.

• Review documents and ensure proper processes are followed.

Stay updated with

Stay updated with emerging database technologies and trends.

Submit

Submit finished reports to clients.

Supervise

Supervise other workers in this group.

Support

• Support and complies with all Bureau Veritas policies, Quality System and Health & Safety program.

• Support standard and ad hoc reports, templates, dashboards, scorecards, and metrics.

Testify

Testify at hearings and criminal trials when necessary.

Train

Train and educate users on database management best practices.

Troubleshoot

Troubleshoot and solve product data issues.

Upload

Upload data into various third party, customer and / or government reporting databases.

Use

Use initiative to troubleshoot and problem solve.

Validate

• Validate new features with data-driven analytics.

• Validate through research in SAP which part #s and suppliers are actually active.

Work

• Work collaboratively across a global team to support the data needs of a global contingent workforce.

• Work is primarily inside the office working on a computer for extended periods.

• Work with IT and technical teams to define and automate regular tasks and reporting.

• Work with marketing to test email addresses and delete those bouncing back.

• Work with product specialists and suppliers to enrich product data from various data sources.

• Work with the team to maintain data lineage and resolve data lineage issues.

Most In-demand Hard Skills

The following list describes the most required technical skills of a Data Administrator:

1. Proficiency in database management systems, such as Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server, or MySQL.

2. Strong understanding of database design principles and normalization.

3. Knowledge of SQL and query optimization techniques.

4. Familiarity with data modeling tools, such as ERwin or Visio.

5. Experience with database performance monitoring and tuning tools.

6. Understanding of data backup and recovery strategies.

7. Knowledge of data security and access control mechanisms.

8. Proficiency in scripting languages, such as SQL, Python, or PowerShell.

9. Experience with data integration tools, such as ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) or ELT (Extract, Load, Transform) tools.

10. Competency in database administration tasks, including installation, configuration, and patching.

11. Understanding of data governance principles and best practices.

12. Knowledge of cloud-based database platforms, such as Amazon RDS or Azure SQL Database.

13. Proficiency in data migration and data conversion techniques.

14. Experience with data warehousing and business intelligence concepts.

15. Familiarity with NoSQL databases, such as MongoDB or Cassandra.

16. Knowledge of data privacy regulations and compliance requirements.

17. Competency in database performance monitoring and optimization.

18. Understanding of database replication and synchronization mechanisms.

19. Experience with disaster recovery planning and implementation.

20. Proficiency in database troubleshooting and problem-solving.

Most In-demand Soft Skills

The following list describes the most required soft skills of a Data Administrator:

1. Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.

2. Excellent attention to detail.

3. Effective communication skills for interacting with stakeholders and users.

4. Ability to work in a team and collaborate with cross-functional teams.

5. Strong organizational and time management skills.

6. Adaptability and flexibility to handle changing priorities and requirements.

7. Strong documentation and data management skills.

8. Attention to data accuracy and data quality.

9. Customer service orientation for supporting database users.

10. Continuous learning mindset to stay updated with evolving database technologies and best practices.

Conclusion

A Data Administrator plays a critical role in managing and maintaining an organization's data assets. They are responsible for ensuring the integrity, security, and availability of data through the design, implementation, and maintenance of database systems. Data Administrators require a combination of hard skills, such as proficiency in database management systems, SQL, and data security, as well as soft skills, including analytical thinking, communication, and organizational abilities. By possessing these skills, Data Administrators can effectively handle data operations, support data-driven decision-making, and contribute to the overall success of an organization.