IT Support and Systems Technician

About the Company

A long-established South African software business based in Sandton, building and supporting procurement and data platforms that are used daily across a highly regulated healthcare supply chain. Their systems carry live pricing, stock and ordering information for customers around the country, which means uptime and accuracy matter more here than in most environments.

The business has grown steadily over three decades and has built its reputation on service. It runs its own in-house support capability rather than outsourcing it, and technical staff are expected to get in front of a problem rather than pass it along.

This is a smaller, hands-on environment where you will not be one of many. You will have direct exposure to the full technology stack, from the desks people work at through to the servers running the product, and direct mentorship from the IT Operations Manager.

Job Overview

This is a hands-on IT support role that also carries real systems and infrastructure work.

You will be the sole IT Support and Systems Technician in the business, reporting directly to the IT Operations Manager. Day to day you will look after desktop, hardware and software support for staff, Microsoft 365 administration, backups and restores, asset tracking and ticket management. Alongside that you will assist with server builds, take new builds and releases live in production, and travel to the data-centre co-location facility to help with physical server installation and hardware changes.

The role suits someone around three years into their IT career who wants more than a service desk. You will not be handing the interesting work upward to a bigger team, because there is no bigger team. You will get exposure to Windows Server, hybrid Active Directory and Entra ID, backups, VPN, hosting and data-centre operations, with someone senior to learn from.

This is a fully on-site position based in Sandton, with regular travel across the Johannesburg and Pretoria area to the data centre, suppliers and, occasionally, staff members’ homes. All work-related travel is reimbursed at the full AA rate.

Duties and Responsibilities

End-User Support

• Provide day-to-day desktop, hardware and software support to staff across the business.
• Handle account administration, password resets and equipment setup for new and existing users.
• Log, track and resolve support requests through the help desk and ticketing system.
• Provide VPN support and assist staff working off-site, including occasional on-site support at staff members’ homes.

Microsoft 365 and Systems Administration

• Administer Microsoft 365, including user and mailbox management.
• Support the hybrid Active Directory and Entra ID environment.
• Administer anti-virus and endpoint protection tools across the estate.
• Assist with SFTP and FTP administration and SSH key-based authentication.

Servers, Infrastructure and Data Centre

• Assist with server builds, and take new builds and releases live in production, including basic post-deployment monitoring.
• Travel to the data-centre co-location facility to assist with physical server installation and hardware changes.
• Support and troubleshoot internal web applications and services, including diagnosing and resolving outages.
• Take part in scheduled quarterly weekend server maintenance, and respond to genuine after-hours emergencies when they arise.

Backups, Assets and Vendors

• Monitor daily backup jobs and perform file and system restores to ensure business continuity.
• Maintain an accurate register of IT hardware and software assets, including allocation, condition and lifecycle status.
• Request quotes and stock availability from hardware and software vendors, and coordinate repairs and servicing with external suppliers.
• Draft and maintain SOPs, knowledge-base articles and internal IT activity reports for management.

Minimum Requirements

• At least 3 years’ experience in a help desk, IT support or junior systems administration role.
• Working knowledge of Microsoft 365 administration, including user and mailbox management.
• Solid understanding of desktop hardware, software installation and basic network troubleshooting.
• A valid driver’s licence and access to a reliable, roadworthy vehicle, as regular travel between sites is a core part of this role.
• Matric, with a relevant IT qualification or certification such as CompTIA A+, CompTIA N+ or similar (completed or in progress) being beneficial.
• Willingness to assist with genuine after-hours emergencies and to take part in planned quarterly weekend server maintenance. Any time worked outside normal hours is given back to you.

Nice-To-Have

• Familiarity with Windows Server environments and basic server administration.
• Understanding of backup and restore concepts and processes.
• Exposure to Active Directory, Group Policy, DNS and DHCP. Candidates from either a cloud-first or an on-premise background are welcome.
• Exposure to SFTP and FTP administration and SSH key-based authentication.
• Exposure to anti-virus administration and endpoint protection tools.
• Comfortable using asset tracking tools and help desk or ticketing software.
• Exposure to firewall technologies and network security concepts.
• Familiarity with Microsoft Azure, virtualisation technologies or data-centre and hosting operations.
• Basic understanding of website hosting concepts.

Personal Attributes

This is a sole IT role, so the person matters as much as the skill set. The ideal person is:

• Self-motivated and able to work independently with minimal supervision.
• Accountable, and willing to own a problem through to resolution rather than pass it on.
• Detail-focused, particularly when handling credentials, server configurations and partner data.
• Reliable and consistent, both in the quality of the work and in being available when it matters.
• Genuinely interested in the infrastructure side of IT, including the hands-on data-centre work, rather than seeing it as an inconvenience.
• Comfortable communicating with staff at all levels, and with external vendors and suppliers.

How to Apply?

This is a good role for someone who has done their time on a service desk and now wants real systems work, without waiting for a queue of senior people to move first. You will touch everything, from end-user devices to production servers to the physical infrastructure in the data centre, and you will have someone senior to learn from while you do it.

If you want your work to be visible and your name attached to it, rather than being one of many on a support rota, this one is worth a conversation.

Email your CV to charne@skillzpage.com

(If you don’t hear from us within 2 weeks, please consider your application unsuccessful.)