Principal ICT Officer

System Administrator & Cloud Architect
Reference Number: ACAD/022/11/2025
Full-Time
Deadline
02 Feb 2026
Grade
Grade
11
Open Posts
Posts
1

Duties & Responsibilities

  1. Architect and manage hybrid cloud environments (AWS/Azure/GCP and On-Premise), utilising Infrastructure as Code (Terraform/Ansible) to automate deployment and scaling.
  2. Oversee high-availability database clusters (SQL & NoSQL), automating failover, backup recovery testing, and performance tuning using modern monitoring stacks (Prometheus, Grafana, Datadog etc.).
  3. Manage the University DevSecOps Implementation, integrating security tools into the CI/CD pipeline to automate vulnerability scanning for databases and servers.
  4. Manage enterprise virtualisation (VMware/Proxmox) and transition legacy apps to containerised environments (Docker/Kubernetes).
  5. Design and test immutable backup strategies and Business Continuity Plans (BCP) to ensure resilience against ransomware and data loss.

Required Qualifications and Competencies

For appointment to this grade, one MUST have:
  1. Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering or a related field is required; a Master's degree is preferred.
  2. Minimum of three (3) years proven hands-on experience managing Data Centres and Cloud Infrastructure is essential.
  3. Advanced administrative expertise in both Linux (RHEL/Ubuntu) and Windows Server is expected, supported by relevant certifications.
  4. Experience is necessary in virtualisation technologies, including VMware, Proxmox, and Hyper-V.
  5. Skill is required in managing and maintaining diverse database systems such as Oracle, PostgreSQL, MySQL, and MongoDB.
  6. Proficiency is necessary in container orchestration using Docker and Kubernetes.

 Essential Professional Certifications

  1.  Relevant Professional Certifications including:

  2. AWS Certified Solutions Architect (Professional) qualification or Azure Solutions Architect Expert qualification.
  3. Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE) qualification or Linux Professional Institute LPIC-3 qualification.
  4. CKA (Certified Kubernetes Administrator) qualification.
  5. HashiCorp Certified: Terraform Associate qualification.
  6. CISM (Certified Information Security Manager) qualification or CISA qualification.
APPLY NOW

APPLICATION PROCEDURES:

  1. All applications should be submitted with an Application Letter, a detailed Curriculum Vitae indicating academic qualifications, professional experience, academic leadership, list of publications, awards, scholarships, funding, membership to professional associations or bodies and linkages, valid email addresses, telephone contacts, copies of certificates, National ID, and other testimonials; These shall be uploaded at the relevant attachment sections within the OUK recruitment portal.
  2. Applicants with degrees from foreign Universities MUST attach letter(s) of recognition from the Commission for University Education (CUE) as part of the application document.
  3. Only shortlisted candidates shall be contacted and shall be required to ask three (3) of their referees to share references directly to the University using a system mechanism that shall be provided.
  4. Compliance with Chapter Six of the Constitution of Kenya will be upheld and any form of canvassing will lead to automatic disqualification.
Note that the Terms of Service will be either Permanent and Pensionable OR Contract, as shall be determined by the University Council.
Note

Open University of Kenya (OUK) is an equal opportunity employer and, therefore, applicants of either gender, youths, persons living with disabilities and those from marginalized areas are encouraged to apply. Interested applicants should submit their applications so as to be received on or before 2nd February, 2026.

All applications should be addressed to The Vice-Chancellor, Open University of Kenya, P.O. Box 2440-00606, Nairobi, Kenya and MUST be submitted online through the link provided at the University website and as per the instructions therein.