The Role
We are seeking an experienced Database Administrator (DBA) to join our Group IT organisation. This role will be responsible for maintaining, optimising, and modernising our enterprise database estate, which underpins key operational and claims platforms globally.
The successful candidate will play a dual role:
- Operational Excellence - ensuring stability, performance, integrity, and security of SQL database environments.
- Modernisation & Transformation - supporting the migration from legacy SQL Server VMs to cloud data services, while helping introduce and operate modern data capabilities (e.g., managed relational platforms, distributed NoSQL, streaming, and analytics) to enable next‑generation claims systems.
This is a hands-on, business‑critical position with strong visibility across Group IT, Engineering, Architecture, and our new claims platform delivery teams. Its a hybrid role , working minimum of 1 day per week from the office in London.
Key Responsibilities
Database Administration & Operations
- Manage, monitor, and optimise SQL Server instances across on‑premise VMs and Azure environments.
- Oversee performance tuning, index optimisation, query analysis, and capacity planning.
- Support BAU change operations and production releases, including executing approved changes in production, troubleshooting incidents, and driving root‑cause analysis.
- Participate in an on‑call rota to support business‑critical services, responding to incidents and service alerts out of hours when required.
- Maintain database availability, disaster recovery, and backup/restore strategies.
- Ensure compliance with security, governance, and audit requirements.
Azure Data Platform Modernisation
- Lead and support the migration of legacy SQL Server workloads to Azure SQL Managed Instance / Azure SQL Database.
- Contribute to database architecture design for cloud‑ready and cloud‑native applications.
- Implement best practices for Azure monitoring, automation, scalability, and resilience.
- Collaborate with DevOps teams to streamline database deployment automation and CI/CD.
Modern Data Platforms (Azure Migration)
- Support the design, configuration, and optimisation of cloud data services for high‑scale workloads (e.g., distributed NoSQL stores such as Cosmos DB, or equivalent).
- Partner with data and engineering teams to enable analytics and reporting on modern platforms (e.g., Microsoft Fabric, Synapse, Databricks, or equivalent).
- Provide guidance on data modelling and performance (relational and non‑relational), partitioning/sharding strategies, throughput and cost management, and operational best practices in cloud environments.
Collaboration & Ways of Working
- Work closely with Developers, Solution Architects, Infrastructure, Security, and the Claims Platform team.
- Contribute to documentation, technical handovers, and operational readiness for new services.
- Participate in continuous improvement activities and introduce modern tooling and automation.
- Act as a technical SME for database practices, mentoring junior team members where applicable.
Required Skills
- Enterprise DBA experience (SQL Server plus exposure to other data platforms)
- Performance optimisation (workload analysis, indexing/physical design, capacity planning)
- Azure managed relational experience (e.g., Azure SQL MI/DB): migration, operations, and tooling
- Distributed NoSQL experience (e.g., Cosmos DB/MongoDB/DynamoDB): data modelling and operational tuning
- Modern analytics/lakehouse concepts (e.g., Fabric/Synapse/Databricks), pipelines, and semantic models
- Backup/restore, high availability, and disaster recovery (design, testing, and execution)
- SQL replication experience (including migration to AVG)
- Monitoring, diagnostics, and incident management (Azure Monitor, Log Analytics)
- Comfortable working in controlled production environments (change management, release windows, safe script execution) and participating in on‑call support.
- Automation and CI/CD for data/database changes (PowerShell/Python; IaC where applicable)
- Database security (access control, encryption, compliance/audit)
About Us
Founded in 1884 as a mutual insurance association, Charles Taylor began under the leadership of coal merchant Charles Taylor, whose astute management set the stage for growth. Today, we are a global leader providing insurance services and technology solutions with a team of c.4,000 experts across 120+ countries on 6 continents.
Our unmatched depth of specialist expertise, from loss adjusters to forensic accountants, helps the global insurance market to address its challenges. Through our trusted partnerships model, we build long-term, personal relationships with clients based on trust and cooperation. Our powerful technology helps our clients improve their customers' experience from start to finish. Thanks to our global reach, our clients can access our services wherever they are in the world, whenever they need us.
Our services and solutions support every stage of the insurance lifecycle and every aspect of the insurance operating model, across all major commercial insurance lines serving a blue-chip international customer base that includes insurance companies, mutuals, captives, MGAs, Lloyd's syndicates and reinsurers, along with brokers, distributors and corporate insureds. Our Group Business Services (GBS) function supports the overall efficiency and effectiveness of the company ensuring that teams have the tools, systems and support needed to deliver high-quality client solutions. Focused on finance operations, HR services, IT infrastructure, legal and compliance support, and workplace management, the GBS function enables the business to operate with agility, maintain compliance and focus on delivering value to our clients.
Expertise you can trust - for more information, please visit www.charlestaylor.com
Why join Charles Taylor?
Charles Taylor prides itself on being a people-centric business. Our culture and values define who we are, what we stand for and how we behave. They guide how we work with our colleagues and our clients, today and in the future. By living our values every day when we come to work, we deliver better results for the world of insurance.
We strive to provide a positive working environment that offers opportunities for professional development and growth across all our business areas. This includes a structured onboarding process, job-specific skills development, online and in-person training, as well as study assistance
for professional qualifications.
Our Values
- Accountability (We take ownership and responsibility)
We all have a role to play in Charles Taylor's growth and overall success. - Agility (We learn, evolve and adapt quickly)
We anticipate, prepare for and adapt to change; it's how we stay competitive. - Care (We are compassionate and human)
We are approachable and genuinely interested in others. - Collaboration (We are one)
We are unique but united in our work. - Integrity (We do the right thing)
At all times, we act with responsibility and respect.
Equal Opportunity Employer
At Charles Taylor, we are proud to be an Inclusive Employer. We foster an environment of mutual respect with zero tolerance to discrimination of any kind regardless of age, disability, gender identity, marital or family status, race, religion, sex or sexual orientation.
We recognise that Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is essential in enabling us to deliver better insurance outcomes and fulfilling our responsibilities to clients, colleagues, and the community. We proactively promote and celebrate differences and strive to create an environment where our people feel included and can reach their full potential. We take pride in our inclusive and diverse culture, which is supported by strong partnerships and a transparent, fair recruitment process.
