The Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NiRA) was founded on March 23, 2005 as a stakeholder-led organisation, charged with the management of the Nigeria’s country code Top Level Domain Name (ccTLD), dot ng. The transfer of the appropriate management of this important National Resource was coordinated by the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) on behalf of the Federal government of Nigeria. Stakeholders within Nigeria’s Internet community participated in its formation. It was registered as an Incorporated Trustee on February 9, 2007. NIRA’s formation brought to an end the long years of controversy in the country, over the management of this critical national resource, following the intervention of the then President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo. The re-delegation of the .ng ccTLD came nearly 12 years after the country code was hosted first in Italy, and later by Mr Randy Bush, an American. While Mr Bush was the technical contact for the ccTLD, Mrs. Ibukun Odusote served as the administrative contact. NIRA’s Constitution was adopted by Stakeholders, at a meeting held on March 28, 2006. A Board of Trustees (BoT) was elected among the stakeholders with Dr. Isaac A. Odeyemi as the pioneer Chairman, shortly after the adoption of the Constitution. By May 1, 2007, the first Executive Board of NIRA was elected with Engr. Ndukwe Kalu of blessed memory leading a 10-man Board. REGISTRARS NiRA adopted the 3-R model (Registry/Registrar/Registrant model) of operation in the operation and management of the .ng ccTLD. The implication of this is that NIRA does not handle the registration of domain names directly. Registrations can only be done through NIRA certified Registrars. These Registrars are certified by NiRA to facilitate the registration, transfer, renewal, and modification of registration data for customers that apply for .ng domain names. NiRA has Forty-Four (44) certified Registrars as at August 2013. The Registrars are allowed to appoint re-sellers for their operations. An initial call to interest companies, both residents in Nigeria and in the Diaspora to be pioneer registrars was done in April 2008. After a painstaking evaluation process by the NiRA Registrar Accreditation committee, the Executive Board approved the appointment of twenty-nine (29) Pioneer Registrars for the .ng Registry, at the various levels (Platinum, Gold, Silver, and Standard) in October 2008. Since then, Applications are received from organisations who want to become NiRA Certified Registrars on a regular basis. NIRA’s Policy does not limit the number of certified Registrars. An accreditation process is scheduled quarterly. Just recently, some of the NiRA Policies were reviewed, and registration of domains on the Second Level was opened up. Almost 1,500 domains were registered at the Second Level within a week of the policy change. About 60,000 domains are currently registered in the .ng registry.
- Job Type: Full Time
- Qualification: BA/BSc/HND , MBA/MSc/MA
- Experience: 8 years
- Location: Lagos
- Job Field: ICT / Computer
Primary Responsibilities
- Provide expertise and support to the organization as regards technology infrastructure, technology repairs, and technical support for Registrars and Registrants
- Create and execute procedures that will result in the continual improvement of the effectiveness and efficiency of technical services operations
- Train and mentor the technical team
- Direct, evaluate and supervise the technical team to achieve exceptional results as it relates to technical services
- Ensure the organization is aligned with global technology standards, particularly ICANN policies, and controls
- Manage all ICT functions/infrastructure for the association- networks and networking equipment, business applications and ancillary software, hardware, databases, web services, and other technology systems in line with NiRA’s commitment to Registrars, Registrants and Technical Partners
- Coordinate network design, installation, and maintenance
- Lead data security and compliance
- Develop and implement technical services policies and procedures
Qualifications and Attributes
- Advanced systems, network, and computer hardware and software knowledge
- Cisco Certified Network Administrator certification or member of any other relevant ICT professional bodies is an advantage
- Must have an understanding of the DNS and its operations
- Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Computer Engineering, Management Information Systems, or a related field
- Good communication, project management, and negotiation skills
- At least 8 years of work experience within the ICT environment
- A Master’s degree in a related field will be desirable (or an MBA with Information Technology Focus)
- Must have experience working with Linux
- Must have at least 5 years of work experience as a system administrator
- Experience with PostgreSQL is an added advantage
- Able to work effectively within a team
- Ability to work with minimal supervision
Method of Application
Interested and qualified candidates should send their CVs to [email protected] and indicate the position applied for as the subject of the email
