Item 9.E-8/15/2008
POSITION DESCRIPTION QUESTIONNAIRE
ADMINISTRATIVE FACULTY
ALL INFORMATION MUST BE PROVIDED. INCOMPLETE FORMS WILL BE RETURNED TO DEPARTMENT.
QUESTIONS? CALL UNR Faculty Human Resources at 784-6082 x250.
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INSTRUCTIONS: PDQ and Org Chart must be sent to marshag@unr.edu for initial review BEFORE routing.
1. Complete form, sign, and submit to immediate supervisor;
2. Supervisor (chair/director/dean)– review, approve, sign, forward to vice president or vice provost;
3. Pres/Vice Pres/Vice Prov - approve, sign, forward to Placement Committee (c/o UNR HR, M/S 238);
4. Placement Committee recommends administrative salary range and title & forwards to Provost.
5. Approval letters are then sent from HR with final stamped PDQ to Vice President, Dean or Director and
supervisor for PAF/Terms preparation.
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Incumbents’ Name (if applicable):
Position #:
Current Title:
Current Range:
Department: Civil & Environmental Engineering
College/Division: College of Engineering
Action Proposed: (check all that apply)
(X) New position : Proposed Range:
2
Proposed Title:
NEES IT System Administrator and Data Manager
( ) Title Change, Proposed Title:
( ) Proposed Reassignment from Range
to Range
( ) Revised PDQ only (no change in range or title)
I certify that the statements in this description are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge.
Employee’s Signature
Date
I/we have reviewed the statements in this form and they accurately reflect the job assignments.
Immediate Supervisor’s Signature
Sheriff Elfass
Date
Research Asst Prof / NEES Site Opns Mgr / CI
Director/Chair/Dean Emannuel Maragakis, Prof / Chair, Civil & Env Engr
Ted Batchman, Dean, College of Engineering
Approved for Salary Placement Committee review.
Date
Pres / Vice Pres / Vice Prov Signature Jannet Vreeland
Date
Vice Provost
Action Approved by the President (Completed by Faculty HR):
Position #:
EEO Code: 3J
CUPA Code: 465160
Exempt: Yes or No
Job Class Code:77530
Range:2
Effective Date: 6/1/2006
Title Approved:
IT System Administrator and Data Manager (CE)
Employee’s Signature (Sign & send to HR for personnel file after final approval) Date
Revised 3.2006 http://www.unr.edu/vpaf/hr/forms/documents/pdq_001.doc
Position Description – NEES IT System Administrator & Data Manager, Position #
Revised: 3 / 1 / 2006
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Position Description – NEES IT System Administrator & Data Manager, Position #
Page 3
1. Summary Statement: State the major function(s) of the position and its role in the
university. Attach an organizational chart with positions, ranges, and names for the division
which reflects the position in it as well as those supervised in the department. (This section is
used for advertisement of the position.)
The major responsibility of the NEES Information Technology (IT) System Administrator and Data
Manager is to operate and maintain basic IT facilities necessary to support telepresence and data
services using NEESgrid. The NEESgrid links the fifteen geographically distributed experimental
equipment sites, earthquake researchers and a central data repository across the U.S. with leadingedge computing resources and research equipment, allowing collaborative teams (including remote
participants) to plan, perform, and publish their experiments. In addition, the position is responsible for
local data and metadata standards, maintenance of data dictionaries, and coordinating of the effort
between NEES@UNR Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation (NEES@UNR) at the
university and NEESCentral.
2. List the major responsibilities, including percentage of time devoted to each. Provide
enough detail to enable a person outside the department to understand the job (percentage
first with heading and then bulleted information from greatest to least percentage).
70% - NEES IT Systems Administrator
 Responsible for NEES servers at the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR) equipment site
o Monitor and maintain local NEESpop (NEES point-of-presence), data archive,
telepresence, and video servers
 Responsible for software deployment and integration, local data storage, local account
management, local user support and workstations
 Responsible for operation and maintenance of basic IT facilities necessary to support
telepresence and data services using NEESgrid
 Coordinate network demands and security issues with campus network manager and NEESit
 Collaborate with other NEES equipment sites to develop and adapt software applications for
use with NEES projects, in addition to software created for the UNR equipment site
 Communicate with NEESit and other NEES equipment sites
 Maintain local NEES website
 Attend training courses
30% - Data Manager / Specialist
 Securely provide large data sets to other universities involved in the NEES project
 Monitor and maintain local video/audio services and related data streaming
 Store and maintain local data and metadata
 Storing and maintain remote data and metadata on NEEScentral
 Communicate with NEESit and other NEES equipment sites
 Assist Lab Manager with data acquisition processes
 Attend training courses
Position Description – NEES IT System Administrator & Data Manager, Position #
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3. Describe the level of freedom to take action and make decisions with or without
supervision and how the results of the work performed impact the department, division and/or
the university as a whole.
The decisions and judgments made by this individual greatly affects the proper functionality of NEES
services at UNR. The successful candidate has the freedom to take actions deemed necessary to
operate, maintain and secure NEES servers at UNR without supervision. Decisions which involve
purchasing any hardware and/or software need to be approved by the senior lab manager and/or the
center director.
4. Describe the knowledge, skills (to include cognitive requirement and verbal and written
communication), and abilities (to include task complexity, problem solving, creativity &
innovation) essential to successful performance of this job (in bullet format).
Knowledge of:
 Unix Systems administration
 Windows Systems administration
 Linux (in depth)
 Computer and network security in server environments
 Unix/Linux services such as Apache, Postfix, iptables, MySQL, and Globus
 Modern server hardware
Skills:




Identification and problem-solving
Organization
Prioritization
Effective oral and written communication
Ability to:
 Work without direct supervision
 Administer and secure a heterogeneous set of computers including Linux, Mac OSX,
Windows, and IRIX on a network
 Analyze system/network environment and take appropriate action
 Develop software (programs and scripts)
 Debug and fix other software as needed
 Collaborate with remote people/teams
 Continue learning (attend training)
5. Describe the type of personal contacts encountered in performing the duties of the job.
Explain the nature and purpose of these contacts: i.e., to provide services, to resolve
problems, to negotiate.
The incumbent has extensive contact with faculty, staff and students of the Civil and Environmental
Engineering Department as well as the Department of Information Technology. In addition, the
incumbent communicates with other higher education institutions across the nation for the purposes of
collaborative research (NEES-R projects), NEESgrid development and maintenance, as well as other
NEES related discussions.
Position Description – NEES IT System Administrator & Data Manager, Position #
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6. Indicate the minimum qualifications which are necessary in filling this position should it
become vacant. Please keep in mind the duties/responsibilities of the position rather than the
qualifications of the incumbent.
a.
Minimum educational level, including appropriate field, if any.
Bachelor’s Degree from a regionally accredited institution with emphasis or major in
Computer Science or Computer Engineering
b.
Minimum type and amount of work experience, in addition to the above required
education necessary for a person entering this position.
Bachelor’s Degree and two years of experience to include network system
administration experience using Linux; computer programming experience
c.
Indicate any license or certificate required for this position.
None