Job Overview
The Role at a Glance
Hands-on systems administration across head office and 74 retail locations. You will personally configure, deploy, patch, upgrade, troubleshoot, and document infrastructure across virtualization, the Microsoft stack, storage and backup, networking, and other retail components. You will work alongside a long-tenured Director of Technology who is committed to a structured 12–18 month knowledge transfer. Base salary $80,000–$88,000 + discretionary company-performance bonus + comprehensive benefits.
About Avondale Stores Limited
Avondale Stores Limited is a privately held, family-owned convenience retail and distribution company headquartered in Jordan Station, Ontario, in the Niagara region. We operate 74 corporately owned convenience locations, all within roughly one hour of head office, supported by a head office team of 20-30 staff and approximately 500 retail employees in the field.
Our culture is tight-knit and family-oriented. Many of our team members have been with us for 10+ years, and we take pride in long tenure, low turnover, and the trust we place in each other. Decisions are made deliberately and ROI-driven — we are selective adopters of technology, focused on what is proven to deliver value to our stores and customers.
We are entering a multi-year period of operational stability paired with deliberate technology modernization, and we are seeking a hands-on administrator to help drive that journey while learning from a long-tenured Director with deep institutional knowledge.
Responsibilities
The Intermediate Systems Administrator is the hands-on technical owner for the day-to-day administration of Avondale's full enterprise environment — head office and 74 retail locations. This is a player role focused on execution: you will personally configure, deploy, patch, upgrade, troubleshoot, and document infrastructure across virtualization, the Microsoft stack, storage and backup, networking, payment systems, surveillance, ATMs, telephony, and digital signage. Architecture, design, and engineering decisions remain with the Director of Technology; you will implement and operate against the Director's designs and standards.
You will work side-by-side with a Director who has run this environment for years and who is committed to a structured, multi-month knowledge transfer. Over your first 12–18 months, you should expect to absorb the procedural depth of every system listed below, document what has historically lived in the Director's head, and progressively take operational ownership.
This is not a role for someone seeking a narrow specialty. It demands breadth, a comfort with both modern and legacy systems, a documentation-first mindset, and the operational discipline to support 74 retail locations where downtime directly affects revenue.
- Reports to: Director of Technology
- Direct reports: None at hire. Will collaborate closely with the Junior IT Systems Analyst, the Senior Field Service Technician, and the Corporate Trainer.
- Location: Avondale Head Office, Jordan Station, Ontario. Full-time on-site. Occasional travel to retail locations within ~1 hour of head office.
- Employment type: Permanent, full-time.
- On-call participation: Shared evening/weekend rotation with the Director, Senior Field Service Technician, and Junior IT Systems Analyst — see On-Call Expectations below.
What You'll Do
You will personally execute setup, configuration, patching, upgrades, troubleshooting, and lifecycle management across the following systems. Once a procedure is documented and tested, the Junior IT Analyst or Senior Field Service Technician may execute deployments under your direction.
Virtualization Infrastructure
- VMware vSphere / ESXi: Install, configure, patch, optimize, and manage clusters supporting head-office workloads.
- Capacity & lifecycle: Monitor host utilization, plan refresh cycles, and execute hardware/software upgrades.
Microsoft Server Stack
- Active Directory (on-prem): Forest/domain administration, GPOs, replication, security hardening, account lifecycle management.
- Microsoft Exchange (on-prem): Mailbox management, transport rules, anti-spam, certificate management, patching, hybrid coexistence with Microsoft 365 if/when applicable.
- Windows File and Print Servers: Deployment, NTFS/share permissions, print queues, ongoing maintenance and security.
Storage & Backup Infrastructure
- RAID arrays: Configuration, performance tuning, drive replacement, rebuild monitoring.
- NAS systems: Configuration, capacity planning, replication, snapshot management.
- Fibre Channel SAN: Provisioning, zoning, monitoring, firmware lifecycle.
- Tape libraries: Backup job configuration, rotation schedules, off-site media management, restore testing.
- Cloud storage: Tiered backup-to-cloud strategy, immutable backup adoption, and recovery validation.
- Veeam Backup & Replication: Job scheduling, retention policy execution, periodic restore drills, immutable-backup operation.
Network Infrastructure
- Modems, gateways, routers, switches: Configuration, VLAN administration, patching, lifecycle management per Director's design.
- Firewalls: Policy management, logging, threat-feed integration, IPSec/SSL VPN administration.
- WAN connectivity: Manage circuits to all 74 stores; coordinate with carriers on outages, upgrades, and SLAs.
- Wi-Fi: Corporate and guest segregation, controller administration, RF deployment at stores.
POS Hardware & Software
- Store POS lanes: Setup, configuration, software deployment, peripheral integration (scanners, scales, printers, cash drawers, customer displays).
- Back-office POS Servers: Server setup, store-to-head-office connectivity, end-of-day processing, support escalations.
- New-store builds & refreshes: Execute the technical build-out of POS for new locations and renovations to standards and designs defined by the Director.
- Other Components of Our Retail Infrastructure
You will also administer and support the broader retail environment, including payment systems (pin pads and certified middleware), alarm and security panels, video surveillance, ATMs, gift card activation, digital signage, telephony (cloud SIP and mobile device management), and PowerShell-based operational automation. Hands-on field work for video surveillance and ATM hardware is performed by the Senior Field Service Technician; you manage these at the connectivity, security, and integration level.
How On-Call Works Here
Avondale's IT team is small, and on-call is a normal part of this role. On weekdays, the Junior IT Systems Analyst covers daytime calls (7am–3pm). Evening and weekend on-call is shared on a four-week rotation among the Director of Technology, the Senior Field Service Technician, this role, and the Junior IT Analyst. When you are the on-call responder, your coverage hours are Monday–Friday 3pm–11pm and Saturday–Sunday 7am–11pm, responding to issues affecting any of the 74 retail locations or head-office systems. On-call comes up roughly one week in four. Each on-call week earns a half-day of paid time off in lieu. In one to two years, the Director will exit the rotation; coverage will be redistributed at that time. On-call is administered in accordance with the Ontario Employment Standards Act and Avondale's policies.
Education
- Bachelor's degree, college diploma, or equivalent experience in Information Technology, Computer Science, or a related field.
- Current industry certifications in any combination: VMware (VCP-DCV), Microsoft (Azure Administrator, Identity & Access, Windows Server, Microsoft 365), Cisco (CCNA / CCNP), Veeam VMCE.
Experience
- Minimum 5–7 years of progressive hands-on IT systems administration experience.
- Multi-site environment experience (10+ sites strongly preferred).
- Demonstrated experience with Windows, virtualization, networking, firewalls, and storage/backup.
- MSP or field-service background is a strong asset — MSP-trained administrators and technicians tend to bring breadth and on-call discipline.
Required Technical Skills
VMware vSphere / ESXi-Strong working proficiency — install, configure, patch, troubleshoot clusters.
Windows Server & Active Directory-Strong working proficiency — AD administration, GPO administration, Windows Server lifecycle.
Microsoft Exchange (on-prem)-Working proficiency — at minimum maintain, patch, troubleshoot
Networking-Strong working proficiency — VLANs, routing, switching, Wi-Fi, firewalls. Vendor-agnostic mindset.
Storage & Backup-RAID, NAS, SAN basics; Veeam administration; tape and cloud backup operations.
Documentation discipline-Demonstrable — can show prior runbooks, network diagrams, or procedure docs they have authored or updated.
Preferred / Asset Skills
- AS/400 (IBM i) familiarity — even basic command-line comfort is rare and valued.
- Retail, convenience, fuel, hospitality, food service, or distribution industry experience.
Who We're Looking For — Cultural Fit
- Thrives in a long-tenure, relationship-based environment.
- Comfortable with deliberate pace of change — not constant disruption.
- Genuinely enjoys hands-on technical work and is willing to be the person who actually does it, not the person who talks about it.
- Documentation-first mindset — pride in clear, reusable procedures.
- Conducts themselves with integrity and transparency.
- Accepts the on-call demands of a small-team multi-site retail environment.
- Motivated by stability, ownership, and long-term commitment — five-plus year horizons preferred.
Working Conditions
- Primary work location: Avondale Head Office, Jordan Station, Ontario.
- Full-time, on-site — not a remote or hybrid role.
- Occasional travel to retail locations within ~1 hour of head office (a reliable vehicle is expected; mileage reimbursed).
- Standard business hours with flexibility required during major projects, store openings, refits, or incidents.
- Periodic after-hours change windows for production work.
- On-call rotation as described above.
- All working conditions comply with the Ontario Employment Standards Act, the Occupational Health and Safety Act, the Human Rights Code, and the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). Reasonable accommodations are available throughout the recruitment process and during employment.
What We Offer
- Base salary: $80,000-$88,000 CAD, commensurate with experience.
- Discretionary annual bonus: Based on company performance.
- On-call time off in lieu: A half-day of paid time off in lieu for each on-call week.
- Health & dental: Comprehensive employer-sponsored coverage.
- Retirement savings: Company Pension contribution.
- Vacation: Three weeks at hire, increasing with tenure.
- Mileage reimbursement: For travel to retail locations.
- Equipment: Cell phone, laptop, and on-call equipment provided.
How to Apply
To apply, please send your resume and a brief cover note to [email protected]. We review applications on a rolling basis and aim to acknowledge every submission within five business days.
We particularly welcome cover notes that speak to:
- Your experience supporting multi-site environments.
- How you approach documentation — sharing a sample runbook, diagram, or procedure you've authored or updated is especially welcome.
- Why this kind of long-tenure family-business environment appeals to you.
If selected to advance, our process includes a 30-minute phone screen, a 75-minute first-round interview with the Director of Technology and CFO, and a half-day practical assessment for finalists that includes a site visit to head office and a nearby
Pay: $80,000.00-$88,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Casual dress
- Company pension
- Dental care
- Disability insurance
- Employee assistance program
- Extended health care
- Life insurance
- On-site parking
- Paid time off
Education:
Experience:
- System Administration: 5 years (required)
Licence/Certification:
- MSCE Certificate (required)
- VMWare Certificate (required)
Work Location: In person
