Assistant Director, Technical Procurement and Financial Strategy

Geoscience Australia acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and recognises the continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. We pay our respects to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders Cultures, and to elders past and present.

About us

Geoscience Australia is Australia's pre-eminent public sector geoscience organisation. We are the nation's trusted advisor on the geology and geography of Australia. We apply science and technology to describe and understand the Earth for the benefit of Australia. We apply our diverse professional expertise, our deep and trusted knowledge, our national-scale Earth observation infrastructure and our strong partnerships, to the opportunities and challenges that face our nation.

Our culture

Our strength lies in our people, including our diversity in backgrounds, skills and experiences, and the way we work together to respond to the emerging needs of our work. We value diversity in gender, backgrounds, culture, and experiences of our employees and are committed to providing an inclusive workplace culture that ensures everyone has equal opportunity to contribute, participate and progress. Applications from people who reflect this diversity are encouraged.

Our workplace is committed to the health, safety and wellbeing of our employees and offers a variety of flexible working arrangements to enhance flexibility, including remote working arrangements.

What we can offer you

When you work at Geoscience Australia you will have access to a range of benefits and the opportunity to experience a workplace culture that truly values and promotes diversity, inclusion, equity and belonging. To learn more about our competitive salary, free onsite parking, generous flexible working arrangements and the role you can play in growing our culture click here.

The opportunity

The Australian Government has announced it will partner with the United States in the Landsat Next Earth satellite program. Underpinned by new investment of $207.4m over the next 4 years, Australia will become the first country to join the Landsat 2030 International Partnerships Initiative.

Australia’s contributions to this partnership will be delivered by Geoscience Australia and will involve investment in new science to take full advantage of Landsat Next’s advanced capabilities, including an up to nine-fold increase in spatial resolution for key bands, more than twice the number of spectral bands, and increased frequency of data collection. Geoscience Australia will also deliver significant improvements to our satellite ground station in Alice Springs, our data processing and distribution, quality assurance and integrity monitoring, and Digital Earth and Digital Atlas capabilities.

Our team

The Satellite Land Imaging Collection Branch (SLIC) will be at the forefront of Australia’s delivery of the Landsat Next partnership. A small but rapidly growing branch, SLIC comprises experts from a range of disciplines including data science, engineering, programmatics, Earth observations and remote sensing science, quality, and technical assurance.

SLIC will deliver an enhanced satellite ground segment including an upgraded Alice Springs ground station, expanded satellite data processing and delivery architectures, new quality and integrity monitoring systems and science, supported by robust partner and stakeholder engagement, integrated systems engineering, governance, and program management.

The role

The Assistant Director, Technical Procurement and Financial Strategy is responsible for providing advice, assurance, and management for Satellite Land Imaging Collection branch contracts, planning multi-year capital and operational budgets, and providing program-level fiscal management, advice, and reporting.

In this role you will:

• Provide professional advice, assurance, and management for Satellite Land Imaging Collection branch contracts.
• Provide program-level fiscal management, advice, and reporting including overseeing and contributing to routine budget processes.
• Work with Satellite Land Imaging Collection branch executive and project managers to plan multi-year capital and operational budgets, ensuring that budget phasing aligns with contract and project milestones and payments. 
• Provide the Satellite Land Imaging Collection executive and other stakeholders with advice and best-practice approaches to financial contingency management, including the development of papers for senior management and GA’s internal Investment Finance Committee.
• Support the Satellite Land Imaging Collection executive and project managers in establishing and maintaining productive stakeholder relationships with commercial suppliers, government entities, and other contract partners.
• Contribute to the strategic planning of the System Engineering and Coordination section and Satellite Land Imaging Collection branch, develop long-term business plans, and monitor workflow and performance. 
• Work closely with Geoscience Australia’s central procurement and contract management areas to ensure complementarity between Satellite Land Imaging Collection contracts and finances and enterprise-level processes and requirements.

To be successful in the role you will:

• Have excellent people skills, strong stakeholder engagement capabilities, experience in the establishment and management of international and technical agreements and projects, strategic focus, and business acumen, alongside commitment and exceptional communication abilities.
• Apply and maintain an extensive understanding of the role and responsibilities of the organisation, incorporating a comprehensive awareness of strategic relevance of the Landsat Next partnership to Australian Government policies, objectives, and priorities.
• Be able to delegate effectively, and mentor, coach and encourage individuals in their delivery of outcomes and professional development while role modelling inclusive workplace culture behaviour.
• Required skills, knowledge, experience and/or qualifications
• A substantial record of achievement in delivering financial planning, contract assurance and management, financial and budgetary support and coordination services, and the provision and presentation of trusted professional advice to senior management.
• Knowledge of the Commonwealth Procurement Rules, Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 and previous experience working in a procurement function within government is highly desirable.
• Experience in establishing and maintaining stakeholder relationships both domestic and international across government and industry. 

Are you unsure about applying?

Did you know that a Hewlett Packard internal report found that men apply for jobs when they meet an average of 60 per cent of the job requirements? Women and other people from diverse backgrounds tend to only apply when they check every box. If you think you have what it takes, but don’t necessarily meet every single point on what we are looking for, please still apply or get in touch with the contact officer to learn more about the role.

To Apply

Please visit the?careers page?of our website to submit your application via our e-Recruit system. Your application should include:

• Your resume (no more than 3 pages)
• A brief statement (no more than 700 words) outlining your transferable skills, experience and capabilities related to the role and the value you would bring to Geoscience Australia.

If you have any questions regarding the role, please contact David Hudson on (02) 6249 9853 or email david.hudson@ga.gov.au.

To learn more about applying for roles within the Australian Public Services please review, ‘Applying for an APS job: cracking the code’.

Eligibility 

To be eligible to apply for this position you must meet the below eligibility criteria.

• Be an Australian Citizen at the closing date of application.
• The successful applicant must be able to obtain, hold and maintain a security clearance of an appropriate level relevant to this role.
• Commencement of employment is subject to the successful applicant undergoing and satisfying pre- employment screening, which includes a police history check.

Recruitability

RecruitAbility applies to this vacancy. Under the RecruitAbility scheme you will be invited to participate in further assessment activity for the vacancy if you choose to apply under the scheme; declare you have a disability; and meet the minimum requirements for the position. For more information please visit the Australian Public Service Commission website.

Hearing or speech impaired applicants are invited to use the National Relay Service by contacting 133 677, and requesting to be connected with our Recruitment team on 02 6249 9777 in order to obtain selection documentation.

Technical Assistance

If you require technical assistance, call Human Resources on (02) 6249 9777 or email hr@ga.gov.au.

A merit list/pool may be created from this process. If you are successful for the merit pool, your details may be shared with other Australian Public Service agencies unless you choose not to have your details disclosed.