Acknowledgement of Country
CSIRO acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the land, sea and waters, of the area that we live and work on across Australia. We acknowledge their continuing connection to their culture and pay our respects to their Elders past and present. View our vision towards reconciliation.
Role highlights
- Lead a national uplift of coastal and marine biodiversity data through the Atlas of Living Australia.
- Coordinate delivery across research infrastructures, government, collections, citizen science and multidisciplinary technical teams.
- Help establish an enduring coastal and marine biodiversity data program with national impact.
About CSIRO
As Australia's national science agency, CSIRO is solving the greatest challenges through innovative science and technology. Many of our iconic innovations were once considered impossible until someone, just like you, joined us and took on the challenge.
Visit CSIRO.au for more information.
The opportunity
The Atlas of Living Australia (ALA) is a National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS) capability hosted by CSIRO, mobilising biodiversity data for more than 100,000 users across research, government and industry each year. As Australia's node of the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), the ALA also connects Australian biodiversity data with the international science community.
This role sits within the ALA and will lead a new project to significantly uplift its coastal and marine biodiversity data holdings. The project forms part of ALA's contribution to CoastRI (Coastal Research Infrastructure Connecting Land and Sea), a national initiative led by the Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS) that brings together 13 NCRIS capabilities to strengthen Australia's ability to observe, understand, model and manage change across the coastal zone.
As Project Lead, you’ll bring together biodiversity specialists, data providers, technical teams and partner organisations to turn this ambition into a coordinated program of work. We’re looking for someone who can navigate a complex, multi-partner environment, bring people with different priorities together, and translate scientific, user and technical needs into clear delivery priorities. You’ll be comfortable managing dependencies, risks, schedules and reporting, while building strong partnerships and keeping contributors focused on shared outcomes. Importantly, you’ll help turn the initial CoastRI uplift into an enduring coastal and marine biodiversity data capability within the ALA.
If bringing people, data and technology together to create lasting impact sounds like your next challenge, we’d love to hear from you.
Your high-level duties will include:
- Leading the planning and coordinated delivery of the ALA coastal and marine biodiversity data uplift, defining work packages, milestones, dependencies, responsibilities and measures of success.
- Coordinating requirements and delivery across biodiversity specialists, data providers, collections, platform teams, data engineers and other technical contributors.
- Establishing and maintaining enduring partnerships with organisations that monitor, collect, manage or use coastal and marine biodiversity data, including government agencies, research infrastructures, museums and collections, and citizen science networks.
- Working with partners to identify and resolve barriers to data mobilisation, aggregation, standardisation, licensing, quality, interoperability, discovery and access.
- Managing project schedules, risks, issues, decisions, dependencies and reporting obligations, escalating matters and adapting delivery plans where required.
- Planning and facilitating governance forums, technical working groups, meetings and workshops; document decisions, actions and agreed accountabilities.
Role particulars
Location and office arrangements: Canberra (Black Mountain), ACT; Melbourne (Clayton), VIC preferred; other major CSIRO sites considered. Hybrid working available.
Salary: AU$118k – AU$127k per annum (pro rata for part-time), plus 15.4% superannuation
Tenure & work schedule: Specified Term until 30 June 2029; Full time
Reference: 104321
As the successful candidate, you will bring:
- Tertiary qualification in marine science or relevant field / or equivalent relevant experience.
- An understanding of biodiversity data, and data aggregation principles.
- Demonstrated ability to bring together and effectively coordinate technical specialists and those with data engineering and IT capabilities to achieve shared project outcome.
- Demonstrated ability to engage and manage diverse key stakeholders, including senior management, and developing productive relationships to support successful project delivery.
- The ability to work both independently and collaboratively across a nationally distributed team, using initiative and sound judgement to resolve issues and achieve agreed outcomes.
- Demonstrated strategic thinking and planning skills, with the ability to provide effective project leadership and coordinate multidisciplinary teams.
- Demonstrated experience in coordinating and facilitating meetings and workshops for large and complex groups, translating discussions into clear decisions, actions and agreed outcomes.
For full details about this role, and other criteria, please review the Position Description.
Not sure if you meet all the criteria?
While it is CSIRO policy that the successful candidate must meet all the essential criteria, there are many ways to demonstrate this. Don’t let the list discourage you. If you are unsure about applying, please reach out to the contact person in the Position Description.
Setting you up for success
We are committed to providing a recruitment process that is fair, equitable and accessible to everyone. We recognise that it may be helpful for us to adjust our process to make it equitable for your individual situation. Please contact Cristina O’Brien via email at cristina.obrien@csiro.au and let us know how we can support you.
Life at CSIRO and flexible work arrangements
We work flexibly at CSIRO, offering a range of options for how, when and where you work. We can discuss flexible work arrangements with you during the recruitment process. CSIRO also offers a range of leave entitlements, benefits and career development opportunities. To find out more, visit Careers at CSIRO.
Inclusion and belonging
Solving Australia's greatest challenges takes a diversity of minds and lived experiences. We know diverse teams are more effective and deliver more innovative outcomes. As an equal employment opportunity organisation, we are committed to creating diverse and inclusive teams where people feel they belong. We recognise true diversity encompasses all ages, abilities, cultures, faiths, levels of education, genders, sexualities, diversity of thought and much more. We focus on hiring people who share our values of People First, Further Together, Making it Real and Trusted.
CSIRO holds Gold Status for the Australian Workplace Equality Index for LGBTQIA+ inclusion, and a Science in Australia Gender Equity Bronze Award.
Eligibility
Applications for this position are open to Australian Citizens, New Zealand Citizens, Australian Permanent Residents or you must either hold a valid working visa for the duration of the specified term. Visa sponsorship is not available for this position. Appointment to this role is subject to provision of a national police check and may be subject to other security/medical/character requirements.
Child safety
CSIRO is committed to the safety and wellbeing of all children and young people involved in our activities and programs. View our Child Safe Policy.
How to apply
Please apply online and submit a cover letter (maximum 2 pages) and CV that demonstrate your motivation and ability to meet the essential requirements of this role.
Applications close
Wednesday 18 November 2026, 11:00pm AEST