- You will be part of a small dynamic team of technical officers undertaking environmental monitoring and research programs that ensure the protection of Kakadu National Park.
- The position involves assisting in the delivering the continuous water monitoring program, and involves working with water quality monitoring equipment, telemetry systems, data management, sample collection and other tasks related to environmental monitoring and research programs.
- Live and work in Kakadu National Park.
- Note: subsidised housing and remote allowance available for successful candidate.
Who we are
The Office of the Supervising Scientist (OSS) is a specialist scientific area within the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (Commonwealth). We are responsible for protecting the people and environment of the Alligator Rivers Region, including Kakadu National Park, from the effects of uranium mining. We conduct environmental research and monitoring around operating and rehabilitated uranium mining sites, participate in and oversee the regulatory process and develop standards and practices for environmental protection.
The Jabiru Operations consist of the Jabiru Field Station team, a dynamic team of technical officers undertaking OSS research and monitoring programs and the Jabiru Remediation Team, a small agile team that works extensively with internal and external stakeholders to implement the Commonwealth’s commitment to the remediation of the Jabiru township post mining.
The Job
This role will assist in the delivery of statutory surface water monitoring program and support other research and monitoring programs being undertaken by the Office of the Supervising Scientist.
Duties will include:
- ensuring all water quality monitoring equipment is operational, appropriately calibrated, and well maintained and data collection and transfer is occurring as required
- undertaking routine site visits, QA/QC programs, and responding to site alarms and water quality events in required timeframes
- undertaking general site infrastructure maintenance associated with the continuous monitoring system
- assisting with the collection and management of stage height and discharge data
- supporting the Senior Technical Officer – Water Quality to maintain time-series data within a Hydstra database including quality checking, data cleaning and carrying out data import and export processes
- undertake field-based collection of water samples, in situ physico-chemical analyses and submission of water samples to external laboratories for trace metal and other analyses
- assist the Senior Technical Officer in project coordination
- assist in other monitoring and research programs as required (such as investigative work and atmospheric monitoring)
- assist with the preparation and maintenance of technical manuals and standard operating procedures and conduct appropriate recordkeeping of field visit notes
- carry out ordering and purchasing of laboratory consumables and equipment
- communicate with external laboratory and instrumentation service providers
- provide support to other Jabiru Field Station activities including facilities maintenance, work health and safety initiatives, communications and employment and training programs targeted to the local community
- assist with various vehicle and plant maintenance/cleaning as required (UTV’s, Boats, ARGO etc).
What you’ll gain from the experience
The successful candidate will have the opportunity to work as part of small dynamic team of dedicated technical and professional staff. You will be part of a positive work culture with a strong emphasis on sound Work Health and safety principals. The position provides the unique opportunity to live and work in Kakadu National Park while contributing to ensuring its protection.
What we are looking for
- Qualifications and/or experience in environmental science or water quality monitoring or surface water hydrology.
- Demonstrated experience with the use of water quality instrumentation and auto-sampling systems, including sensor calibration and maintenance.
- Previous experience using Exo instruments and Campbell Scientific dataloggers and associated software is highly desirable.
- Experience with collection and processing of water samples, including associated quality control procedures. Experience with management of time-series hydrological and water quality data.
- Previous experience using the Hydstra database is highly desirable.
- Maintenance of a laboratory, including consumables and instrumentation.
- Commitment to social justice principles such as Workplace Diversity, Workplace Participation and Work Health and Safety as they apply in the workplace and within the context of a remote location with unique challenges.
- Problem solving skills, attention to detail and an ability to trouble-shoot in remote field situations if required.
- Ability to promptly analyse and interrogate water quality data sets.
- The ability to analyse and manage water quality data sets.
- The ability to follow laboratory quality assurance/quality control procedures.
- Competent in the use of various I.T. systems (Outlook, Excel etc) and timely response to internal and external communications on these systems.
- Ability to perform fieldwork in harsh weather conditions of the Top End. Hot, Humid, Rain etc.
- Ability to perform in a small team in a remote environment, including:
- remote area field work and an understanding of associated risk and hazards assisting with supervision of staff and contractors working autonomously and collaboratively as the role requires cultivating productive relationships with colleagues and stakeholders.
Eligibility
Citizenship – to be eligible for employment with the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water you must be an Australian citizen.
Pre-employment checks – your suitability for employment will be assessed through a pre-employment screening process. This process includes a requirement to undergo and satisfy a National Police Check, referee checks, character clearance and where required a pre-employment medical assessment, specified mandatory qualification(s) validation and a probation period.
For additional information, please read the Job Description below.
Candidate Information Pack [word]
Candidate Information Pack [PDF]
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