Senior Archaeologist

On Country Heritage; Queensland; On-site; AUD 120,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

On Country Heritage seeks an experienced Senior Archaeologist to lead Aboriginal cultural heritage projects from scope to handover in Queensland. You will manage budgets, supervise teams, and ensure alignment with cultural protocols, reporting standards, and client requirements.

Responsibilities include preparing assessments, coordinating GIS inputs, and consulting with Aboriginal representatives. Strong leadership, management of risk, and knowledge of heritage law are essential.

Qualifications

• Degree in archaeology and demonstrated experience independently leading Aboriginal cultural heritage field programs and completing high-quality technical reports.
• Demonstrated management of project scope, schedule, budget, consultation and technical risk, including complex projects and competing deadlines.
• Working knowledge of the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act 2003 (Qld), applicable project agreements and relevant heritage and planning requirements; Queensland Heritage Act 1992 knowledge where relevant.

Responsibilities

• Lead assigned archaeological and cultural heritage projects from scoping through field delivery, reporting and handover.
• Maintain project quality, schedule, budget and cultural protocols, supervise project teams, and refer complex matters to the Principal Archaeologist.
• Prepare assessments, reports, management recommendations and technical inputs to heritage plans and agreements.
• Review field reports and GIS data for evidence, consistency and completeness; resolve issues before submission for approval.
• Consult with authorised Aboriginal representatives on project methods and findings; record participation and actions.

Skills

Project leadership

Risk assessment

Stakeholder consultation

Technical reporting

Team mentoring

GIS interpretation

Communication

Education

Degree in archaeology

Postgraduate qualification

Tools

Microsoft 365

Asana

GPS

ESRI Field Maps

Job description

Lead assigned archaeological and cultural heritage projects from scoping through field delivery, reporting and handover. Maintain project quality, schedule, budget and cultural protocols, supervise project teams, and refer complex or high-risk matters to the Principal Archaeologist.

Organisation and cultural practice

Respect Aboriginal cultural authority and agreed consultation protocols. Archaeological expertise supports cultural decisions; it does not replace them. Handle cultural knowledge, site locations and heritage material only under agreed permissions, applicable requirements and OCH procedures.

Project planning and delivery

• Develop project scopes, methods, schedules, estimates and field plans that reflect the applicable cultural heritage management plan or agreement, client brief and consultation requirements.
• Manage approved project budgets, staffing and milestones. Forecast time and costs, identify variations and obtain approval before committing additional work.
• Lead surveys, recording, excavation and assessment programs within competence; brief staff and confirm access, inductions, equipment, safety and cultural participation arrangements.
• Prepare and maintain Asana project plans, task owners, dependencies, review stages and risks. Report progress, workload, forecast changes and overdue actions.
• Coordinate GIS, business support and specialist inputs through agreed workflows; provide complete briefs, review outputs and manage project closeout and handover.

Technical quality and consultation

• Prepare assessments, reports, management recommendations and technical inputs to cultural heritage management plans and agreements.
• Review Field Archaeologist reports, field records and GIS data for evidence, consistency, completeness and agreed standards. Resolve issues before submission for approval.
• Consult with authorised Aboriginal representatives on project methods, findings and recommendations; record participation, agreed actions and unresolved issues.
• Provide routine technical advice and project updates to clients within delegation; refer complex interpretation, disputed outcomes and significant heritage risk to the Principal.

Senior Archaeologist responsibilities and criteria

Supervision safety and data

• Allocate clear tasks and deliverables, monitor team performance and provide timely feedback and coaching. Contribute to formal performance reviews and development plans.
• Verify field staff competencies and training; supervise assistants and trainees at a level appropriate to their capability and assigned activities.
• Implement project risk assessments, daily safety planning, fatigue controls and remote communication arrangements. Pause unsafe or potentially harmful OCH activities and elevate promptly.
• Apply agreed permissions for cultural information and heritage material. Ensure accurate spatial metadata, secure data transfer, version control and documented custody or handover.
• Record and escalation suspected unauthorised disturbance, unexpected discoveries, incidents and discrepancies between proposed works and approved scope; preserve evidence and follow the project procedure.

Authority and escalation

Manage assigned projects and routine technical decisions within approved methods, budgets and delegations. Review Field outputs and release only those deliverables expressly covered by delegation. Refer high-risk outputs, material methodological changes, unresolved cultural issues and disputed clearance recommendations to the Principal. Obtain approval for contractual changes and costs beyond delegation. Archaeological recommendations do not replace required Aboriginal Party decisions or project approvals.

Essential qualifications and capabilities

• Degree in archaeology and demonstrated experience independently leading Aboriginal cultural heritage field programs and completing high-quality technical reports.
• Demonstrated management of project scope, schedule, budget, consultation and technical risk, including complex projects and competing deadlines.
• Working knowledge of the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act 2003 (Qld), applicable project agreements and relevant heritage and planning requirements; Queensland Heritage Act 1992 knowledge where relevant.
• Demonstrated technical review, archaeological analysis and risk assessment skills; sound judgement about when to elevate.
• Proven respectful work with Aboriginal Parties and ability to supervise, mentor and communicate effectively with project teams and clients.
• Competence with Microsoft 365, Asana, GPS and ESRI Field Maps, and interpretation and quality checking of GIS outputs.
• Current driver licence appropriate to assigned vehicles; capacity for required travel and relevant site inductions and safety training. A manual licence is required where allocated vehicles are manual.

Postgraduate qualification; specialist excavation or analytical skills; advanced ArcGIS capability; experience developing project methods, improving reporting processes and supporting Indigenous training and agreement implementation.

Performance expectations

Assess delivery against approved schedules and budgets; timely variation and risk escalation; report quality and rework; completeness of data and handover; currency of Asana plans; team feedback and development; and adherence to safety and cultural protocols. Targets and review frequency are agreed with the Principal.