Team Leader, Tsunami

Geoscience Australia; Canberra; On-site; AUD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible working arrangements

Job summary

Geoscience Australia seeks a Team Leader, Tsunami to provide authoritative leadership of the tsunami program, shaping strategy, capability development and delivery at national and local scales. You will lead a small team of geophysical modellers and manage key stakeholder relationships.

You will develop new scientific methodologies and software for coastal hazard work, guide HPC coding standards, and translate complex modelling into practical guidance for government entities.

Qualifications

• Proven track record delivering programs with a strategic multi-year vision.
• Experience leading and mentoring technical teams in autonomous environments.
• Experience managing complex projects in high ambiguity and uncertainty.
• Strong stakeholder management across diverse disciplines and levels.

Responsibilities

• Lead multi-year coastal hazard science capability development and strategy.
• Oversee tsunami hazard investigations and complex projects ensuring alignment with priorities.
• Provide oversight for scientific coding and high-performance computing needs.
• Maintain and advance Australia’s national probabilistic tsunami hazard assessment and related outputs.
• Build strategic relationships with internal and international stakeholders and lead a team of technical specialists.

Skills

Tsunami hazard modelling

Geophysical modelling

Probabilistic modelling

High performance computing

Scientific programming

Stakeholder management

Team leadership

Strategic planning

Tools

High-performance computing tools

Statistical software

Job description

Geoscience Australia values the lands, water and sky as we work to deepen a shared understanding of Country and Earth. We respect First Nations peoples and their enduring connection, contribution and obligations to Country. Reflecting on our shared history, we are committed to listen and learn.

About us

Geoscience Australia brings together science, data and technology to provide geoscience insights that inform decision-making by government and industry, support innovation, and contribute to Australia's safety, resilience and prosperity.

Our work spans the Australian continent, marine jurisdiction and Antarctic territory, from space to the Earth’s core. We deliver national-scale data, services and infrastructure and work with partners to deepen understanding of Australia and respond to the opportunities and challenges facing 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.

What we can offer you

At Geoscience Australia, you’ll have the opportunity to contribute to nationally significant science, data and technology that makes a difference to Australia. You’ll work alongside people with diverse expertise and experience, with opportunities to learn, develop and contribute to work with real-world impact.

We offer competitive employment conditions, flexible working arrangements and a range of benefits that support the wellbeing and development of our people. Click here to find out more.

Our team

The Natural Hazards (NH) Section within the Community Safety Branch of the Places and Communities Division undertakes research and analysis to increase the knowledge of natural hazards in Australia and the region. This work contributes to a range of societal and industry applications that enable risk-informed decision-making, minimising the impact of natural hazards, including tsunami, on infrastructure and society. One of the flagship outputs from the Section is the Australian National Probabilistic Tsunami Hazard Assessment, which informs public safety policies at all levels of government.

As well as doing this on a national scale, the NH Section works in partnership with other Government entities, especially State Government Emergency Management agencies, to support the implementation of specific tsunami hazard – related projects such as tsunami inundation modelling for specific high importance locations.

The NH Section also works with Governments from other countries in the Australian region to increase their resilience to natural hazards, including tsunami.

The role

The Team Leader, Tsunami will exercise a significant degree of leadership and independence and provide authoritative leadership of the tsunami program, shaping strategy, capability development and delivery. This includes planning, organising and successfully delivering a range of tsunami hazard – related projects at the national and local scale in partnership with other Australian and international Government entities.

The Team Leader, Tsunami will lead the development of new scientific methodologies and software to support Geoscience Austalia’s coastal hazard work and guide contributions from the tsunami team; deliver hazard and risk information for our projects; assist internal and external stakeholders to use Community Safety's products; and manage and support staff in the tsunami program.

The successful candidate will be responsible for working with other Government entities and will lead a small team of technical specialists, with a particular focus on tsunami modelling. You will be required to develop and manage key strategic relationships with a broad range of internal, domestic and international stakeholders, promoting the agency’s business objectives and communicating the strategic direction and vision of Geoscience Australia, including with international and national tsunami experts.

The successful candidate will have deep domain expertise in geophysical modelling of natural hazard phenomena, especially probabilistic tsunami hazard assessments and tsunami inundation modelling, and strong skills in the related mathematics, scientific programming and high performance computing. They will be able to translate this into advice suitable for a wide range of Australian and international Government entities.

The key duties of the position include:

In this role you will:

• Establish, maintain and advocate for a coherent multi-year vision for our coastal hazard science capabilities including shaping and influencing future capability development.
• Develop coastal hazard components of work programs and associated funding applications and contribute to the strategic direction and management of the NH Section and Community Safety Branch.
• Oversee, undertake and assure the delivery of complex tsunami hazard-related investigations, ensuring alignment with strategic priorities.
• Lead tsunami hazard – related projects that may be complex in environments of high uncertainty and ambiguity.
• Provide oversight and guidance to ensure the development of scientific coding for high-performance computing meets program needs and strategic program goals.
• Ensure the ongoing maintenance, enhancement and application of Australia's national probabilistic tsunami hazard assessment and provide support on its use for both internal and external stakeholders.
• Lead advancements in tsunami hazard assessment and maintain our expert capability in these areas including designing future tsunami hazard projects and products.
• Provide specialist technical input and oversight in projects to ensure a high standard of scientific quality and integrity is maintained.
• Work with multiple Government entities, including with people from a range of hierarchical levels and technical specialists from a range of disciplines, to support the planning and delivery of tsunami hazard – related projects.
• Lead a team of technical specialists, especially geophysical modellers, to deliver tsunami hazard – related projects including allocating and coordinating resources; solving problems as they arise; monitoring implementation; driving innovation; and completing reports to meet deadlines.
• Provide strategic advice to inform national and international tsunami initiatives, including the Australian Tsunami Advisory Group (ATAG), the Joint Australian Tsunami Warning Centre (JATWC), the Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System (IOTWMS), and relevant state‑government emergency management bodies.

To be successful in the role you will:

• Need to have the ability to develop a clear vision of and advocate for the capability and capacity of the tsunami program.
• Have strong expertise in coastal hazards along with highly developed technical skills and experience in quantitative science, hydrodynamic modelling, statistical modelling and scientific programming for probabilistic tsunami hazard assessments and tsunami inundation modelling using high performance computing.
• Be customer and solution focused, including the ability to ensure the interests of external stakeholders are met to a high level of integrity.
• Require strong collaboration, coordination, stakeholder management and interpersonal skills.
• Require strong team leadership, communication and representation skills and be able to work as a member of multi-disciplinary teams.
• Require strong planning, organisational, project management and problem solving skills.
• Need to have the ability to translate complex technical concepts into simple terms understandable by non-technical stakeholders to ensure there is a common understanding between technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Drive innovation and position Geoscience Australia as a leader in tsunami hazard science.
• Communicate and promote the work of Geoscience Australia through publication in journals, technical reports, conference proceedings and presentations at meetings and conferences.
• Need to be comfortable working with a high level of autonomy with people at a range of hierarchical levels in high ambiguity and high uncertainty environments.
• Maintain relationships with international and national tsunami hazard experts (e.g. Global Tsunami Model; Bureau of Meteorology; Academia).

Required skills, knowledge, experience and/or qualifications

• A proven track record of successful program delivery including setting a strategic multi – year vision and managing capability and capacity to achieve that vision.
• Extensive experience of leading and mentoring teams of technical specialists in high autonomy environments including setting the strategic direction of teams and driving innovation.
• A proven track record of successfully managing the design and implementation of complex technical projects in high ambiguity and high uncertainty environments.
• Extensive knowledge and experience in stakeholder management including with people from a range of hierarchical levels and technical specialists from a range of disciplines.
• Deep subject-domain expertise and experience in probabilistic tsunami hazard assessment and tsunami inundation modelling, with the ability to provide authoritative leadership and guidance on related modelling practices, probability and statistics and high-performance computing using various languages.
• Willingness and ability to obtain and maintain a baseline security clearance.

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.

Use of AI in Recruitment

Geoscience Australia may use Microsoft Copilot to support limited administrative and preparatory aspects of the recruitment process. Artificial Intelligence is not used to assess or select candidates, and all decisions are human-led and based on merit.

Candidates must ensure their application reflects their own skills, experience and capabilities. Any use of AI must be responsible, transparent where required, and must not misrepresent their suitability for the role.

Candidates will be asked to disclose their use of AI when submitting an application and may also be asked to do so at various stages throughout the recruitment process.

Applicants are encouraged to familiarise themselves with the Principles for candidate use of AI in recruitment, as well as the Principles for agency use of AI in recruitment which outline expectations for the responsible, ethical and transparent use of AI when applying for APS roles.

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.

Notes

Technical Assistance

If you require technical assistance, call our Recruitment team on (02) 6249 9*** or email ***********@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.

Getting to know the Geoscience Australia

Geoscience Australia is an Australian Government listed entity within the Industry, Innovation and Science portfolio.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.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.We are committed to the health, safety and wellbeing of our employees and offer a flexible and diverse workplace.