Vector Surveillance Officer

APS 4 - $74,882 - $81,521 per annum plus superannuation
- Biosecurity Plant and Science Services Division
- Adelaide, SA
- _The Vector Monitoring Program is one of the department’s longest operating and most important surveillance programs. _
- _Work on the frontline protecting Australians from exotic mosquitoes._
- _The roles involves the perfect mix of field and office work._

**Who we are**
Science and Surveillance Group (SSG) is comprised of scientists, operations and support staff responsible for regulatory advice and training, technical input to biosecurity policy, regulation activity in the Torres Strait and diverse surveillance and diagnostic services around Australia, including animal and plant health surveillance measures under the Northern Australia Quarantine Strategy.

The Surveillance Section is one of the four national Sections delivering diagnostic or surveillance activities within the Operational Science & Surveillance (OSS) component of the Science & Surveillance Group (SSG). The section is comprised of the National Border Surveillance (NBS), Vector Monitoring Program (VMP) and Hitchhiker Surveillance Program teams and is led by a management team consisting of a Director, Assistant Directors and APS 6 Senior Surveillance Officers.

**The Job**
Under the general direction of the Regional Vector Coordinator (RVC) the duties of the role include, but are not limited to:

- maintaining regular communication with their RVC and seeking and following advice to deliver vector monitoring tasks to the required standard of the work instructions
- maintaining cooperation with external stakeholders associated with the Vector Monitoring Program (VMP), including port and approved arrangement (AA) operators, other Commonwealth and State/Territory/Local government agencies and treatment providers
- conducting routine vector and, if required, plant-pest monitoring activities appropriate to port risk assessments, including placement, installation, maintenance, and servicing of all trap types operated by the department.
- gaining and using knowledge of mosquito biology to guide effective delivery of vector monitoring activities including the optimum methods for sampling, placing traps and knowing when and where to sample mosquitoes
- conducting regular surveillance activities at first points of entry, high-risk AA sites and other importer premises (including formal ground surveys) by:

- identifying, describing and mapping known or potential mosquito breeding sites
- assessing biosecurity risk pathways, planning field surveillance for other plant pests
- using appropriate sampling methods to determine the mosquito and, if required, plant-pest species and weeds present in the port environment and their relative abundances,
- assessing overall receptiveness of each surveillance location including factors such as sanitation, breeding sites, frequency of conveyance movements and cargo types
- initiating and managing risk-mitigation actions through liaison with departmental staff and stakeholders
- entering and providing data regularly to the RVC within required timeframes and, as required, contributing to the accurate collection and recording of other surveillance data
- preparing written reports documenting surveillance activities and outcomes
- preparing, maintaining and annually updating a consolidated vector ‘toolbox’ for each port consisting of:

- aerial maps of the ports and high-risk AAs, with trap locations
- descriptions of each trap including type, location and frequency of inspection
- current copies of all vector related work instructions, including national response guidelines
- copies of raw data worksheets
- a list of local and national vector contacts within our department and the State/Territory health agency
- managing specimens collected by:

- establishing and rearing cultures of mosquito larvae collected by surveillance
- using appropriate diagnostic resources, including taxonomic keys of appropriate regional or taxonomic focus, to complete morphological identifications of adult and larval mosquitoes
- preparing and storing specimens for morphological and/or molecular identification
- conducting triage of other field samples, including preparing and submitting to diagnosticians
- conducting activities required under national response guidelines for detections of exotic mosquitoes, including:

- contributing to daily situation reports on the status of the detection/response, both verbally and in writing
- establishing response trap networks under the limited direction and guidance of the RVC and VMP operational and policy managers
- completing tasks such as trap clearance and the identification of specimens outside of standard business hours, including over weekends and public holidays
- mentoring other regional staff to become proficient at managing some aspects of the Vector Surveillance Officer role to create backup capacity for the program.

**Please note** that the merit pool establ