Assistant Director

EL 1 - $115,663 - $124,403 per annum plus superannuation
- Biosecurity Plant and Science Services Division
- Adelaide (SA), Brisbane (QLD), Cairns (QLD), Melbourne (VIC), Perth (WA) or Sydney (NSW)
- _Senior manager leading staff delivering two key Australian border surveillance programs._
- _Major role in protecting Australia's biosecurity from exotic plant pests and mosquitoes._
- _Work with a dedicated national team of staff, with ability to put technical knowledge to great value._

**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 Torres Strait and diverse surveillance and diagnostic services around Australia, including animal and plant health surveillance measures under the Northern Australia Quarantine Strategy.

Operational Science & Surveillance (OSS) is a part of SSG, which also includes the Northern Australia Quarantine Strategy (NAQS) team. OSS has four technical sections which are as follows:

- Entomology.
- Plant Pathology & Botany.
- Surveillance.
- Technical Response.

The Surveillance Section includes two national programs that operate at the Australian border at major air and seaports, regional ports and Approved Arrangements:

- National Border Surveillance (NBS) program - began operations in 2017 and is one of the department’s largest surveillance programs, with more than 20 staff conducting surveillance for exotic plant pests.
- Vector Monitoring Program (VMP) - began in the 1980s and has a team led by Regional Vector Coordinators who deliver mosquito monitoring, diagnostics and related data management, reporting and delivery of responses to detections of exotic mosquito species in coordination with a National Vector Coordinator.

**The Job**
In consultation with the Director - OSS Surveillance Section, the Assistant Director - Surveillance will be responsible for:

- providing leadership to a national set of teams of border surveillance (NBS and Vector) staff within OSS, including managing staff and their performance, financial management, corporate governance and leading change and implementation of policy frameworks and changes to work processes in line with national work instructions
- managing and deploying a significant resource base (including laboratory and field facilities and equipment) with high degree of discretion for their day to day management
- liaising, negotiating, engaging and effectively communicating with key internal stakeholders, in particular policy staff related to NBS and Vector programs
- developing, implementing and monitoring against plans, including setting work area priorities and evaluating activities and working methods
- developing, preparing and reviewing high quality written material including reports, briefing papers, business cases and other documents related to the OSS Surveillance Section and SSG more broadly
- contributing to strategic planning for programs and projects, with a particular emphasis on addressing continuous improvement and delivery of practical outcomes
- collaborating with national coordinators and policy area for Vector Monitoring and NBS to contribute to strategic planning for national policies and projects
- providing timely and science-based risk mitigation advice including providing direction (in consultation with policy colleagues) to OSS border surveillance staff responding to known or potential detections of exotic species
- identifying and responding to biosecurity and business risks and developing and implementing innovative solutions to conducting border surveillance in consultation with national NBS and Vector Monitoring coordinators
- contributing to building Surveillance Section staff capability by coaching and motivating team members, building cooperation and succession planning
- leading, promoting and ensuring effective implementation of the Australian Public Service (APS) Values, Employment Principles and Code of Conduct, WHS and rehabilitation policies.

**Please note** that this recruitment process will initially be used to fill one ongoing vacancy and that the role may be performed from any of the locations listed above. The merit pool established through this selection process, which is valid for a period of eighteen months from the date the vacancy was advertised in the Public Service Gazette, may also be used to fill future ongoing vacancies in the branch where the duties are of a similar nature.

**What we are looking for**

**Knowledge and experience**
The successful applicant will have:

- extensive experience in conducting and coordinating surveillance activities for plant diseases, pests and/or weeds
- significant knowledge and experience in botany, entomology or plant pathology, particularly relating to biology, ecology, management and diagnostics
- demonstrated project management experience
- demonstrated experience in achieving ope