Research Support Officer

**Job no**: 0061652
**Location**:Parkville
**Role type**:Full-time Fixed-term for 12 months
**Faculty**:Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology
Department/School: School of Electrical, Mechanical and Industrial Engineering
**Salary**: UOM 5 - $79,961 - $91,844 p.a. plus 17% super
- Conduct research on coastal and marine pollution in the Northern Territory and Far-North Queensland, developing a business model to recycle collected plastics into high-value-added products with leading brands' support.
- Excellent opportunity to contribute to innovative solutions for addressing marine pollution and recycling plastics, collaborating with industry partners and utilizing laboratory and field experience in coastal and marine environments under the guidance of Professor Priyan Mendis.
- Salary packaging, subsidised health and wellbeing services, fitness and cultural clubs, Myki discounts, and a 25% discount on graduate courses to our staff and their immediate families

**About the Role**

As a Research Support Officer within the Department of Infrastructure Engineering at the University of Melbourne, you'll play a pivotal role in addressing coastal and marine pollution in the Northern Territory and Far-North Queensland. Collaborating with industry partners, you'll develop innovative strategies to recycle collected plastics into high-value products. This dynamic role involves field surveys, laboratory testing, and designing mobile micro-recycling factories, offering a unique opportunity to make a tangible impact on environmental sustainability.

**Your responsibilities will include**:

- Assess ocean plastic and marine debris pollution and root causes in the coastal and marine environments and quantify them using literature and field visits.
- Plan and undertake experiments to study, measure and understand the impacts on marine animals and plants.
- Environmental monitoring, including visual observations, collecting samples and surveying marine and coastal animals affected by the ocean plastic crisis to identify their behaviour changes or impacts due to the changes in their natural habitats.

**Who We Are Looking For**

You will demonstrate a proven ability to work cooperatively and positively within a multidisciplinary research team, effectively communicating with individuals from diverse backgrounds. Additionally, your capacity to collaborate seamlessly with industry partners will ensure timely project completion and success. You will also have:

- Minimum two years’ experience working within a laboratory environment with relevant field experience and exposure to ocean plastic collection and handling is desired.
- Knowledge and experience covering environmental sociology, marine and coastal ecology and marine diversity conservation.

For further information regarding responsibilities and requirements, please refer to the attached PD.

**Please note: Visa sponsorship is available for this position**.

**Your New Team **The Department of Infrastructure Engineering sits within the Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology and houses the disciplines of Geomatics, Civil Engineering and Environmental Hydrology and Water Resources.

FEIT has never been better positioned as a global leader, anchored in the dynamic Asia Pacific region, creating and curating knowledge to address some of the world’s biggest challenges. Through our students and our relationships with communities, we can not only respond to society’s needs but anticipate and create engineering and IT solutions for the future.

**What We Offer You**

In addition, we offer the opportunity to be part of a vibrant community and enjoy a range of benefits, including generous leave provisions, salary packaging, health and well-being services and discounts on graduate courses. For more information, check out our benefits page

**About the University of Melbourne**
We’re tightly connected with the community, both at home and abroad. We take pride in our people, who all contribute to our mission to benefit society through the transformative impact of education and research. Discover more via our website and stay connected with our stories and people on LinkedIn.

**Be Yourself**
The University of Melbourne values the unique backgrounds, experiences and contributions that each person brings to our community and welcomes and celebrates diversity. First Nations people, those identifying as LGBTQIA+, parents, carers, people of all ages, abilities and genders, and people of diverse ethnicity, nationality and faith are encouraged to apply. Our aim is to create a workforce that reflects the diversity of the community in which we live. For more information please visit our Diversity and Inclusion page.

**Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Applicants**
We aspire to be the University of choice for Indigenous Australians, with unprecedented investment to attract, nurture and retain Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and staff. Tangible su