Research Officer

**Classification**: ANU Officer 5/6 (Research)
**Salary package**:$83,351 - $97,929 per annum plus 17% superannuation (pro-rata)
**Terms**: Part time (0.5 FTE, 17.5 hours per week), Continuing Contingent Funding
- This position is continuing contingent funded. The funding that supports this project has an expected end date of 31 December 2027._

The Research Officer will help identify and propose conservation responses to pollutants flowing from rivers to catalyse conservation actions for the Indian Ocean. This position offers:

- The ability to undertake cutting edge research;
- An opportunity to make a difference to address a conservation problem of global importance;
- Travel and networking with experts in the in Indian Ocean region;
- Excellent and flexible working conditions.

**About the College**

The ANU by 2025 Strategic Plan calls for the University to serve society through transformational research and education. As one of the great universities of the world, ANU is driven by a culture of excellence in everything we do. Our lived experience is increasingly one of large-scale systems of people, whose actions and interactions are influenced by our digital, physical and biological environment. The ANU College of Systems and Society (CSS) hosts three of the key disciplines necessary to help us design, build, regulate and secure the future.

CSS brings together expertise in social, technical, computational, ecological and scientific systems to build a new approach to systems design and build new national capabilities in data-driven policy and business development. The work we do in the College directly supports one of the four pillars of ANU by 2025: to strengthen our national mission and meet our unique responsibilities as Australia’s national university. We will deliver on our mission by building a strong community, providing transformative educational experiences, conducting high-impact research, seeking meaningful engagement, and becoming a resilient organisation post COVID-19.

We welcome and openly acknowledge differences in expertise, research / education / professional focus, experience and perspective.

**CSS** is a vibrant and diverse community of more than three thousand students, staff, and visitors. Our College is comprised of the School of Computing, School of Cybernetics, School of Engineering, Fenner School of Environment & Society, Mathematical Sciences Institute, and the Australian National Centre for the Public Awareness of Science, supported by the Professional Services Group.

The Fenner School of Environment & Society is a world-leading centre for cross-disciplinary environmental and sustainability research, education and policy-relevant advice. Through cutting-edge research and insightful analysis, our academic experts create social, economic and environmental impact and deliver real-world solutions to address complex environmental challenges. Our mission is to encourage sound environmental policy and governance outcomes that support sustainability. The Fenner School is nationally and internationally recognised for its excellence in research and education. ANU is ranked 7th worldwide and 1st in Australia for geography, 5th and 1st for development studies, 34th and 3rd for environmental sciences, and 39th and 2nd for agriculture and forestry (QS World University Rankings by Subject 2021).

This project is also undertaken in collaboration with the Research School of Biology in the College of Science.

**About the opportunity**

This position is a fixed term appointment for a period of 2.5 years to contribute to the Management of Rivers Discharging into Ocean Realms (MORDOR) program focuses on land-based pollutants, runoff and their impacts in the Indian Ocean. Water quality has declined globally across freshwater and marine ecosystems. Multiple anthropogenic pollutants have resulted in significant declines in ecosystem health with complex social and ecological problems. Pollutants include sediments, salt, nutrients, anthropogenic chemicals and plastic waste. River catchments, freshwater ecosystems are connected to the ocean and there is a clear need to consider these systems collectively.

The MORDOR program is pioneering a new holistic, pollution management concept of “ocean catchments” using the Indian Ocean as the initial pilot program. The project is a collaboration among Prof. Jamie Pittock at the Fenner School of Environment and Society and Dr Jennie Mallela at the Research School of Biology and other experts.

The Research Officer will help with cutting edge research into identifying and managing pollutants flowing from rivers to catalyse conservation actions for the Indian Ocean, including:

- Working with experts and governments from countries around the Indian Ocean;
- Assembling data on pollutants and assessing options for priority actions to reduce pollution;
- Organising workshops in the region to discuss the results with researchers and decision makers;
- Meeting wit