Grounds and Services Team Lead

Job description:

Acknowledgement of Country

CSIRO acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the land, sea and waters, of the area that we live and work on across Australia. We acknowledge their continuing connection to their culture and pay our respects to their Elders past and present. View our vision towards reconciliation.

Role highlights

• Lead and manage a skilled facilities team, supporting NASA's Deep Space Network at a globally significant scientific facility.
• Drive safety, compliance, and continuous improvement across diverse facilities and essential services.
• Join us at the CDSCC and contribute to Australia's role in global space exploration.

About CSIRO

As Australia's national science agency, CSIRO is solving the greatest challenges through innovative science and technology. Many of our iconic innovations were once considered impossible until someone, just like you, joined us and took on the challenge.

Visit for more information.

The opportunity

Join a world-class scientific and space operations environment as the Grounds and Services Team Leader at the Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex (CDSCC), operated by CSIRO in partnership with NASA.

In this pivotal leadership role, you will oversee a multidisciplinary team responsible for the maintenance and enhancement of critical infrastructure supporting deep space communications. From fire systems and water treatment to fleet and grounds management, you'll ensure operational excellence, safety compliance, and continuous improvement across the site.

This is a unique opportunity to contribute to Australia's role in global space exploration while leading a high-performing team in a dynamic and technically diverse environment.

Your high-level duties will include:

• Leading and developing a multidisciplinary facilities team, overseeing performance, career development, and delivery of essential site infrastructure services.
• Planning and managing maintenance operations across water and sewerage systems, landscaping, buildings, fuel systems, fleet vehicles, and site plant.
• Supervising contractors and managing maintenance contracts, ensuring compliance with safety, security, and operational standards.
• Supporting facilities projects and inspections, contributing to configuration management, reporting, and readiness reviews under the NASA/CSIRO partnership.
• Championing safety and continuous improvement, maintaining documentation, driving "Zero Harm" initiatives, and streamlining practices to enhance reliability and efficiency.

Role particulars

Location: Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex (CDSCC), ACT

Salary: AU$122,096.00 to AU$154,465.00 per annum (pro rata for part-time), Tracking Station allowance of $133.81 per week, plus 15.4% superannuation

Tenure & work schedule: Indefinite; full-time

Reference: 101396

As the successful candidate, you will bring:

Essential criteria

1. Demonstrated experience in customer contract management for facilities and maintenance management.
2. Demonstrated experience in developing and leading a diverse facilities, operations and/or maintenance management team.
3. Demonstrated ability to collaborate widely, both internally and externally, and provide guidance to managers and staff.
4. Working knowledge of relevant safety regulations and proven experience in fostering a proactive behavioural safety culture.
5. ACT Drivers Licence.
6. Proficiency and confidence with Microsoft Office products.

For full details about this role, and other criteria, please review the Position Description.

Not sure if you meet all the criteria?

While it is CSIRO policy that the successful candidate must meet all the essential criteria, there are many ways to demonstrate this. Don't let the list discourage you. If you are unsure about applying, please reach out to the contact person in the Position Description.

Setting you up for success

We are committed to providing a recruitment process that is fair, equitable and accessible to everyone. We recognise that it may be helpful for us to adjust our process to make it equitable for your individual situation. Please contact Cristina O'Brien via email at and let us know how we can support you.

Life at CSIRO and flexible work arrangements

We work flexibly at CSIRO, offering a range of options for how, when and where you work. We can discuss flexible work arrangements with you during the recruitment process. CSIRO also offers a range of leave entitlements, benefits and career development opportunities. To find out more, visit Careers at CSIRO.

Inclusion and belonging

Solving Australia's greatest challenges takes a diversity of minds and lived experiences. We know diverse teams are more effective and deliver more innovative outcomes. As an equal employment opportunity organisation, we are committed to creating diverse and inclusive teams where people feel they belong. We recognise true diversity encompasses all ages, abilities, cultures, faiths, levels of education, genders, sexualities, diversity of thought and much more. We focus on hiring people who share our values of People First, Further Together, Making it Real and Trusted.

CSIRO holds Gold Status for the Australian Workplace Equality Index for LGBTQIA+ inclusion, and a Science in Australia Gender Equity Bronze Award.

Eligibility

Applications for this position are open to Australian Citizens and Australian Permanent Residents currently residing in Australia. Appointment to this role is subject to provision of a national police check and may be subject to other security/medical/character requirements.

Child safety

CSIRO is committed to the safety and wellbeing of all children and young people involved in our activities and programs. View our Child Safe Policy.

How to apply

Please apply online and submit a cover letter (maximum 2 pages) and CV that demonstrate your motivation and ability to meet the essential requirements of this role.

Applications close

Tuesday 4th November, 2025, 11:00pm AEST