Question Department of Agriculture Victoria

Data Managers•  Combine your biological and data system skills to help Australia meet the biosecurity challenges of the future.
•  Work in a motivated and professional team with a wide range of technical skill sets and backgrounds.
•  Contribute to vital work performed by frontline biosecurity teams.

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.

The Science and Surveillance Group (SSG) is broadly composed of two main programs each with several sections – Operational Science and Surveillance (OSS) and the Northern Australian Quarantine Strategy (NAQS). 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. 

The OSS team has four technical sections, (1) Entomology, (2) Plant Pathology & Botany, (3) Surveillance, and (4) Technical Response, with a national network and laboratory facilities located in Adelaide, Brisbane, Cairns, Canberra, Darwin, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney. Collectively our work contributes to Australia’s favourable animal, plant and environmental status through the delivery of diagnostics services for pests, pathogens and plants/seeds, and biosecurity surveillance and response activities within Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry jurisdictions. The OSS team also provides technical, policy and pest mitigation advice and delivers training to departmental and industry staff. 

NAQS is a program which operates across coastal northern Australia from Broome in Western Australia to Cairns in Queensland and includes the Torres Strait. NAQS contributes to the delivery of national biosecurity objectives through: 

•  identifying and evaluating the unique quarantine risks facing northern Australia
•  developing and implementing measures for the early detection of targeted pests, diseases, and weeds
•  contributing to national and international initiatives relating to pest and disease surveillance
•  managing the biosecurity aspects of border movements through the Torres Strait
•  community engagement and liaison.

This selection process will be used to fill several Data Manager vacancies in the SSG including OSS Entomology Section, OSS Surveillance Section, OSS Technical Response Section and NAQS.

The Jobs
The Data Managers will contribute to scientific services and to the provision of operational and policy advice. The duties of the role may include, but are not limited to: 

•  working closely with SSG technical and data teams to ensure business requirements are understood and met which may include considering dependencies with other data projects, systems and policies
•  undertaking high-quality analyses of biosecurity and related data in accordance with applicable data quality standards and departmental policies and using a variety of analytical tools such as Power BI or Python
•  designing and implementing measures to improve data management with a key focus on data quality, operational needs, efficient use of resources and timeliness of reporting
•  leading the development of work seeking to make better use of data, such as using geospatial tools to analyse data in conjunction with other data sources
•  managing the transition of data from legacy systems to new databases
•  playing a lead role in working with complex datasets, including biosecurity interception and surveillance data, and understanding their limitations for the respective task at hand
•  interpreting trends and identifying anomalies and other patterns in complex datasets and ensuring that the dataset is suitable for the intended purpose
•  contributing to the development of operational policies and procedures including participating in working groups and other network meetings to ensure appropriate collection, recording and storage of biosecurity interception and related data
•  contributing to the deployment of quality management and assurance in the field and SSG laboratory including promoting and developing data governance policies and undertaking review and auditing activities
•  providing suitable reports and other communication products on diagnostic, risk pathway, surveillance and response data to SSG managers, other departmental forums and external stakeholders, as required
•  engaging professionally with a range of internal and external stakeholders and providing sound technical advice on biosecurity data and related issues
•  the supervision, operational management and support of data assurance and/or other science staff, where required
•  coordinating and supporting the delivery of data-related training and awareness to SSG and other departmental staff
•  prioritising and managing time to provide efficient and effective services to meet internal and external client expectations within a regulatory environment.

Please note that this selection process will initially be used to fill multiple vacancies and the roles may be able to be performed from any of the locations listed on the job description. The merit pool established through this selection process, which is valid for a period of 18 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 applicants will have: 

•  a strong understanding of data management principles and a capacity to evaluate and improve existing data management systems
•  knowledge of relational database concepts
•  an understanding of biological taxonomic classification and nomenclature
•  demonstrated experience in manipulating, transforming and quality checking of data
•  demonstrated experience preparing well-written reports
•  sound knowledge of statistical and data visualisation computing tools and programs (e.g. SQL Data Management Studio, Azure Data Environment Management, Power BI)
•  a proven record of delivering results in accordance with project management principles
•  an understanding of Australia’s biosecurity system, or the ability to quickly acquire this understanding.

Desirable
•  knowledge of spatial analysis, GIS and Esri tools
•  knowledge of pests or diseases of biosecurity significance to Australia and/or experience in biological survey work and/or experience in biosecurity response work
•  experience in change management, particularly as it relates to data/IT related business improvement.

Mandatory qualifications
Tertiary qualifications (Bachelor degree) in a relevant scientific discipline and/or information technology.

Eligibility and other requirements
The successful applicant must note that relocation assistance is subject to negotiation.

For additional information, please read the Job Description below. Candidate Information Package DOCX Opens in new window Candidate Information Package PDF Opens in new window Job Description Opens in new window How to apply: 

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