Database and Cloud Administrator (Remote Working)

Geoscience Australia acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and recognises the continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. We pay our respects to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders Cultures, and to elders past and present.

About us

Geoscience Australia is Australia's pre-eminent public sector geoscience organisation. We are the nation's trusted advisor on the geology and geography of Australia. We apply science and technology to describe and understand the Earth for the benefit of Australia. We apply our diverse professional expertise, our deep and trusted knowledge, our national-scale Earth observation infrastructure and our strong partnerships, to the opportunities and challenges that face our nation.

Our culture

Our strength lies in our people, including our diversity in backgrounds, skills and experiences, and the way we work together to respond to the emerging needs of our work. We value diversity in gender, backgrounds, culture, and experiences of our employees and are committed to providing an inclusive workplace culture that ensures everyone has equal opportunity to contribute, participate and progress. Applications from people who reflect this diversity are encouraged.

Our workplace is committed to the health, safety and wellbeing of our employees and offers a variety of flexible working arrangements to enhance flexibility, including Remote Working arrangements.

What we can offer you

When you work at Geoscience Australia you will have access to a range of benefits and the opportunity to experience a workplace culture that truly values and promotes diversity, inclusion, equity and belonging. To learn more about our competitive salary, free onsite parking, generous flexible working arrangements and the role you can play in growing our culture click here.

Our team

The Data Services Section within the Enterprise Data and Digital branch delivers specialist software, Database and Cloud-based services that will enables Geoscience Australia to effectively manage its data. The section consults with internal and external research, government, and industry partners to establish collaborative frameworks, products and scientific system architectures and models within Geoscience Australia and across broader national and international communities of practice. The section innovates, builds, and maintains tools, systems, processes, and governance that enable digital data product creation, management, and delivery. 

The role

You will be responsible for providing technical leadership and implementation to support and improve GA’s enterprise databases, data, and associated infrastructure. You need to be aware of the state of current cloud and database technology (with an emphasis on Oracle), aware of what new possibilities are emerging and the needs and strategic direction of GA. 

You will have a chance to impact the development of database infrastructure and culture at GA. You’ll help us to continually improve GA’s Oracle database environments and supporting infrastructure, making our services scalable, reliable, responsive, and secure and enable the development teams to deliver their products. You will identify opportunities to improve our data management and contribute to planning and implementation of new capabilities as required. You will ensure that data management follows best practice and are relevant to the needs of GA. 

A collaborative and inclusive culture is vitally important to us; we love solving challenging problems as a team.  

To be successful in the role you will:

• Understand the strategic objectives of the organisation and develop work plans accordingly; translate high-level goals and outcomes into appropriate tasks for others 
• Identify problems and assess their significance; take appropriate action to resolve them; think laterally; be innovative; identify and implement improved work practices. 
• Monitor projects against plans; manage priorities and agree adjustments to milestones as required maintain focus on quality to achieve key outcomes; adhere to documented procedures and see tasks through to completion.  
• Deal positively with uncertainty and cope effectively in an environment characterised by change; respond flexibly to changing demands whilst maintaining sight of the end goal; maintain effective performance levels in highly charged or high-pressure situations. 
• Operate as an effective member of the team; work collaboratively and cooperatively; draw on team strengths. 
• Consult internal and external experts; tap into their technical and professional knowledge and experience to improve work outcomes; identify and utilise key individuals who will contribute to deliver the best results. 
• Build and sustain relationships; liaise with a range of stakeholders including other teams, peers and colleagues across the organisation, and in other organisations; offer reciprocal assistance in achieving mutually beneficial outcomes. 
• Discern the differing and preferred working styles of individuals and factor this into the management of people and tasks. 
• Operate in a professional manner when representing the organisation in public and internal forums confidently present messages in a clear and concise manner, focussing on key points and using language appropriate for the audience. 
• Challenge issues and raise objections constructively; take responsibility for mistakes and learn from them; acknowledge when in the wrong; seek advice and assistance from colleagues and senior managers when uncertain.  
• Make time for people despite competing priorities; provide guidance and offer full support when required. 
• Provide clear, constructive and timely feedback (both positive and negative) in a manner that encourages learning and achieves any required resolution. 
• Adhere to the APS values and code of conduct and consistently behave in an honest, ethical and professional way. 
• Gain and maintain a NV1 security clearance

Required skills, knowledge, experience and/or qualifications

• Demonstrated experience in contemporary data management, science data formats and  large data storage practices in an enterprise infrastructure and database environment with qualifications in Software Engineering or related field, or equivalent industry experience. 
• Demonstrated Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) system implementation knowledge, skills and experience.  
• Demonstrated experience in modern database development practices. 
• Knowledge of modern data platforms for structured, unstructured and semi-structured data 
• Demonstrated Oracle database administration skills, including pl/sql and shell scripting and/or JavaScript, and experience in modern software development techniques are highly desirable. Experience with Postgres, SQL Server, MySQL will also be well regarded. 
• Excellent written and verbal communication and negotiation skills and the ability to collaborate with a cross-section of an organisation. 

Are you unsure about applying?

Did you know that a Hewlett Packard internal report found that men apply for jobs when they meet an average of 60 per cent of the job requirements? Women and other people from diverse backgrounds tend to only apply when they check every box. If you think you have what it takes, but don’t necessarily meet every single point on what we are looking for, please still apply or get in touch with the contact officer to learn more about the role.

Please visit the careers page of our website to submit your application via our e-Recruit system. Your application should include:

• Your resume (no more than 3 pages)
• A brief statement (no more than 700 words) outlining your transferable skills, experience and capabilities related to the role and the value you would bring to Geoscience Australia.

If you have any questions regarding the role, please contact Stirling Butcher on (02) 6249 9*** or email  ***************@ga.gov.au

To learn more about applying for roles within the Australian Public Services please review, ‘Applying for an APS job: cracking the code’.

To be eligible to apply for this position you must meet the below eligibility criteria.

·       Be an Australian Citizen at the closing date of application.

·       The successful applicant must be able to obtain, hold and maintain a security clearance of an appropriate level relevant to this role.

·       Commencement of employment is subject to the successful applicant undergoing and satisfying pre- employment screening, which includes a police history check.

Recruitability

RecruitAbility applies to this vacancy. Under the RecruitAbility scheme you will be invited to participate in further assessment activity for the vacancy if you choose to apply under the scheme; declare you have a disability; and meet the minimum requirements for the position. For more information please visit the Australian Public Service Commission website.

Hearing or speech impaired applicants are invited to use the National Relay Service by contacting 133 677, and requesting to be connected with our Recruitment team on 02 6249 9*** in order to obtain selection documentation.

Technical Assistance

If you require technical assistance, call Human Resources on (02) 6249 9*** or email **@ga.gov.au.

A merit list/pool may be created from this process. If you are successful for the merit pool, your details may be shared with other Australian Public Service agencies unless you choose not to have your details disclosed.