El1 Exercise And Development Coordinator, Neac

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 Community Safety Branch provides scientific capabilities that monitor and model the extent and impacts of hazard events. The Earthquake Alerts and Tsunami Warning Section (EATWS) is responsible for Geoscience Australia’s National Earthquake Alerts Centre (NEAC) capability.

NEAC is the public facing component of Geoscience Australia’s earthquake seismology operations and is the Australian government’s authoritative source for real-time earthquake information and advice. NEAC is also a critical component of the Joint Australian Tsunami Warning Centre (JATWC), operated in partnership with the Bureau of Meteorology.

NEAC undertakes real-time seismic event detection and alerting to provide critical information and advice about earthquakes of significance to government, emergency managers, major infrastructure managers and the public, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

NEAC services are underpinned by the correct implementation and execution of appropriate, modern scientific methods and techniques supported by a complex high-availability ICT system. Quality assured service delivery relies on correct and capable execution of these methods and techniques by a team of Earthquake Duty Officers and Seismic Analysts. 

The Exercise and Development Coordinator is responsible for the design, development, and delivery of the Earthquake Duty Officer Training Program. The Training Program contributes substantially to the quality assurance of NEAC services. This role also involves adapting the program to be relevant to earthquake analysts in other countries, and coordinating earthquake alerting and tsunami warning exercises with NEAC stakeholders.

The Exercise and Development Coordinator works closely and cooperatively with the NEAC Science Capability Leader, NEAC Operations Manager, MCA Systems Support Team Leader, and Director of the EATWS to ensure NEAC products and services are fit-for-purpose and quality assured.

The role

Working with a level of independence, reporting to the Director, in this role you will:

Design, develop, and deliver the Earthquake Duty Officer Training Program:

• Develop, maintain, coordinate and deliver a comprehensive training program for earthquake duty officers (EDO), ensuring it covers the essential skills and knowledge required to undertake real-time earthquake analysis and alerting for NEAC, to a high standard. This includes expanding NEAC’s established EDO Training Program, creating new course materials, conducting training sessions, and evaluating trainees and the overall effectiveness of the training program.
• Collaborate with subject matter experts to extend and maintain relevant course content, including core modules covering seismology theory and earthquake analysis techniques, NEAC real-time products and services, NEAC standard operating procedures, and new modules covering seismic monitoring, tsunami warning systems, and Australian earthquake seismology.
• Collaborate with subject matter experts to ensure NEAC’s real-time event-handling simulation training system (event simulator) continues to be relevant and in good working order, and update and maintain training datasets.
• Incorporate best practices and lessons learned into the training curriculum.

Coordinate training and functional exercises:

• Coordinate and deliver the Earthquake Duty Officer Training Program to new recruits from diverse, and non-scientific, backgrounds. Training of new recruits is typically delivered over a 4-month period each year with successful trainees progressing to duty officer roles in NEAC.
• Organize regular refresher training sessions for NEAC staff, ensuring they remain up-to-date on applied earthquake monitoring techniques and NEAC Standard Operating Procedures.
• Coordinate functional exercises (simulations) to test the effectiveness of NEAC procedures and their coordination across different teams – both within GA and with partner agencies.
• Collaborate with NEAC stakeholders, including government agencies, research institutions, and international partners to develop training exercises.

Contribute to Broader Capability and Continuous Improvement:

• As part of the NEAC Leadership Team, work closely with the NEAC Science Capability Leader, Operations Manager, and MCA Systems Support (DevOps) Team to identify areas for improvement in the EATWS including, but not limited to, NEAC’s 24x7 earthquake alerting operations.
• Participate in strategic planning, risk assessments, and capacity-building initiatives of the EATWS.
• Promote a culture of continuous learning and innovation within NEAC.

Adapt for overseas Earthquake Analyst Training, delivered under externally funded programs. As necessary:

• Tailor the existing training program to meet the needs of earthquake analysts from other countries.
• Consider cultural differences, regional seismic characteristics, and specific challenges faced by international analysts.
• Foster cross-cultural understanding and collaboration among participants.
• Coordinate and deliver training overseas as part of broader, externally funded projects.

To be successful in the role you will:

• Understand the strategic objectives of the organisation, Community Safety program and EATWS, and align work, accordingly; translate high-level goals and outcomes into appropriate tasks and learning and Development goals for others.
• Identify problems and assess their significance; explore possibilities and generate innovative alternatives to resolve problems; demonstrate how recommendations solve the key problems identified.
• Contribute own expertise for the benefit of the business unit; encourage others to draw upon this knowledge; consult internal and external experts; tap into their technical and professional knowledge and experience to improve work outcomes.
• Construct and coordinate training plans and exercises that have clear and appropriate learning outcomes and timeframes; maintain focus on quality to achieve key outcomes; ensure work is delivered to a high standard.
• Respond flexibly to changing demands whilst maintaining sight of the end goal. Get on with the job at hand and apply self with energy and drive; commit to meeting the objectives.
• Build and sustain relationships; liaise with a range of stakeholders including other teams, peers and colleagues across the organisation, and in other organisations.
• Operate as an effective member of the team; work collaboratively and cooperatively; draw on team strengths.
• 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; agree on performance standards and conduct regular reviews; address underperformance promptly, identify causes and agree on improvement targets.
• Structure messages clearly and succinctly, both orally and in writing.
• Adhere to the APS Values and Code of Conduct and consistently behave in an honest, ethical and professional way.

Required skills, knowledge, experience and/or qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree (or higher) majoring in seismology, geophysics, physics, or another field demonstrably relevant to earthquake seismology.
• Strong, well-developed, knowledge and understanding of earthquake observational seismology methods, practices and techniques, including high level of skill in hands-on earthquake analysis is essential.
• Ability to adapt scientific concepts into accessible learning materials suitable for non-experts. This involves translating complex scientific information into clear, practical content that empowers others to carry out their responsibilities effectively. 
• Experience in designing, developing and maintaining training or educational materials of a technical nature.
• Experience in collaborating with stakeholders to deliver successful outcomes.
• Excellent communication skills, both written and oral.
• Experience in teaching / training adults in a technical or academic field is desirable.
• Experience working in a seismology observatory or earthquake monitoring centre is desirable.
• Experience in developing and maintaining training programs under an ISO9001 umbrella, including experience in design and quality assurance of information products, would be well-regarded.

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 do not necessarily meet every single point on what we are looking for, please still apply or reach 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) demonstrating how you would apply your transferrable skills, knowledge, experience and capabilities in this role to bring value to the National Earthquake Alerts centre and Geoscience Australia. 

If you have any questions regarding the role, please contact Adrienne Moseley 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.

• 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*** 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.