This is an exciting opportunity to join the ACT Office of Water and provide leadership and mentorship over water resource modelling activities to support the objectives of ACT Government.

This role will sit in the Water Information Services team in the Office of Water.

This role will lead and deliver high quality water resource and catchment models of the Upper Murrumbidgee catchment to meet the needs of the ACT Government over the short, medium and long-term.

In the short term, the Integrated River Model Uplift (IRMU) program aims to deliver an updated water resource model to support the Murray-Darling Basin plan review process.

Longer term objectives include developing the modelling and evidence base to support strategic water policy and planning initiatives, and catchment planning for water resource and water quality management.

This role will be required to work with a high degree of autonomy, while also engaging with relevant policy and technical experts within and outside of Government to ensure that water resource and catchment models are well-designed and appropriate for their required tasks.

You will have skills, knowledge and experience in developing, refining and using water resource and catchment models in the Source modelling platform, implementing water resource assessment and accounting methods, water take and environmental requirements.

Experience in implementing policy and legislation into models, and good project management skills are highly desirable.

Knowledge of the Commonwealth Water Act, State and Territory water legislation, water management operations and water policy are a distinct advantage.

The role will involve all elements of conceptualising, building, calibrating, refining and documenting water resource and catchment models. Elements of collaborative work practices and project management will be required, including working with modellers and analysts in ACT Government, and other jurisdictions, along with reporting and stakeholder liaison.

You will work closely with the Water Information Services team of modellers, data analysts and policy officers to develop solutions to new and emerging water management issues in the ACT and region.

You will be responsible for ensuring existing Commonwealth, ACT legislation and policies are implemented into water resource models in addition to developing model scenarios of future and/or proposed policies.

The role will also involve communication of model results, model limitations and methodologies to a range of audiences, both lay and technical.

Interest in developing collaborative and research partnerships will be supported over the longer term.

Supervision of research students and establishing research partnerships that provide benefit the ACT will be supported.

Eligibility/Other requirements:

• Extensive knowledge and experience with conceptualising, building, and calibrating and refining water resource and catchment models. Development of water resource model scenarios to inform policy development or evaluation is an advantage.
• Tertiary qualification in natural resource management or another relevant discipline.
• Highly desirable: Knowledge and experience of Commonwealth and/or ACT/NSW water policy and legislation.
• Highly desirable: Interest in developing and maintaining research and collaboration partnerships within and across organisations.

Notes: This position will be moving to a new workplace designed for activity-based working (ABW). Under ABW arrangements, officers will not have a designated workstation/desk. A Merit Pool will be established from this selection process and will be used to fill vacancies over the next 12 months.