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 scientific operations that underpin Australia’s national biosecurity capability
- Provide strategic operational leadership in a complex, high‑containment research environment
- Drive operational excellence, systemisation and team capability in support of world‑class science
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 CSIRO.au for more information.
The opportunity
CSIRO’s Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness (ACDP) in Geelong is Australia’s national animal health laboratory and home to the country’s highest‑level biocontainment facilities. Our work protects Australia’s livestock industries, public health and environment from emerging and exotic disease threats.
The Scientific Operations Lead plays a critical leadership role within ACDP Operations, providing oversight and direction to the operational functions that enable safe, effective and uninterrupted scientific activity. Leading a multidisciplinary team across Operations and Glasswash services, you will anticipate and resolve complex operational challenges, manage competing priorities, and ensure that scientific operations continue to meet regulatory, quality and security requirements.
This role requires strong judgement, systems thinking and the ability to operate effectively in a highly regulated, high‑consequence environment. You will drive operational improvement initiatives, strengthen documentation and frameworks, build team capability, and support major facility, infrastructure and strategic projects—ensuring operational resilience while enabling ACDP’s scientific mission.
Please note: the successful candidate must meet ACDP’s microbiological security and security assessment requirements.
Your high-level duties will include:
- Lead scientific operations across secure and non-secure laboratory environments, proactively anticipating issues and resolving complex or ambiguous challenges.
- Provide people leadership across Operations and Glasswash, building capability, managing performance, and developing cross‑skilled, resilient teams to ensure continuity.
- Drive operational improvement by identifying, scoping and delivering initiatives focused on systemisation, sustainability and effective stakeholder engagement.
- Oversee core operational systems including assets, consumables, equipment calibration, monitoring systems and supporting infrastructure.
- Develop and maintain robust operational documentation and frameworks that are clear, accessible and usable by staff with varying experience levels.
- Influence and collaborate with stakeholders across the organisation and externally, including in sensitive or contentious contexts, to enable operational outcomes.
Role particulars
- Location and office arrangements: Geelong - Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness (ACDP), Victoria. On-site 4 days per week minimum.
- Salary: AU$118k – AU$127k per annum (pro rata for part-time), plus 15.4% superannuation
- Tenure & work schedule: Indefinite / Full Time
- Reference: 102017
As the successful candidate, you will bring:
- A relevant tertiary qualification or equivalent experience demonstrating operational leadership within a scientific, technical or highly regulated environment.
- Proven leadership capability, including experience managing teams and fostering staff development.
- Demonstrated experience identifying, implementing and delivering operational improvement initiatives.
- Strong systems thinking, critical analysis and problem‑solving skills, particularly in ambiguous or high‑risk environments.
- Well‑developed interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to collaborate widely and build effective working relationships.
- Experience working in a PC2/3/4 laboratory or comparable regulated environment is highly desirable.
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 [email protected]and let us know how we can support you.
Life at CSIRO and flexible work arrangements
We can discuss flexible work arrangements with you during the recruitment process, however, please note that this role is predominantly site-based. 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 only and the successful candidate will be required to obtain an Australian Government Security Clearance at Negative Vetting 1 level.
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
18th March 2026, 11:59pm AEDT
