Assistant Director Reef Rehabilitation

Assistant Director – Reef Rehabilitation
EL1

Townsville
Ongoing/Non-ongoing; Full-time
Applications close Monday 4th August 2025

The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (the Reef Authority) is a Commonwealth non-corporate entity, and a statutory agency established by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Act 1975 (Marine Park Act), reporting to the Minister for the Environment and Water. Our objective is the long-term protection, ecologically sustainable use, understanding and enjoyment of the Great Barrier Reef for all Australians and the international community through the care and development of the Marine Park.

Managing a reef roughly the size of Italy demands many skills and talents, so you don't have to be a marine biologist to contribute to our mission. From finance to marketing roles, we have a team almost as diverse as the ecosystem we protect. Our commitment and dedication to the Great Barrier Reef and the Australian public have a long-lasting impact, and we are looking for individuals who can bring their unique skills, experience, and knowledge to our high-performing and inclusive organisation.

The Position

We are seeking a dynamic and experienced natural resource manager to strengthen the Reef Authority’s understanding of and involvement in coral reef rehabilitation projects, particularly the Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program (RRAP). The position will work closely with Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) colleagues to contribute to planning, implementation and delivery of the RRAP Pilot Deployment Program (PDP).

The position will be required to work across policy, planning, legal, permitting and operational field delivery sections of the Reef Authority to provide coordinated oversight for the delivery of the RRAP PDP and other coral reef rehabilitation projects within the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.

The position will work closely with partner agencies to ensure that emerging reef rehabilitation tools and techniques are informed by the best available science, that appropriate risk and benefit evaluations are conducted, and that they are compliant with Reef Authority legislation and policies. The position will also work to identify strategic and operational synergies between reef rehabilitation projects and existing programs including the Crown-of-thorns Starfish Control Program and the Reef Joint Field Management Program. The provision of expert reef interventions advice to the Reef Authority and partner agencies is also a requirement of the position.

About You

• You are a very experienced Project Manager with a proven track record of managing complex projects.
• You are a natural leader and a team player who can work across an organisation to build a cohesive approach to solving complex and contentious issues.
• You will have excellent negotiation skills and the proven ability to work collaboratively with individuals, stakeholder groups and management.
• You will have excellent problem-solving skills with the ability to communicate and include others in the solution.
• You are logical, have good analytical skills and are detailed in your work.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide strategic direction and leadership in a dynamic environment to deliver high quality outcomes, meet deadlines and achieve organisational goals.
• Develop and maintain relationships with partner agencies, clients and stakeholders and consult on coral habitat rehabilitation and other reef intervention policies, procedures, and activities.
• Coordinate the development of cross agency procedures and policies to guide the delivery of coral habitat rehabilitation and other reef intervention initiatives, including authorisations and risk assessments.
• Provide oversight of the design, development, and implementation of field trials of coral reef rehabilitation tools and techniques in partnership with Reef stakeholders and funding agencies.
• Develop, maintain and apply contemporary knowledge of coral reef habitat rehabilitation approaches to inform policy and implementation advice to the Reef Authority and partner management agencies.

For more information about this opportunity, please contact Brigid Kerrigan, Director Reef Interventions - Ph. 0437 723 968

Eligibility

The successful candidate will have

• Relevant tertiary qualifications from a recognised tertiary institution in Environmental Science, Marine Science, Engineering, or another relevant field.
• Minimum dive qualification of Dive Master or ADAS Part 1 Diver (or training to AS/NZS 2815.1) or equivalent and maintain training requirements as per AS/NZS 2299.1:2015 Occupational diving operations – Standard operational practice.

To be eligible for employment, candidates must be an Australian citizen at the time of application.

The position requires a Baseline security clearance. Successful candidates will be required to obtain and maintain a clearance at this level.

The successful candidate will be willing to provide identity documents and undergo an identity pre-employment check through a Document Verification Service.

Notes

The current position is ongoing however through this process may create a merit pool to fill similar ongoing and non-ongoing positions that become available within the next 18 months.

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 job. For more information visit: https://www.apsc.gov.au/recruitability

How to apply

Please ensure you read the instructions below and on the Position Description carefully, noting failure to address identified requirements may lead to your application being deemed ineligible.

You will be required to prepare a response document (“pitch”) in MSWord or PDF format using standard margins and size 11 Arial font.

Please prepare a ‘pitch’, as outlined in the Position Description, in relation to the advertised role, outlining:

When crafting your response, we encourage you to review ‘Cracking the Code’ and the relevant Australian Public Service Work Level Standards which can be found on the Australian Public Service Commission website: www.apsc.gov.au.

Please complete your application online and provide:

• your ‘pitch’ (as described above and in the position description).
• proof of Australian citizenship (an Australian Passport or Australian Birth Certificate)
• a current curriculum vitae (resume)

Applicants are advised to read further information provided on the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority Careers website.

PLEASE NOTE: - The panel may not consider additional information such as a cover letter or content exceeding the page limit.