Project Officer - Research Policy and Grants Officer

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

• Draw on your strong organisational skills to manage multiple competing demands
• Enjoy collaborating with a variety of stakeholders in this key administrative role
• Join our friendly team and provide essential project support services at the ACDP

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 

The Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness (ACDP) helps protect Australia’s multi-billion-dollar livestock and aquaculture industries and the general public from emerging infectious disease threats. It is a high-containment facility designed to allow scientific research into the most dangerous infectious agents in the world.

As a Project Officer at the ACDP, you will provide administrative, project and financial support services to the Research Director. Working closely with the administrative support team within the ACDP, you will undertake various tasks related to reviewing external grant opportunities and following up with the research team/ leadership to execute administrative commitments.  For success in this role, you will have excellent foresight and initiative, and a natural ability to manage relationships between diverse stakeholder groups. Drawing on your familiarity with administrative procedures for project management, you will work with various systems to help prepare official documentation and undertake project monitoring and reporting. A high level of discretion and confidentiality is required.

The appointee must be able to meet ACDP’s microbiological security and security assessment requirements.

Your high-level duties will include: 

• Review costing guidelines for research and diagnostics teams and make recommendations.
• Monitor research program budget and investigate and resolve discrepancies and issues. 
• Review export control policy and make recommendations.
• Develop procedures to ensure ACDP complies with Nagoya Protocol when using materials for proficiency testing and other reagents.
• Recognise and explore opportunities for innovation, challenge current approaches, and generate new theoretical perspectives.
• Pursue new ideas/approaches and networking with scientific colleagues across a range of disciplines to contribute to the identification of further opportunities to promote regulatory affairs.
• Present results in a meaningful format, prepare reports for project milestones, clients and/or write scientific papers for publication.
• Communicate and effectively represent the research team and group internally and externally.

Role particulars

Location: Geelong – Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness (ACDP), VIC

Salary: AU$114k – AU$123k per annum (pro rata for part-time), plus 15.4% superannuation

Tenure & work schedule: Specified term of up to 6 months

Reference: 100580

As the successful candidate, you will bring:

Essential criteria

• Highly developed administration skills including proficiency in Word, Outlook, Excel and PowerPoint and CSIRO systems including Dynamics.
• Proofreading and writing skills, as well as the ability to collate information from various sources.
• Good understanding of export control policies and how they apply to biological specimens being transported within states in Australia and overseas.
• Highly developed time management, organisational and communication skills.
• Proven experience with supporting and guiding research teams on how to apply for external grants, including developing process documentation.
• Proven experience in monitoring research program budgets and resolving discrepancies and issues in line with CSIRO procedures.
• Experience with costing projects for externally funded collaborative projects and grant opportunities.
• The ability to maintain confidentiality and respond to issues sensitively.

 
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 the Talent Acquisition Partner and let us know how we can support you.  

Life at CSIRO and flexible work arrangements

We work flexibly at CSIRO, offering a range of options for how, when and where you work. We can discuss flexible work arrangements with you during the recruitment process. 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 that 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/ New Zealand Citizens, Australian Permanent Residents, and Australian Temporary Residents residing in Australia with full work rights till February 2026 with no visa sponsorship support from CSIRO. Appointment to this role is subject to the provision of a national police check and may be subject to other security/medical/character requirements. 

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 demonstrates your motivation and ability to meet the essential requirements of this role.

Applications close 

6 July 2025/ 11:00 PM AEST

We strongly encourage you to apply early as we will be reviewing applications as they come through. CSIRO reserves the right to withdraw this ad prior to the closing date if required.