Location: Brisbane, QLD, AU | Toowoomba, QLD, AU
Company: CSIRO
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The Opportunity
- Do you have a PhD in agricultural or environmental science or a related discipline?
- Deliver science that increases the resilience and sustainability of Australian agricultural systems
- Help Australian farmers and industry improve their carbon balance
CSIRO Early Research Career (CERC) Postdoctoral Fellowships provide opportunities to scientists and engineers who have completed their doctorate and have less than three years of relevant postdoctoral work experience. These fellowships aim to develop the next generation of future leaders of the innovation system.
This CERC Fellow has the opportunity to develop their skills, reputation and build a national network with researchers investigating ways to improve the environmental credentials and GHG footprint of broadacre farming systems.
The focus of this CERC Fellowship role is to better understand the implications for farm greenhouse gas emissions of the integration of crop and livestock production across Australia’s broadacre farming regions. The farming sector can play an important role in mitigating climate change through both reducing GHG emissions and, perhaps more importantly sequestering carbon from the atmosphere. Livestock production contributes to the latter via practices like using pasture phases to build soil C. However, there are also emissions from grazing animals that need to be considered in the whole farm GHG balance. The CERC Fellow will apply systems modelling and methodologies to compute the GHG emissions and soil C sequestration from both cropping systems and grazed pastures, under different management and climate scenarios. Importantly, the work will expand previous limited case studies to broader scales, potentially nationally. The objective of this work is to understand the implications of crop and livestock integration across Australia’s broadacre farming regions and under what circumstances are the greatest GHG mitigation and food production intensity can be provided.
The CERC Fellow will bring together biophysical simulation modelling with life-cycle accounting methods to compute GHG emissions from the different crop and livestock production systems. A major challenge will be to bring together spatial information, coupled with crop-livestock systems models and GHG accounting methodologies to compute whole-farm-system GHG emissions that are integrated across system boundaries.
The CERC Fellow will work across the Systems and Sustainability Programs within CSIRO’s Agriculture and Food Business Unit. They would preferably be based in south-east Queensland (either Brisbane or Toowoomba) with leading researchers in this field
Your duties will include:
- Integrating spatial soil, climate, and land use data with whole-farm enterprise information to conduct complex simulation modelling of crop-livestock systems.
- Producing high quality scientific papers suitable for publication in high quality international journals and conferences.
- Working effectively as part of a multi-disciplinary research team, to undertake independent scientific investigations and carrying out associated tasks under the guidance of more senior Research Scientists/Engineers.
- Recognising and exploiting opportunities for innovation and the generation of new theoretical perspectives, and progressing opportunities for the further development or creation of new lines of research.
Location: Brisbane or Toowoomba, Queensland
Salary: AU$92k - AU$101k plus up to 15.4% superannuation
Tenure: Specified term of 3 years
Reference: 95071
To be considered you will need:
- A doctorate (or will shortly satisfy the requirements of a PhD) in a relevant discipline area, such as agricultural or environmental science or related disciplines. Please note: To be eligible for this role you must have no more than 3 years (full-time equivalent) of postdoctoral research experience.
- Demonstrated ability to conceive and undertake original, creative and innovative research by generating and pursuing novel ideas and solutions to scientific research problems.
- A demonstrated publication history of authorship on scientific papers in peer reviewed journals and/or reports, grant applications or inventorship on patent applications.
- A proven ability to work effectively as part of a multi-disciplinary team, plus the motivation and discipline to carry out autonomous activities.
For full details about this role please view the Position Description
Eligibility
Applications for this position are open to Australian/New Zealand Citizens, Australian Permanent Residents or you must either hold, or be able to obtain, a valid working visa for the duration of the specified term. Appointment to this role is subject to provision of a national police check and may be subject to other security/medical/character requirements.
Flexible Working Arrangements
We work flexibly at CSIRO, offering a range of options for how, when and where you work.
Diversity and Inclusion
We are working hard to recruit people representing the diversity across our society, and ensure that all our people feel supported to do their best work and feel empowered to let their ideas flourish.
About CSIRO
At CSIRO Australia's national science agency, we solve the greatest challenges through innovative science and technology. We put the safety and wellbeing of our people above all else and earn trust everywhere because we only deal in facts. We collaborate widely and generously and deliver solutions with real impact.
CSIRO is committed to values-based leadership to inspire performance and unlock the potential of our people.
CSIRO is committed to the safety and wellbeing of all children and young people involved in our activities and programs, whether we are undertaking research, engaging with the public or nurturing future scientists in person or online. Source – CSIRO Child Safe policy 2023
Join us and start creating tomorrow today!
How to Apply
Please apply on-line and provide a cover letter and CV that best demonstrate your motivation and ability to meet the requirements of this role.
Applications Close
8 January 2024, 11:00pm AEDT