CRC CEO Information Pack

GENERAL INFORMATION FOR PROSPECTIVE APPLICANTS

Chief Executive Officer

APPLICATION PROCESS

Prospective applicants should obtain an application package including role statement and selection criteria from a 24 hour “hotline” on 6488 3733 or from the following web site http://jobs.uwa.edu.au/.

Applications close on Friday, 19 December 2003.

The CRC reserves the right to make inquiries of any person regarding any candidate's suitability for appointment. Further, the CRC reserves the right to appoint by invitation or to make no appointment as a result of the advertisement.

The CRC’s Governing Board has appointed a selection panel, convened by the Chairman, to manage the appointment of a new Chief Executive Officer. The selection panel will include independent Board members and representatives of CRC core partners.

The selection panel intends to hold interviews of short-listed candidates during 3-6 February 2004. Interviews will be held in Perth. Short-listed candidates will be invited to present a seminar on future directions in salinity management and research in Australia. This presentation will be delivered to invited CRC scientists, senior colleagues and members of the panel and will form part of the assessment process. Further details regarding the interview process and seminar presentation will be provided to short-listed candidates.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Selection Panel:
Professor Alistar Robertson
Executive Dean, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences
CRC Board Member
(08) 6488 3583 arobertson@fnas.uwa.edu.au

UWA Human Resources:
Ms Annette Black
Senior HR Consultant
(08) 6488 2029 ablack@admin.uwa.edu.au

Applicants may contact the current CEO, Professor Phil Cocks for further information regarding the CRC and position of Chief Executive Officer.

Professor Phil Cocks
Chief Executive Officer
CRC for Plant-based Management of Dryland Salinity
(08) 6488 2555 pcocks@agric.uwa.edu.au

Prospective applicants may also wish to discuss governance and Board-related matters with the CRC Chairman, Mr Alex Campbell.

Mr Alex Campbell
Chairman
CRC for Plant-based Management of Dryland Salinity
(08) 9853 2070 campbell@comswest.net.au

CRC INFORMATION

Applicants may request a copy of the 2002-3 Annual Report from the CRC (or online at crcsalinity.com). A copy of the Strategic Plan is also available from the CRC. A summary of the CRC’s Strategic Plan follows:

Vision

The CRC will have an enduring impact on the future of Australian agriculture and its capacity to maintain the nation’s natural resources, with an initial focus on dryland salinity, the largest and most intractable environmental problem in Australia.

Mission

Through an improved understanding of the way natural and agricultural ecosystems work, the CRC will provide new plant-based land use systems that lessen the economic, environmental and social impacts of dryland salinity and thereby help to sustain rural communities.

Core Partners

Charles Sturt University (CSU)
Commonwealth Scientific & Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO)
Department of Agriculture WA (DAWA)
Department of Conservation and Land Management WA (CALM)

Departments of Primary Industries (DPI) and Sustainable Ecosystems (DSE), Victoria[1]
NSW Agriculture (NSW Ag)

Departments of Primary Industry and Resources (PIRSA) and Water, Land, Biodiversity & Conservation (DWLBC), SA[2]
The University of Western Australia (UWA)
University of Adelaide (UA)

Supporting Partners

Values

• Commitment to innovation in research, education and extension
• Support for social and environmental change and reform
• A culture of openness, honesty, mutual respect and understanding
• Problem solving that is practical, realistic, bold and environmentally friendly

Goals

• Direct and influence plant-based research delivering agricultural production and processing systems that cope with, arrest and reverse dryland salinity, improve water quality and sustain rural communities.
• Create awareness, will and capacity to adopt plant-based solutions to dryland salinity for economic, environmental and social benefit to Australia.
• Provide an expanding pool of graduate researchers capable of solving the complex natural resource management issues facing Australia.
• Achieve effective collaboration among CRC researchers that transcends geography, agency, discipline and sector, interacts purposefully with industry and the community, and takes a lead in the effort to optimise the use of Australia’s intellectual and research resources.

Investment Objectives

1. Leadership: Provide leadership to all levels of government and the community aimed at developing and implementing strategies to manage dryland salinity.
2. Communication: Increase the awareness of the need for change in dryland management practices and strengthen the will and capacity of rural communities to implement new land management systems.
3. Scientific capacity: Understand the scientific basis for, and, through education, increase the scientific capability to ensure effective development of plant-based solutions focused on coping with, arresting and/or reversing the impacts of dryland salinity.
4. Plant breeding: Select and breed woody and herbaceous perennial and salt tolerant plants for new farming systems and industries, which increase water use and enhance profitability.
5. Plant systems: Develop, evaluate and promote land use systems that a) are profitable, b) reduce recharge to ground water, c) tolerate waterlogging and salinity in discharge areas and d) reduce adverse off-site effects.
6. Animal systems: Develop and demonstrate profitable and practical animal production systems using a) salt and waterlogging tolerant plants in discharge areas and b) new and existing perennial plants in recharge areas.
7. Economic and hydrological performance: Evaluate economic and hydrological performance of actual and potential CRC outputs and develop policy options recognizing the socio-economic opportunities and constraints that lead to the adoption of new land use systems.
8. Biodiversity: Develop and promote effective land uses for salinity management that protect and enhance biodiversity values in the agricultural landscapes of southern Australia.

Information about Perth (WA) and UWA

The University of Western Australia

The University of Western Australia combines the traditions of the world’s old and great universities with the vitality and excitement of innovative study and research in the 21st Century. It is recognised internationally as an excellent research-led university and a leading intellectual and creative resource to the community it serves.

Situated on a picturesque garden campus on the Swan River just five kilometres from Perth’s city centre, The University of Western Australia is a high-quality research-intensive university with a broad and balanced coverage of disciplines in the arts, science and major professions. It is Western Australia’s oldest university, established in 1911, and currently has a student population of about 15,500. UWA has acquired an international reputation for excellence and enterprise and is regarded as one of Australia’s best research institutions. Its strong research culture sees it attract high levels of competitive research funding.

The University’s high quality teaching and research ensures it remains the university of preference for Western Australia’s highest achieving school leavers, as well as attracting high-calibre undergraduate and postgraduate students from around the nation and overseas.

UWA is nationally recognised for the quality of its academic staff and has strong strategic partnerships with industry, the professions and government. It operates in collaboration with other universities of research excellence in Australia and around the world.

UWA graduates are highly competitive internationally, achieving success in higher study and in wide-ranging fields of employment. Many graduates have risen to prominence in leadership roles in industry, government, education and the professions, in Australia and overseas.

An emphasis on research and research training is a defining characteristic of The University of Western Australia. The University is one of Australia’s leading research-intensive universities and the premier research institution in Western Australia. Annually the University receives in excess of $71m of external research income, expends over $117m on research and graduates over 250 higher degree by research students, mostly PhDs. In the Australian context, it is a medium sized, comprehensive university. The centrality and importance of research and research training is evident in the vision that the University has articulated for the 21st Century and in its mission: “To advance, transmit, sustain knowledge and understanding, through the conduct of teaching, research and scholarship at the highest international standards, for the benefit of the national and international communities and the State of Western Australia”.

Specific Information on The University of Western Australia

The University of Western Australia Web site

• http://www.uwa.edu.au

2002 Annual Report

• http://www.publishing.uwa.edu.au/annualreport/2002/

Strategic Plan

• http://www.admin.uwa.edu.au/reg/stratplan.html

Operational Priorities Plan

• http://www.admin.uwa.edu.au/reg/sec/oppindex.htm

Research and Research Training Management Plan

• http://www.admin.uwa.edu.au/reg/sec/rmp-index.htm

Western Australia and the City of Perth

Western Australia is an enormous State covering 250 million hectares of some of the most ancient landscapes in the world that include rugged gorges, tropical reefs, towering forests, woodlands, white beaches and 12,500 kilometres of coastline. The state has one of the most diverse flora found anywhere, from giant karri trees to the renowned spring wildflowers. There are about 3,000 native species of animals, birds and fish – and many more insects.

The state’s population is growing and is nearing two million. Western Australia is located in the world’s fastest growing and developing economic regions – the Asia Pacific and Indian Ocean rim regions. Western Australia is one of the most dynamic and rapidly growing areas in the Asian Region, accounting for 25 per cent of the nation’s exports. Each year Western Australia’s high quality public and private education systems attract more than 12,000 fee paying overseas students.

Western Australia’s economy is based largely on unprocessed primary products, from agriculture and horticulture, mining, and, to a lesser extent, forestry and fishing. Gold and aluminium are the mainstay of the mining industry, supplemented by nickel, diamond and mineral sands. Iron ore is the state’s major export commodity. Major resources of oil and natural gas are extracted from the northwest shelf (off the Port Hedland-Karratha coast) and the Timor Sea. The North West Shelf Project is Australia’s biggest resource development. Production of oil from the northwest shelf was expected to surpass that from Bass Strait by the beginning of the 21st Century. Natural gas is exported in liquefied form and is also piped to the southwest for domestic and industrial use, including power generation. The state’s major industrial area is located at Kwinana in the Perth metropolitan region along the shores of Cockburn Sound. The area has several major industries, including oil, alumina, and nickel refineries. The state’s service industry exports local expertise in areas such as resource development, environmental management, surveying, engineering and construction, and information technology applications are already well established in overseas markets.

Perth, the capital of Western Australia has a population of over 1.4 million. It is a cosmopolitan city, with a wide ethnic and cultural diversity. It is situated on the banks of the Swan River and the CBD is less than 12 kilometres from the Indian Ocean. Perth enjoys a Mediterranean climate, with more hours of sunshine than any other capital city in Australia. Summers are hot and dry and the winters mild and wet. Its world-famous beaches, extensive parklands and wonderful variety of restaurants and cafes provide a superb living environment. Perth is well served with art galleries, theatres and cinemas and is home to the Western Australian Symphony Orchestra. The cultural highlight of the year is the Perth International Arts Festival.

Perth provides excellent junior and secondary schools and many renowned private and state schools located close to the University. It is very much an “education city” with four publicly-funded universities. There is a variety of housing in areas close to the University with prices in the range $300-$600,000. Perth can offer an inner-city lifestyle with housing close to the restaurants and entertainment facilities or a more rural lifestyle in the hills outside the city. Located on the Indian Ocean rim, Western Australia is ideally positioned to interact with Asia, the Indian Ocean region and beyond. The Indian Ocean region, which includes South Asia, the Middle East and Africa, accounts for over one-third of the world’s population. Its close location to Asia also means the state shares the same or similar time zones with them.

Useful Web Sites on Western Australia

http://www.perthwa.com.au
http://www.countrywide.com.au
http://www.isd.com.au
http://www.westernaustralia.net

[1] These Departments, previously DNRE Victoria, are single signatories to the Centres Agreement.
[2] These SA departments, previously PIRSA, are single signatories to the Centres Agreement.