Board Chair - Australian SKA Regional Centre (AusSRC) Board

• A unique opportunity to contribute to the governance of a nationally significant research infrastructure initiative supporting one of the most ambitious scientific projects ever undertaken.
• AusSRC is seeking expressions of interest from suitably qualified individuals to join as Chair of its Board.
• Remuneration: $35,000 per annum, plus allowance for domestic travel for Board meetings.

About AusSRC

The SKA Observatory (SKAO) is an intergovernmental organisation tasked with building and operating the world’s largest radio telescopes. In order to fully exploit the scientific output of the immense amount of data flowing from the telescopes, the SKAO is working with science communities across the world through SKA Regional Centres (SRCs), which are nationally led hubs that form the basis of a global compute and science support infrastructure.

AusSRC is Australia’s portion of this international network and has been funded – by the Australian Government through the Department of Industry, Science, and Resources (DISR) – at a level of $63 million from FY 2022/23 to 2030/31. Its remit is to establish and build capability to support the Australian and international SKA science communities, thereby ushering in the next era of astronomical discovery and advanced data processing.

The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Curtin University, Pawsey Supercomputing Research Centre, and The University of Western Australia (UWA) are the four foundation partners. They formally collaborate through an unincorporated joint venture agreement (JVA), to support and develop the AusSRC into a long-term national facility.

Appointment

The AusSRC JVA provides for a seven-member Board that is responsible for the operation and management of AusSRC and AusSRC funding. The Board comprises the Board Chair (independent; this opportunity), one representative from each of the JVA partners, and two independent Board members.

The Chair appointment is Independent and therefore not employed by or acting as an agent for any of the Partners.

In addition to the voting Board members, the Board includes two Board Advisors, representing SKAO and Astronomy Australia Ltd (AAL). These Advisors are invited at the discretion of the Chair to attend open Board meetings and advise in the context of domestic and international activities.

Partner representative Board Members, Independent Board members, and Chairpersons are appointed for a term of up to three years and can be reappointed for a further term of three years pursuant to the JVA clauses. Independent Members are appointed for their specific expertise relevant to the functions of the Board. Board Chair appointments are through unanimous approval of the AusSRC Partner representatives.

Responsibilities

The Board Chair will play a key role in guiding AusSRC through its next phase of development as it builds national capability for SKA science support and advanced data processing. The role offers the opportunity to contribute to an internationally significant scientific endeavour while working with Australia’s leading research and infrastructure partners.

The role of the Chair will be to:

• manage proceedings of the Board;
• authorise the issue of meeting notices to the Board;
• issue reports prepared for and on behalf of the Board to the Partners;
• provide support and guidance to the Director and, in consultation with the relevant employing line manager, review the performance of the Director;
• contribute to Board meeting discussions and advise in an expert capacity on AusSRC functions, budget, project plans, and resource allocation;
• support the Director in identifying opportunities for working with government, industry, science and technology groups to promote AusSRC’s objectives;
• contribute to approvals processes including reporting, operating protocols, terms of significant contracts;
• carry out other functions to assist with achievement of AusSRC’s objectives.

Required Skills

The Board Chair is required to have demonstrated skills and experience covering three or more of the following areas:

• Board or senior governance experience, ideally including Chair or committee leadership
• Government relations and public policy
• Finance and Audit
• Legal and Risk Management
• Astronomy and Scientific Research
• Large scale computing, Data and Research Infrastructure
• Service Delivery and End-user Engagement
• Industry Engagement

The italicised skills will be prioritised for this appointment.

Time Commitment and Travel

The AusSRC Board meets quarterly, twice in person (domestic locations) and twice online. Meetings typically run for 3 hours. In person meetings are supplemented with additional information sessions. Pre-reading and preparation for meetings is expected to take approximately 3-6 hours.

In addition to the Board meetings, the Chair meets with the AusSRC Director between meetings as required. On occasion, out of session meetings may be required to resolve pressing issues.

The successful appointee will be expected to travel to attend in-person meetings.

How to apply

Closing date: Sunday, 6 September 2026.

Please apply online via the Apply Now button, attaching your resume and two professional references. The content of your resume and cover letter should demonstrate how you meet the required skills of the role. 

For further information about this role, please contact Professor Simon Ellingsen at Simon.Ellingsen@uwa.edu.au

For more information on AusSRC please go to https://aussrc.org/