Independent Board Member – 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 an Independent Board member.
• Remuneration: $15,000 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.

AusSRC is a joint venture between CSIRO – Australia’s national science agency, Curtin University, the Pawsey Supercomputing Research Centre, and The University of Western Australia (UWA). AusSRC’s joint venture organisations formally collaborate through an unincorporated joint venture agreement (JVA), to support and develop 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), one representative from each of the JVA partners, and two independent Board members (this opportunity).

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. Independent Board member appointments are approved by a simple majority vote of the AusSRC Board. 

This opportunity is for one independent Board member position.

Responsibilities

The role of the Independent Board member will be to:

1. contribute to Board meeting discussions and advise in an expert capacity on AusSRC functions, budget, project plans, and resource allocation;
2. contribute to voting proceedings on activities undertaken by AusSRC;
3. support the Director in identifying opportunities for working with government, industry, science and technology groups to promote AusSRC’s objectives;
4. contribute to approvals processes including reporting, operating protocols, terms of significant contracts;
5. carrying out other functions to assist with achievement of AusSRC’s objectives.

Required Skills

Board members are required to have demonstrated skills and experience covering two or more of the following areas:

• 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 skills with a * 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, cover letter 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/