Collection Manager - Australian National Fish Collection

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

• Great ongoing opportunity to manage a nationally significant marine collection
• Apply your expertise in curation, compliance and collection management
• Join our team supporting Australia’s marine biodiversity research and discovery!

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 National Fish Collection (ANFC) is one of CSIRO’s seven national research collections and is key infrastructure in the National Collections and Marine Infrastructure (NCMI) Research Unit. With over 165,000 specimens, the ANFC is a vital reference for Australia’s marine biodiversity, supporting research into deep-water fishes, sharks, and rays from Australia, Antarctica and the Indo-Pacific.

As the Collection Manager, you will be the lead technical custodian of the ANFC, responsible for managing, maintaining and improving the accessibility of specimens, tissues, images and associated data. You will ensure the collection continues to serve as an active and trusted reference for marine fish taxonomy and distribution, while upholding best practice in curation, safety and compliance.

You will be required to work in specialised collection environments that require adaptability, including walk-in freezers and areas containing formalin & ethanol, while ensuring the collection meets health, safety and environmental obligations and regulatory requirements. You will also collaborate with colleagues across CSIRO, contribute to national and international research, and support public engagement through tours and outreach activities.

To succeed, you will bring your technical expertise in biological collections management, with strong problem-solving, organisational and interpersonal skills. Your ability to balance hands-on curation, compliance responsibilities, and stakeholder collaboration will ensure the ANFC continues as an essential national resource for science.

If you're passionate about marine biodiversity, marine science and the care of irreplaceable collections, this is a great opportunity to apply your expertise in a nationally significant role and make a lasting impact!

Your High-Level Duties Will Include:

• Managing the ANFC facility and infrastructure at the CSIRO Marine Laboratories in Hobart, including equipment, archival records, frozen specimens stored off site, and asset and consumable procurement and tracking.
• Ensuring registration and cataloguing of ANFC specimens, tissues and X-rays in Specify (the ANFC’s collection management system) and supporting data integrity and digitisation efforts in collaboration with the NRCA Digitisation team.
• Assisting ANFC staff (ichthyologists, curators, molecular biologists) to ensure the ‘research-readiness’ and security of the ethanol stored specimens.
• Administering the ANFC shared inbox and coordinating incoming/outgoing specimen, tissue and DNA loans, ensuring proper documentation, freighting and adherence to authority and compliance protocols.
• Assisting with specimen photography when required, and supporting the ANFC’s Portfolio (images) Database Manager.
• Liaising with ANFC visitors, scientists and the public, including leading tours and supervising ANFC activities to promote safe and productive engagement.

Role Particulars

Location and office arrangements: Hobart, TAS

Salary: AU$96K – AU$109K per annum plus up to 15.4% superannuation

Tenure & work schedule: Indefinite; Full-time (preferred) – part-time (min. 0.8 FTE) work arrangements may be considered based on needs of the role and individual circumstances.

Reference: 101158

As the successful candidate, you will bring:

• A relevant Bachelor’s degree in Science, Museum Studies, or a related field, and/or equivalent relevant work experience in Natural History collection curation and registration.
• Sound knowledge of and experience in marine taxa and/or wet collections.
• Demonstrated experience with relational databases, data entry, and digitised administrative processes.
• Strong attention to detail and quality assurance experience, with the ability to undertake repetitive tasks to ensure specimen, sample, and data accuracy.
• Proven ability to adhere to compliance requirements, including HSE standards related to chemicals and specimen handling.
• Demonstrated ability to communicate openly and respectfully with diverse stakeholders and team members.
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively and collaboratively in a multi-disciplinary team.

For full details about this role, 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 via email (see details in the Position Description) and let us know how we can support you.

Eligibility

Applications for this position are open to Australian Citizens, New Zealand Citizens and Australian Permanent Residents.

Appointment to this role is subject to provision of a national police check and may be subject to other security/medical/character requirements.

Due to the specific duties associated with this position, the successful candidate will also be required to obtain and provide evidence of a valid paid/employee (not volunteer) Working with Children/ Vulnerable People Check (post-commencement requirement).

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 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.

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 provide a CV and a detailed cover letter, responding to each of the selection criteria in detail, that best demonstrate your motivation and ability to meet the requirements of this role. Please attach your selection criteria responses to your cover letter as one document.

Applications Close

• 12 October 2025, 11:00pm AEDT
• We encourage early applications 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.