Lead data specialist (melbourne)

Executive Level 2 Lower, Ongoing

$130,445 - $146,506 + 15.4% super
Melbourne preferred. All Bureau capital city locations will be considered.

The Data Program is part of the Data and Digital Group (DDG) and is responsible for:

• enterprise data governance and advice
• planning for data and observations
• enhancing data integrity and quality
• data services to meet customer requirements

The Lead Data Specialist sits in the Data Enablement Services section and provides strategic data-focused expertise to ensure existing weather, climate and ocean data and metadata are managed and future business requirements are understood.

The role will manage appropriate business rules, data validation and conversion rules (review, document and implement) to uplift data integrity. It ensures business requirements can be fulfilled within future enhancements, supporting organisational outcomes. The role applies standard Data Governance and Management processes to planning and implementation activities as a senior stakeholder within data platform remediation projects. It also delivers strategic advice and leadership for data-related activities and projects across business areas, particularly to support future plans for improving observations data and metadata for weather, climate and ocean data.

The Lead Data Specialist champions uplifting knowledge of valuable data and metadata practices, actively encouraging a culture of data‐driven decision making and embedding data management practices. Working across a multidisciplinary setting, this strategic advisor will deliver innovative data solutions within a complex environmental and operational data landscape, ensuring an enterprise view on data, providing authoritative advice, troubleshooting inconsistencies and developing resolution plans to maintain customer trust in Bureau data and its value.

• Apply data governance and management to support data integrity on platforms during periods of change.
• Lead the planning and execution of major data transformations, ensuring alignment with enterprise data strategies.
• Provide strategic guidance on environmental and meteorological observations data, adhering to WMO and other relevant data standards.
• Analyse complex data challenges, manage risk, and improve data quality and integrity enterprise‐wide.
• Set direction and oversee metadata, master and reference data solutions, data flows, data standards, and data integration processes for environmental and operational platforms.
• Communicate effectively, influence decision‐making, facilitate stakeholder engagement, and display resilience under pressure.

• Extensive experience in program and project planning for major data transformations, with a solid foundation in data governance and management.
• Strategic leadership and expertise in managing environmental and meteorological observations data, adhering to WMO and other relevant data standards.
• Proven ability to undertake complex analysis and technical problem‐solving for enterprise data challenges and data management issues.
• Strong communication skills, including influencing decision‐making, active listening, facilitation, and stakeholder management.
• Enthusiastic and resilient, capable of working both individually and within a team to deliver high‐quality data services.