Why YOU are important to us and what impact will you have on the ABARES Division and the departments’ goal.

The Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES) is the research arm of the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF). We are a collaborative team of economists and scientists who enjoy tackling difficult problems. We care about analytical quality and evidence, welcome robust discussion and constructive feedback, and learn from one another. We also recognise the importance of maintaining a healthy work-life balance.

The key duties of the position include:

This is where you play an important role.

The Land and Water Economics team is hiring a quantitative economist/modeller to develop and apply bioeconomic models to inform climate change, food and water policy. In the next year, we are extending our spatial intertemporal optimisation model of land use change (SAFE) to account for externalities, additional land uses, and observed behaviour. We’re also developing a stochastic partial equilibrium model of agricultural supply chains to help inform the national food security strategy (not yet published). Longer term, we are planning to build a model to help optimise the management of environmental water in the Murray Darling Basin (drawing on previous water models, such as the Water Trade Model).

This job is an opportunity to contribute to ambitious and challenging multi-year research projects. By providing crucial evidence to inform policy, you'll be helping to address some of Australia's most urgent policy challenges. The duties of the role may include some or all of the following:

• Research – Conduct literature reviews to understand existing methods and evidence. Develop analytical approaches. Gather and analyse data.

• Coding – Write code to process data, implement analytical methods and facilitate reporting. Undertake quality assurance through code review and testing.



Use version control systems and document code to support collaboration and reproducibility.

• Collaboration – Work collaboratively across the team and ABARES. Provide advice and assistance to support the development and performance of other team members.

• Project management – Plan and manage project timelines and allocate resources to meet deadlines. Coordinate team efforts, ensuring effective communication and collaboration. Monitor project progress and make adjustments as needed to stay on track.

• Stakeholder engagement – Liaise with colleagues, government departments, industry bodies and other stakeholders about model development and to share research findings and related advice.

• Report writing – Draft technical research reports and related material, such as non-technical summaries for policy makers. Review and edit reports to ensure clarity, accuracy and adherence to formatting guidelines.

Please note that this recruitment process will initially be used to fill one ongoing vacancy and that the role may be able to be performed from either of the locations listed on the Job Description. The merit pool established through this selection process, which is valid for a period of eighteen months from the date the vacancy was advertised in the Public Service Gazette, may be used to fill future ongoing vacancies in the division where the duties are of a similar nature.

Eligibility

Who we are looking for

The role requires professional experience working in economics as well as a solid technical background in economics, mathematics or physics. Formal degrees are not mandatory. A background in agriculture, fisheries and forestry is not required. We're looking for smart, conscientious people who combine strong analytical skills with intellectual curiosity, sound judgement and the ability to work effectively with others. At an EL1 level, we’re seeking people with technical expertise who can contribute significantly to the team, often on complex tasks with limited assistance from more experienced team members. They should also have strong written and verbal communication skills.

📌 Natural Resource Economist/Modeller (Melbourne)
🏢 Australian Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry
📍 Melbourne