Senior Food Scientist – Department of Defence, Scottsdale, Tasmania

Senior Food Scientist – Department of Defence, Scottsdale, Tasmania (The position has been filled)

• Excellent Leadership role for an Experienced Food Scientist
• Lead a Team of Food Scienctists within the Department of Defence
• Friendly & Supportive Work Environment in Brand New Premises

 

CLIENT

Our client, a Division of the Department of Defence, based in beautiful Tasmania boasts state of the art facilities including R&D and Manufacturing. Due to the amount of work available, they are in need of an experienced Senior Food Scientist to join their Food Science team on a contract until the end of June 2022 at which time it will be reviewed for further 2 x 12-month contract extensions. The contract will involve 37.5 hours per week, Monday to Friday.

The recruitment process, interview process and the security clearance process with the Department of Defence may take a couple of months so the start date of the successful candidate is planned for January 2020.

 

THE ROLE

The Food and Nutrition Science and Technology Capability (FNSTC) within the Defence Science and Technology (DST) Group provides Defence with science and technology (S&T) advice and research in support of Defence fresh and combat ration feeding systems. It also manufactures a range of specialised foods for use in combat ration packs. We are seeking an experienced Senior Food Scientist to work in the FNSTC work programs.

The Senior Food Scientist will be based in Scottsdale and will provide scientific input into S&T/Research & Development activities with the main body of work being focused on the provision of food and nutrition science and technology for ration pack components as well as the support of product innovations and research activities related to military fresh and field feeding capabilities.

Some of the duties include:

• Being a leader in providing advice to Defence clients on food and feeding systems
• Investigate food processing and packaging techniques and technologies for new and innovative military field feeding solutions and shelf life extension
• Lead all functions of field work including development of trial plans, ris assessments, data collection, validation and analysis
• Engage with Defence stakeholders and clients to ensure task requirements are  delivered and measured toward client satisfaction
• Assist in the identification and quantitation of financial and non-financial resources to meet S&T plan activities and sustainment of the Food Science performance
• Support all laboratory functions and review existing technology to ensure the department’s capability is at its best
• Manage and supervise a team of contractors providing direct support to the S&T program;
• Be in charge of writing and reviewing formal and informal reports, food specifications and standards
• Supervise testing of chemical and physical food analysis including pH, texture, particle size, solubility, water activation, resistance starch, and rancidity testing, etc
• Monitor instrument calibration and maintenance and stock control
• Participate in food evaluation (sensory/taste panel) activities (voluntary basis)
• Support workplace health and safety requirements
• Occasional adhoc tasks that will involve field work at military training areas will involve overtime

 

SELECTION CRITERIA

You must be self-motivated to ensure efficient use of time and to limit the need for close supervision once competency in tasks has been demonstrated. You will be willing to work within a team environment with varying degrees of individual effort depending on the task at hand and be a proactive supervisor.

A willingness to share knowledge and provide support to other team members is an important element of the job.

To be short-listed for this rare opportunity, you must meet the following requirements:

• This government role requires the candidate to be an Australian citizen – PR is NOT SUFFICIENT

• Hold tertiary qualifications in Food Science and Technology or a related field

• Have excellent leadership skills and proven supervisory experience
• Have several years’ experience working in a food laboratory testing food products
• Experience managing new product development including costing of materials and review of manufacturing specifications
• Have excellent interpersonal and communication skills
• An ability to work as part of a team and individually under general direction
• A demonstrated ability to work to deadlines and to successfully complete tasks on time

The successful candidate will enjoy living and working in a beautiful part of the world in Tasmania only an hour’s drive from Launceston.  The people are friendly and the work very interesting and challenging.

 

APPLICATIONS

To be considered for this role please apply by using the ‘Apply Now’ button below. Please include your updated resume with a covering letter in Word Format. For a confidential discussion about this role, please call CS Executive Group on 03 9516 0100, Daniele on 0434 746 361 or Peter on 0413 602 758 after hours.

 

THANK YOU

We would like to thank you for taking the time to apply for this role. Unfortunately, due to the large volume of candidates we receive on a daily basis, we can only contact those with suitable qualifications and experience.  Please note, however, you are welcome to call our Recruiters to discuss your application. If unsuccessful, your resume will remain on our database and will be considered for future suitable roles.