The Perth Office of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO

In partnership with the Government of Western Australia, and the Commonwealth of Australia through its Bureau of Meteorology and other Commonwealth marine agencies, the IOC is establishing a new regional office in Perth, Western Australia. The Perth Office will co-ordinate the full range of IOC activities, including those that use resources from other UNESCO sectors, but its primary role is to facilitate the balanced development and enhancement of programmes of the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS) in the region. GOOS is the IOC’s major scientific programme.

The specific purposes of the office are to:

1. Provide a Southern hemisphere focus for GOOS, to assist with the formation and maintenance of GOOS developments in the region, ensuring that these are complementary to other activities in the region being pursued by the IOC through its subsidiary bodies in the Indian Ocean, South East Asia and the South West Pacific;
2. Develop an outreach programme, especially for capacity building for the nations of the Indian Ocean, Southeast Asia and the Southwest Pacific, providing training in observations, data quality control, data transmission and archiving, production of products, and interpretation of products/information;
3. Organize conferences, workshops and other communication and awareness-raising activities;
4. Strengthen links between IOC international GOOS activities and relevant Australian agencies, programmes (eg Indian Ocean Climate Initiative) and industry, encouraging the development of products and services which will benefit all potential users of GOOS;
5. Develop proposals to obtain resources necessary to carry out local and regional GOOS activities;
6. Provide information about GOOS, acting as a conduit between local and regional GOOS participants and overall GOOS structure;
7. Promote the transfer of in situ and remotely-sensed data to and from users and suppliers, focussing on local data of utility to GOOS and regional/global data of utility to local users; and
8. Strengthen links with related IOC and UNESCO programmes and relevant regional offices.

The position of Head of the Office has been advertized and is expected to be filled in soon. It requires someone who is resourceful, energetic and persevering, attentive to detail, and able to work independently with little guidance. Requirements include: A tertiary qualification and ten years or more experience at a professional level in a marine science or relevant environmental discipline; Familiarity with the functioning of international programmes in marine or related environmental science, preferably with experience at a detailed working level; Demonstrated ability to organize conferences, workshops and training courses; Extensive experience in the use of computer-based communication and data-handling; Demonstrated skill and experience in programme management; Evidence of entrepreneurial skill; An excellent command of the English language, and some knowledge of French; and Skill and effectiveness in written and oral communication and presentation.

In the first instance the office will be established for a period of three years, with continuance depending on an evaluation of the success of the venture. The Head's position will be that of IOC-UNESCO consultant. One support post will be available. Further staffing will depend on resources obtained by the Head of the Office.

The office was formally opened at a meeting organized in Perth on 16-17 September 1999 and chaired by Patricio Bernal, Assistant Director-General of UNESCO and Executive Secretary IOC. The office is located on the premises of the Bureau of Meteorology. By forging an alliance between the oceanographic and meteorological scientific communities, this offers an ideal opportunity for the regional office to become a working example of the recently established Joint IOC-WMO Technical Commission for Oceanography and Marine Meteorology (JCOMM).