Appointment of
Shell Professor of Offshore Engineering
and Director, ARC Research Hub
for Offshore Floating Facilities
Information for Candidates
Appointment of
Shell Professor of Offshore Engineering
and Director, ARC Research Hub for Offshore
Floating Facilities
Introduction | 2
The University of Western Australia | 3
Faculty of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences | 4
Shell Chair in Offshore Engineering and ARC Research Hub for Offshore Floating Facilities | 5
Role, key responsibilities and selection criteria | 7
Western Australia and Perth | 11
Applications | 12
Professor Dawn Freshwater
Vice-Chancellor
Welcome
A dynamic and progressive institution with a reputation for
international excellence in teaching, learning and research,
The University of Western Australia is a member of the
prestigious Go8 partnership of leading Australian researchintensive universities. The University continues to build on its
reputation for excellence and is a major research contributor
in the engineering and energy sectors, and other areas that
align with national research and innovation priorities.
The Director of the ARC Research Hub for Offshore
Floating Facilities leads a major transdisciplinary initiative
supported by the Australian Research Council and national
and international industry. The role involves leadership,
representation and coordination of a team of >10 academics
and >15 PhD students, collaborating on transformational
research and innovation.
Applications are invited for appointment to the positions of
Shell Professor of Offshore Engineering and Director, Research
Hub for Offshore Floating Facilities and I welcome your interest
in these roles.
The university will make one or two appointments to fill the
roles. The appointee(s) will join the Oceans Institute within
the Faculty of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences, and be
based in the Indian Ocean Marine Research Centre – a major
and vibrant new facility on the UWA campus, with worldleading facilities.
The Shell Professor of Offshore Engineering provides
leadership to a well-established partnership between UWA
and Shell Australia, contributing academic leadership across
research and teaching. The role requires a strong record of
published research, industry impact and innovation, and the
ability to foster the research of others.
2 The University of Western Australia
I invite you to consider the possibilities available in these roles
in a university with a reputation for excellence and the vitality
and excitement of an innovative research environment.
Professor Dawn Freshwater
Vice-Chancellor
The University of Western Australia
The University of Western Australia is a high-quality research-intensive university
with a broad and balanced coverage of disciplines in the arts, science and major
professions. It is Western Australia’s oldest university, established in 1911,
and currently has a student population of approximately 24,500.
The University has an international reputation for excellence
and enterprise and is regarded as one of Australia’s top
research institutions. Its strong research culture sees it attract
high levels of competitive research funding. At the same
time the University places great emphasis on high quality
teaching and learning, and is committed to the development
of innovative and responsive programs. It has focused on the
teaching-research nexus, so that teaching and learning take
place in an atmosphere of research scholarship.
The University’s high quality teaching and research ensure it
remains the university of preference for Western Australia’s
highest achieving school leavers, as well as attracting highcalibre undergraduate and postgraduate students from
around the nation and overseas. The quality of the student
population is high by national and international standards.
The University is recognised globally for the quality of its
academic staff and has strong strategic partnerships with
industry, the professions and government. It operates in
collaboration with other research-intensive universities in
Australia and around the world. Graduates of UWA are highly
competitive internationally, achieving success in higher study
and providing inspiration throughout wide‑ranging fields
of employment. Many graduates have risen to prominence
in leadership roles in industry, government, education and
the professions.
At UWA we want you to pursue what others deem to be
impossible, challenge convention and be inspired by all of the
possibilities. We offer you an environment in which you can
really make a difference to the world and encourage others to
do so too.
uwa.edu.au
uwa.edu.au 3
Faculty of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences
‘Empowering people to change the world’
One of UWA’s founding faculties, the Faculty of Engineering
and Mathematical Sciences has educated Rhodes Scholars,
Fulbright Scholars, Eureka Prize winners, CEOs and seven
of the most influential engineers in Engineering Australia’s
Top 100 list. The Faculty prides itself on its track-record
for producing graduates who not only perform well in their
chosen profession, but are equipped with the skills and social
capital they need to be the very best.
The Faculty has an international reputation for excellence
in research and its research teams benefit from global
partnerships with industry, attracting research income
of more than $27 million a year – well above the national
average. The Faculty’s vision is to be part of the world’s top
100 engineering faculties by 2020 and the top 50 by 2050. It is
capitalising on its location at the hub of Australia’s resources
industry - and a stone’s throw from the head offices of
Australia’s biggest resource industry players – to revolutionise
engineering research and position Western Australia at the
forefront of Engineering for Remote Operations (ERO).
ERO provides an integrated and collaborative approach to
seeking solutions to the challenges in resource development,
agriculture, health, transport, energy, water supply and
4 The University of Western Australia
communities. The Faculty is seizing the opportunity to
become a world leader in this growing area of engineering,
as well as building upon existing research strengths in
biomedical engineering.
Our Offshore Engineering capabilities are concentrated within
the Indian Ocean Marine Research Centre, which opened
in 2016, bringing together Australia’s largest concentration
of marine researchers. We host world-leading facilities for
modelling offshore systems, including Australia’s National
Geotechnical Centrifuge Facility, the Australian National
Facility for Ocean Gliders and three O-tube cyclone simulation
flumes – which are uniquely capable of reproducing extreme
metocean conditions at the seabed.
This is an exciting time for the Faculty, as it celebrates
extraordinary achievement amongst its staff, including a
new Shell Professorial Chair, Australian Academy of Science
Award winners and Australian Laureate Fellowships, whilst
looking to the future to plan new multi-million dollar
infrastructure. We are beginning construction of the new
Engineering Zone development, an inspirational and flexible
teaching and research space, which will help to enrich the
student experience and foster further collaborative research
innovation for the benefit of the Australian and International
Communities.
Shell Chair in Offshore
Engineering
Shell businesses in Australia are part of The Shell Group, a
global group of energy and petrochemical companies. Our
aim is to meet the energy needs of society, in ways that are
economically, socially and environmentally viable, now and in
the future.
Shell has been operating in Australia since 1901, with interests
in petroleum refining, products and distribution, as well as
oil and gas exploration and production. This ‘upstream’,
business is headquartered in Perth, and finds, develops and
supplies LNG, condensates and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG)
to overseas markets and natural gas to domestic customers
in WA. Shell was a foundation partner in the North West Shelf
project, and is also a joint venturer in the Gorgon, Browse and
Sunrise projects.
Shell Australia has a record of investing in the communities
where it operates and has collaborated with UWA since 2013
via the Shell Chair in Offshore Engineering. This partnership
was initiated when Shell selected Australia as the location for
the first deployment of its unique FLNG technology, on the
Prelude project.
The Shell Chair supports a team of academics and PhD
students working on challenging aspects of offshore
engineering, with Shell colleagues in Australia and overseas.
Since the Chair was established, UWA research has been
deployed on several Shell projects globally.
ARC Research Hub
for Offshore Floating
Facilities
The Australian Research Council (ARC), in partnership with
four industry organisations – Shell, Woodside, Lloyds Register
and Bureau Veritas – established in 2016 the Industrial
Transformation Research Hub for Offshore Floating Facilities
– known as the OFFshore Hub – hosted at the University of
Western Australia, to undertake a $10M five-year program of
research.
The OFFshore Hub is tackling the critical engineering
challenges for the next generation of offshore oil and gas
projects by creating novel designs, new technologies and
new operating procedures through industry-academia
collaboration.
The OFFshore Hub involves 5 interlinked multi-disciplinary
projects that are developing new technologies required for the
design of safe and efficient offshore projects in the areas of
ocean forecasting, riser and mooring longevity, vessel motion
and offloading, and novel anchoring and subsea foundations.
The research program involves a blend of physical and
numerical modelling supported by fieldwork and analysis of
observations from existing facilities.
The OFFshore Hub industry partners are Shell, Woodside
Energy, Bureau Veritas and Lloyds Register. Each partner
organization is committed to help shape the research
directions, drive the technology transfer, and assist with the
mentorship of the researchers and students.
uwa.edu.au 5
6 The University of Western Australia
Roles, key responsibilities and selection criteria
Roles
Shell Professor of Offshore Engineering
The Shell Professor of Offshore Engineering will play a leading
role to sustain and develop the University of Western Australia,
in partnership with Shell Australia, as a centre for world class
research and education in offshore engineering.
UWA has unique facilities and a critical mass of researchers
in the key offshore engineering disciplines of metocean, fluid
mechanics, structural engineering and geotechnics. The Shell
Chair, which was established in 2013, is a partnership between
UWA and Shell Australia to conduct world-class research to
support excellence and innovation, and to deliver education
and training at graduate level and into industry. The Shell
Chair partnership supports a team of academics led by the
Shell Professor of Offshore Engineering, based in the UWAhosted Indian Ocean Marine Research Centre (IOMRC).
The Shell Professor of Offshore Engineering will provide
senior leadership to draw together the offshore engineering
capabilities within UWA as a comprehensive program of
research, teaching and innovation. The program of activity
overseen by the Shell Chair will continue to be focused on
key challenges faced by the offshore energy industry, both in
Australia and globally, with a focus on oil and gas.
The appointee will be responsible for continuing and
expanding the Shell-UWA collaboration, which over the past
5 years has led to research that has been applied to Shell
projects globally and has gained wide adoption in industry
practices. The appointee will contribute to the leadership of
the UWA Oceans Institute and will engage across the marine
disciplines, to bring additional strengths to the Shell-UWA
partnership beyond their own personal research.
The Shell Professor will work in accordance with the
University’s policies, procedures and values, to promote
excellence through integrity, inclusiveness, innovation and
professionalism.
At the time of appointment, a tailored support package and
workload allocation will be agreed with the the Pro ViceChancellor and Executive Dean of the Faculty Engineering and
Mathematical Sciences to enable the key responsibilities of
this role to be delivered.
Director, ARC Research Hub for
Offshore Floating Facilities
The ARC Industrial Transformation Research Hub for Offshore
Floating Facilities, known as the OFFshore Hub, is a $10M
5-year research initiative jointly funded by industry and the
Australian Research Council, which commenced in 2016. The
OFFshore Hub is addressing the critical engineering challenges
associated with offshore floating facilities for oil and gas
development, through the activity of >10 academics and >15
PhD students.
The Director has overall responsibility for the success of the
OFFshore Hub, providing leadership, representation and
co-ordination, within the research team and between the
researchers and the industry partners (Woodside, Shell,
Lloyd’s Register and Bureau Veritas). The Director is supported
in this role by the Hub Manager, Dr Andrew Grime. The Director
holds ultimate responsibility for the Hub successfully meeting
or exceeding the Key Performance Indicators, and will make a
personal contribution to the research activity within the Hub.
The Director will foster productive relationships between the
partners, promoting and facilitating close interaction between
researchers and industry, to ensure positive outcomes and
impact from the OFFshore Hub. The Director will seek to
widen the funding and partnership scale of the Hub to ensure
sustainability beyond the initial funding period of 5 years,
supported by UWA’s Business Development team.
The Director will work in accordance with the University’s
policies, procedures and values, to promote excellence
through integrity, inclusiveness, innovation and
professionalism.
At the time of appointment, a tailored support package
and workload allocation will be agreed with the Pro ViceChancellor and Executive Dean of the Faculty of Engineering
and Mathematical Sciences to enable the key responsibilities
of this role to be delivered.
The term of the appointment will be initially for a period of up
to five years.
The term of the appointment will be initially for a period of
up to five years.
uwa.edu.au 7
Key Responsibilities
Shell Professor of Offshore Engineering
• Sustain a vibrant research team across Offshore
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Engineering, with particular strength in the Chair’s personal
discipline, involving wider collaboration across UWA, the
IOMRC, nationally and internationally, and leading to high
impact outcomes for industry and the community.
Lead, represent and coordinate the Shell-funded research
team at UWA, composed of the current two Shell Research
Fellows, and a new Shell Research Fellow in Ocean
Technology (to be recruited after the Chair is in post), and
recruit a cohort of 2-3 Shell-supported PhD students;
Maintain a close partnership between UWA and
Shell, in Australia and globally, facilitating knowledge
transfer and collaboration across the disciplines of
Offshore Engineering, and reporting and promoting the
achievements of the Shell-UWA partnership;
Developing and delivering education short courses and
Shell in-house presentations in consultation with the Shell
and the Chair’s Advisory Committee;
Actively supporting the Director of the UWA Oceans
Institute and the Executive Dean of Engineering and
Mathematical Sciences, to strengthen industry and
community engagement across UWA’s broader Oceans
and Engineering programs, and to foster a culture
of communication, innovation, commercialisation,
entrepreneurship and impact;
External engagement associated with offshore engineering
at UWA through involvement in professional associations,
through the promotion of STEM education and through
outreach and citizen science;
Work in accordance with the University’s values, policies,
delegations, financial regulations and other procedures,
promoting academic excellence;
8 The University of Western Australia
Director, ARC Research Hub for Offshore Floating
Facilities
• Lead, direct and represent the OFFshore Hub, to achieve
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the key aims: to deliver transformation research to improve
the design and operation of offshore floating facilities
and related infrastructure, with outcomes that impact on
industry practice in Australia and globally;
Maintain continuous engagement with the OFFshore
Hub researchers and industry partners to ensure the
Hub research program is tailored towards industry needs
and draws on the strengths of the research team and the
available facilities;
Maintain and develop a program of activities to maintain
a culture within the OFFshore Hub that promotes effective
research and innovation, and efficient technology transfer,
to maximise the potential of the researchers and their
activities;
Raise the profile of the OFFshore Hub through
engagement with industry and academia in Australia and
internationally, to promote the activities and outcomes of
the Hub.
Develop new relationships and funding streams to support
and grow the OFFshore Hub, as well as the wider activities
of UWA, with the goal of sustaining the transdisciplinary
critical mass;
Contribute via personal research to the OFFshore Hub
program.
Selection Criteria
Qualifications
Research and Scholarship.
PhD or equivalent is essential, in a discipline relevant to
offshore engineering;
Applicants are required to demonstrate:
• Successful research leadership through the supervision
and development of individuals and groups in an offshore
engineering discipline and in the development and
leadership of major new research initiatives;
• A record of outstanding achievement in the identification,
development and delivery of innovation and research in
offshore engineering;
• Ability to undertake successful supervision of postgraduate
research students and projects;
• Ability to develop, articulate and deliver a strategic vision
for offshore engineering research and scholarship within
UWA and the Western Australian community.
Leadership and Values
Applicants are required to demonstrate:
• Ability to engage with, manage and lead multidisciplinary
teams to achieve world competitive academic (teaching
and research) outcomes, with a demonstrated capacity
to convert research outcomes into industrial applications
with impact;
• Leadership and clear vision; ability to articulate clear
vision and secure commitment to that vision; to earn
credibility; to inspire colleagues; to accept responsibility;
demonstrated integrity and fairness.
• Communication and interpersonal: the ability to negotiate,
and listen; effective oral and written communication,
presentation and media skills; ability to network and act as
an advocate; and demonstrated capacity to promote and
maintain relationships.
• Management of people: the ability to develop staff;
establish and communicate clear standards and
expectations; delegate effectively and appropriately;
make best use of skills; acknowledge and reward good
performance; address poor performance; build trust,
morale and teamwork.
• Commitment to diversity: the ability to set a diversity
agenda and demonstrate strong leadership in
implementing that agenda to drive cultural change;
• Tolerance and open mindedness: demonstrated
understanding of the diverse nature of the University’s
community and a willingness to work with staff, students
and visitors from a wide range of backgrounds and with a
wide range of personal responsibilities;
Education and Training
Applicants are required to demonstrate:
• Experience in the creation and delivery of teaching
programs in Offshore Engineering;
• Innovation in the development of education and training
resources and activities.
• The ability to inspire in their communication
• Development of people: the ability to create a culture of
mentorship and sponsorship benefitting staff and students
across all intersectionality.
Conditions of employment
• An attractive and flexibly constructed remuneration
package will be negotiated and will include:
• Employer contribution to superannuation of 17% (standard
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employee contribution is 7%);
Recreation leave of 20 working days per annum;
Long service leave;
Opportunity for consultancy work within policy guidelines;
Eligibility for sabbatical leave;
Relocation assistance including airfares for the appointee
and dependents and short term accommodation.
UWA is an Employer of Choice for Women.
uwa.edu.au 9
10 The University of Western Australia
Western Australia and Perth
The resource-rich state of Western Australia is the economic
powerhouse of Australia. Western Australia is the principal
Australian supplier of natural resources and energy to
international partners, including China, India, Japan, South
Korea and much of South-East Asia. Western Australia’s
diverse inventory of minerals and energy, as well as its
agricultural and fisheries resources, account for 25 per cent
of the nation’s exports and place the state at the heart of
Australian economic growth and transformation.
Western Australia and its capital Perth occupy the same
time zone as 60 per cent of the world’s population and the
nations that promise the greatest economic growth of the
21st century. Western Australia is also Australia’s largest
state, covering some 2.5 million square kilometres and 12,500
kilometres of coastline, including some of the most ancient
landscapes in the world. The state’s population is matching
the rapid growth of the economy and is over two million.
Perth is a cosmopolitan city, with wide ethnic and cultural
diversity. The city centre is on the Swan River 12 kilometres
from the Indian Ocean port of Fremantle.
The city enjoys a Mediterranean climate, with more hours of
sunshine than any other capital city in Australia. Summers
are hot and dry and the winters mild and wet. Perth’s worldfamous beaches and rivers, extensive parklands and variety of
restaurants and cafes provide a superb living environment.
For more information see: tourism.wa.gov.au
Perth is well served with art galleries, theatres and cinemas and is
home to the WA Symphony Orchestra, the WA Ballet and the WA
Opera. The cultural highlight of the year is the Perth International
Arts Festival, founded and owned by The University of Western
Australia: uwa.edu.au/perthfestival
Western Australia’s five universities and wide variety of
public and private schools, vocational institutions and
English language colleges provide quality assured education
with flexible study pathways and state-of-the-art facilities.
Perth continues to build its reputation as a destination
for international students seeking a quality education:
studyperth.com.au
uwa.edu.au 11
Applications
Your application must include the following:
• A statement that clearly demonstrates the extent to which
you satisfy each of the selection criteria;
• Evidence of the impact of your research beyond academia,
such as through contributions made to economy, society,
culture, public policy or services, health, the environment
or quality of life;
• A curriculum vitae that provides your personal details,
qualifications and work history;
• A list of any publications;
• The names, email, mailing addresses and telephone
contact details of three referees who can be contacted for
a confidential report. Please note that your permission will
be sought before referees are contacted.
The University of Western Australia provides visa sponsorship
for international appointees.
12 The University of Western Australia
Lodging your application
Applications must be submitted online at: jobs.uwa.edu.au/
executive
If you wish to discuss the position in confidence please
contact:
Professor John Dell
Executive Dean and Pro Vice-Chancellor
Faculty of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences
Telephone: +61 6488 3704
Email: [email protected]
or
Professor David White
Faculty of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences
Telephone: +61 6488 3086 Email: [email protected]
Closing date
The closing date for applications is:
Friday 12 May 2017
CRICOS Provider Code: 00126G
Thank you for your interest. If you wish to proceed, the
following information will assist you with your application.
Refer also to the selection criteria on page 7.
uwa.edu.au 13
CRICOS Provider Code: 00126G
UWA DCS 000099