The branch

The Open Source Intelligence Branch (OSIB) collects, interprets and disseminates information relating to matters of political, strategic or economic significance to Australia to support the government’s intelligence priorities, the work of the National Intelligence Community (NIC) and allied partner agencies.

Focusing on matters that affect Australia’s national interests, the OSIB functions as Australia’s centre of excellence in open source collection and analysis. Employees are linguistic, analytical and subject matter experts, and work closely with all-source analysts in ONI, policy agencies and counterparts across the NIC to support and complement their work.

The roles

ONI is seeking Southeast Asia, China, Pacific and Terrorism analysts to work across our open source functions.

A role as an open source analyst involves far more than translating or interpreting; our open source specialists are analytical and subject matter experts, often with non-English language skills. They are innovative problem solvers who are technically savvy and data literate. They work closely with all-source analysts in ONI, policy agencies and counterparts across the National Intelligence Community (NIC) to support and complement their work.

Under the ONI Act, ONI collects, interprets and disseminates publicly available information relating to matters of political, strategic or economic significance to Australia to support the government's intelligence priorities, the work of the NIC and allied partner agencies.

As an Open Source analyst you will:

• Research, interpret and analyse information relating to matters of political, strategic or economic significance to Australia.
• Plan, edit and deliver high-quality products and analysis for customers.
• Manage a high volume of reporting demands through effective prioritisation and sound business processes.
• Develop and maintain productive networks in ONI and with other government agencies, including through representing ONI at meetings as required.

The distinction between the APS6, APS5 and APS4 analyst roles is determined by the complexity of the work and the level of autonomy, accountability, initiative and independent judgement required. The selection panel will assess candidates against the APS Work Level Standards – please visit the APSC website for more information.

Key attributes

Our ideal candidate will have:

• Demonstrated research and analytical skills, particularly in the analysis of open source material
• Demonstrated knowledge in one or more of these areas as it relates to Australia’s interests:China
  The Pacific
  Southeast Asia
  Terrorism
• The ability to communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing, in an accurate, unambiguous and timely manner
• A proven ability to work cooperatively as part of a team to deliver results.

Desirable but not essential:

• A high-level proficiency in one or more of the following languages:
• Arabic
• Bislama
• Burmese
• Indonesian
• Khmer
• Lao
• Malay
• Mandarin
• Portuguese
• Samoan
• Solomon Islands Pijin
• Tagalog
• Tok Pisin
• Tongan
• Tetum
• Thai
• Vietnamese
• Other Pacific languages
• Other Southeast Asian languages
• Well-developed knowledge of the evolving information landscape, including relevant information technology skills such as data analytics and social media analysis.

For further information about these opportunities and how to apply, please download a candidate information kit from the careers page of ONI's website .