Путешествующий коллекционер редких растений

About the job

If you have a sense of adventure and know your squills from your spurges, Cambridge University Botanic Garden may have the job for you

Cambridge University Botanic Garden is searching for an enthusiastic and dynamic Expedition Botanist to lead our plant-collecting expeditions around the world. This is a unique role that combines international travel, conservation, research, and teaching in a vibrant, supportive team.

Role Purpose

• The expedition botanist will be primarily responsible for organising and leading our expeditions and collecting programme, comprising some four international expeditions a year, as well as joining expeditions run by our partners. The post holder will provide core taxonomic expertise on these expeditions, as well assisting in the curation of the living collections, especially through provision of taxonomic expertise.
• In addition to expeditions, the post-holder would support the post-expedition processing including herbarium specimens and seed banking and play a role in supporting the delivery of learning courses.
• We are looking for a truly exceptional, enthusiastic, highly energetic, passionate and teamoriented botanist and taxonomist, to improve our botanical collections, and to enhance the quality of taxonomic provision in the delivery of research, teaching, and conservation.

Key responsibilities

• Organise and lead overseas collecting expeditions to enhance delivery of in-situ and ex-situ conservation and science goals, to dentify and discover new species, and to acquire novel and unusual material for research and teaching needs.
• Contribute to all post-expedition processing of materials and information including the making of herbarium specimens, seed cleaning and banking, and digitisation and information entry into databases
• Provide broad taxonomic expertise to ensure that the living collection is accurately identified and taxonomically up to date. Using existing and recently published scientific knowledge and synthesis of research of plant taxonomy and systematics to methodically organise information and to assist in classification of the Garden’s collection and new acquisitions.
• Develop and sustain links with other collection-based institutions, in the UK and abroad, to enhance the acquisition and sharing of material, to support collaborative projects. Maintain a comprehensive understanding of the complex emerging and changing legal frameworks that govern the acquisition and use of living collections
• Collaborate with the curation team to ensure effective collection management, including but not limited to verification using APG IV system of classification, ensuring that taxonomic changes, apply to our various areas of operations including auditing, labelling, data basing, material transfers, and research use.
• Support the provision of universitylevel teaching programme to deliver taxonomic and systematics teaching to both Cambridge University and external undergraduates, postgraduates, and to trainee horticultural staff.
• Deliver academic talks on curation activities, taxonomy, projects, and achievements, to internal and external stakeholders and members of the public.
• Communicate to the public about travel and expeditions, with storytelling and imagery, through a wide range of media including social media, blogs, newsletters, and scientific publications.

Whar we are looking for

• Qualifications
  • Undergraduate education in natural sciences or natural history with skill in plant taxonomy or morphology based systematics or relevant fieldbased discipline.
  • Post-graduate education in taxonomy or systematics or other field-based discipline.
• Skills
  • Excellent hand-on skills in taxonomic identification.
  • Excellent skills in organising and executing field-based expeditions
  • Excellent communication and teaching skills
  • Excellent levels of organisation and time management.
  • Proficient IT skills with Indesign, Word, Powerpoint and Excel
• Experience
  • Field work, expeditions and plant collecting.
  • Plant identification across a broad taxonomic spectrum.
  • Acquisition, synthesis and management of taxonomic information from a variety of sources.
  • Collection management in botanic gardens, herbaria or museums.
  • Teaching taxonomy and systematics to the public, and at the higher education level.
  • Information management, databasing and biodiversity informatics.
• Additional Requirements
  • Effective team player, with the ability to lead on projects when required and to work on team projects.
  • Love and passion for travel and other cultures, including multi-lingual capabilities, or willingness to acquire.
  • Passionate about plant biodiversity and its importance for society.
  • Prepared to work for long periods outside normal hours and to be available for overnight travel.
  • Ability to work on different projects simultaneously whilst maintaining close attention to detail.
  • Versatile and flexible with the ability to adjust work and planning as new projects develop.

Conditions

• Salary: £33,936—£44,263
• Contract: Initial 5 year funding
• Location: Central Cambridge
• Department: Botanic Garden
• Responsible to: Deputy Curator
• Working pattern: Mon—Fri with some weekend and overseas working