We are recruiting for a Specimen Preparer to join the Specimen Preparation Team within the Science Directorate. As part of this team, that includes five other Specimen Preparers, the successful candidate will contribute to the creation of over 30,000 herbarium specimens annually.
The Herbarium at Kew contains around 7 million preserved vascular plant specimens, these specimens contain a wealth of information about plants and are used by Kew Scientists and researchers across the globe in studies into biodiversity, conservation, ecology and sustainable development. The post holder will be a highly motivated individual, able to contribute to the herbarium collections by producing herbarium specimens to Kew standards in a timely way.
Kew is the world’s leading botanic gardens, at the forefront of plant and fungal science, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a major visitor attraction.
We want a world where plants and fungi are understood, valued and conserved – because our lives depend on them. We use the power of our science and the rich diversity of our gardens and collections to provide knowledge, inspiration and understanding of why plants and fungi matter to everyone.
We are looking for a highly motivated individual with excellent organisational skills and the ability to undertake repetitive tasks through to completion. You will be keen to work as part of a team, but also have the ability to work alone and make independent decisions when preparing specimens. The successful candidate will have good manual dexterity and an ability to work quickly and precisely. They will learn new skills, be able to demonstrate the specimen preparation process to others and be confident interacting with the public and visitors in an engaging manner.
We offer a fantastic range of benefits including a broad range of Learning and Development opportunities, with access to the Civil Service training curriculum, generous annual leave entitlement for new starters, family friendly policies, a choice of competitive pensions and flexible benefits scheme.
If you are interested in this position, please submit your application through the online portal, by clicking “Apply for this job”.
We are committed to equality of opportunity and welcome applications from all sections of the community. We guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the post.
No agencies please.
Please note that you will need to have the legal Right to Work in the UK before applying as we are not able to offer visa sponsorship for this role. Please note that as the interviews include an assessed practical test, we are unable to offer Skype interviews in this instance.
We will be holding the interviews on the 9th and 10th April 2019.