Director of Biodiversity Banking - Institute for Conservation Research

Deadline: Friday, March 6, 2020 - 00:00
Employer: San Diego Zoo, CA, USA
Contract Duration: Permanent
Contract Type: Full Time
Salary: commensurate with experience

San Diego Zoo Global is a conservation organization dedicated to the science of saving endangered species worldwide. San Diego Zoo Global operates three world-class facilities: the San Diego Zoo, the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, and the San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research.

Our organization’s vision - we will lead the fight against extinction.

Help us to make a difference for wildlife and begin your adventure with a career at the San Diego Zoo. Join the dedicated crew who are passionate about what they do and strive to create unforgettable experiences for our guests. The San Diego Zoo’s Institute for Conservation Research has an immediate opening for a full-time conservation innovator to develop and lead the research and technical team devoted to our unique Frozen Zoo® cryobank (http://institute.sandiegozoo.org/resources/frozen-zoo®). This position will also interface with our Native Plant Seed Bank, Pathology Archives and other biomaterials collections.

We are specifically seeking candidates with experience managing cryopreservation systems who possess the scientific training preparing them to conduct collection management research and to curate preserved biological collections of plants and animals, as well as skills to develop and manage the Biodiversity Banking team as an enterprising, service-oriented unit. A background that includes a strong understanding of cryobiology, cell biology, tissue culture, gamete preservation, and/or seed banking as well as curation and collection management is desirable.

This position marks Biodiversity Banking’s establishment as an independent unit within the San Diego Zoo’s Institute for Conservation Research and presents opportunities to collaborate with a dynamic research team that includes Community Engagement, Conservation Genetics, Disease Investigations, Plant Conservation, Population Sustainability, Reproductive Sciences, and Recovery Ecology. We are the largest zoo-based, multidisciplinary research and wildlife conservation team in the world and are currently engaged in projects in more than 40 countries benefitting over 100 species.

The successful candidate will oversee the current five-person team and the Frozen Zoo® facilities at the Beckman Center for Conservation Research in Escondido, California, and at the San Diego Zoo. The initial expectation is to adapt the existing group into an independent unit supporting scientific research of other Institute teams while developing a productive new program dedicated to improving the science of cryopreservation and biobank collection management.