Jobs Archive

The Natural History Museum Invertebrates collection houses a large and active research focus on Parasitic worms; principally Platyhelminthes, Nematoda and Acanathocephala. Experts from the NHM and institutions across the world develop and use our collections in a friendly and inspiring environment. The Parasitic Worms collection contains over 12, 000 species and is one of the largest and most comprehensive with particular strengths in its global systematic and faunal collections. This is an opportunity for a specialist with proven curatorial experience and demonstrated high level of scientific scholarship in a field of collections-based science (e.g. taxonomy, systematics, organismal biology). The position will require working experience or knowledge of systematics, taxonomy, parasitology, modern collecting practices (including tissue collecting for downstream genetic/genomic analyses) and basic molecular systematic biology techniques. A candidate with a willingness to learn, or experience in, histological preparation and imaging techniques is desirable.

The post holder will ensure best practice in collections care, strategic development and facilitate access and use by a range of stakeholders within the museum and worldwide. The role will work closely with NHM colleagues engaged in parasitology studies, as well as undertaking their own collections-focused research. Duties will be split with approximately 20% time for research, 70% time for curatorial (which includes taxonomic and systematic skills) and collections management duties and 10% time for outreach/corporate roles, with the proportions varying according to the requirements of individual projects. This is an exciting opportunity to integrate curation and collections-based research in one of the world’s largest Natural History collections for Parasitic Worms.

The postholder will be managed by the Principal Curator in Charge for Invertebrates Non-Insects, Dr Lauren Hughes, working along side the Invertebrates non-insects collection team within the Science Directorate.

The Sedgwick Museum has a temporary vacancy for an enthusiastic person with some experience of collections management and/or collections migration to play a key role in the development of the Museum's new Collections Research Centre.

The Sedgwick Museum's collections comprise more than two million fossils, rocks and minerals representing 300 years of collecting. The Museum welcomes more than 150,000 public visitors a year and delivers popular public programmes and outreach. The Museum's priorities include reaching a larger and more diverse public audience, increasing and enhancing the support we provide to researchers and students, and taking a lead in the regional and national museums sector. The Museum is embedded within the Department of Earth Sciences , with 14 support staff (13.5 FTE; 13 permanent) and a team of volunteers. The collections team provide collections access for researchers, students and the public, as well as caring for and documenting the collections.

As part of the Museum's aspiration to create an international Collections Research Centre, the Museum is currently undertaking a major collections migration project, led by the Collections Manager and assisted by a small team of temporary project assistants, moving more than 140,000 drawers of petrological specimens from the Atlas Building at High Cross, Cambridge into a new purpose-built collections store, the Colin Forbes Building on Madingley Rise, adjacent to the Museum's existing Collections Store and conservation facility.

The Collections Assistant (Migration Project) will supervise the small team carrying out this relocation. The role will include documenting and packing specimens, transporting pallet loads of specimen drawers between buildings using a 3.5T box van with tail lift, and putting away drawers of rock specimens into the new racking. S/he will be responsible for ensuring that the collections are documented and moved into the new store according to the highest standards, to maximise their research value and accessibility in the short and long term. This role will support the Director and Collections Manager by developing workflows, rotas and protocols to carry out the migration efficiently, safely and effectively. They will manage migration data, ensure equipment is maintained, contribute to maintaining a presence at the Museum's remote stores, and contribute to public engagement, social media and other projects across the Museum

Applicants should have experience of working with museum collections, ideally in the context of a migration project and/or of working with geological material. They should be confident developing workflows and procedures as part of a team, and ideally will be familiar, or happy to be trained in with working at height, using ladders, MEWP, pallet trucks or powered pedestrian stacker trucks. They will have experience of working with and supporting teams, enabling individuals to contribute their best, as well as good communication and influencing skills. They should be confident to take responsibility and initiative where required, and be able to prioritise and comfortably adapt to changing circumstances and requirements.

Fixed-term: The funds for this post are available for 1 years in the first instance.

We are seeking to appoint a talented Data Quality Officer for a 9-month contract who has skills in data cleansing techniques, can manage all aspects of data quality challenges with Fungarium & Mycology specimen collection data and can liaise effectively with curators and collection managers to seek advice and information The Data Quality Officer will support Kew’s Integrated Collections Management System (ICMS) Programme working to address data quality issues in preparation for the data migration to the new science collection management system and support ongoing data management requirements once data has been migrated.

Essential skills and experience required for this role include: educated to a degree level or equivalent, experience of data analysis and reporting, good knowledge of Microsoft Excel and reporting tools, excellent interpersonal skills and an understanding of relationship database and SQL language with experience of using and building complex queries and clean large datasets. Desirable skills to support this role will be experience of working with natural history collections and basic botanical knowledge.

We are seeking to appoint four individuals with high attention to detail and experience of transcribing and imaging natural history or museum specimens to assist with the development and documentation of quality assurance protocols. They will also be responsible for reporting where digital outputs of Herbarium or Fungarium specimens do not meet agreed standards.

Essential skills and experience required for this role include: the ability to check image and data quality against defined standards; the ability to write protocols; a competent understanding of taxonomy, nomenclature, and geography; and excellent IT skills.