Curator, late Pleistocene Rancho La Brea collections

Start date: 1st July 2015
Closing date: Open until filled

The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County (NHM) seeks a Curator for its renowned late Pleistocene Rancho La Brea collections housed at the Page Museum at the La Brea Tar Pits. The successful candidate will conduct collection-based research in evolutionary biology and paleoecology including systematics, biogeography, climate change, and biodiversity science. The NHM, the largest natural history museum in the western United States, has recently finished a dramatic transformation including new ground-breaking exhibitions and a wildlife garden. It anticipates completing a similar transformation at the Page Museum facility and adjacent La Brea Tar Pits during the next decade. The NHM¹s mission is to inspire wonder, discovery, and responsibility for our natural and cultural worlds . Our strategic intent - "To be the best at communicating how our planet and life on it changes over time and why this matters" - guides our priorities for the next decade. The successful candidate will have a record of outstanding research and publications as well as excellent communication skills, a talent for collaboration across disciplines and an innate ability to engage and enthuse the public and stakeholders through his/her work.

The Page Museum is the site museum for the La Brea Tar Pits, one of the world¹s richest Ice Age fossil sites that has to date yielded an estimated 5 million specimens representing more than 600 species of animals and plants of Late Pleistocene age. These collections afford a huge potential for a broad array of research and public programs and are continuously growing through ongoing excavations.

The successful candidate will be responsible for developing a dynamic, productive, and scientifically significant program of research to build a growing scientific and public profile, overseeing the development and curation of important collections, maintaining and strengthening the NHM¹s presence in key professional and governmental networks, and establishing active internal NHM collaborations, especially with the Education and Exhibits, Marketing and Communications, and Advancement Departments.

◦The successful candidate will have a Ph.D., a strong track record of published research, and experience in generating funding to support research.
◦His/her demonstrated talent for successful public communications will enhance collaborations with non-scientists in the NHM's Education and Exhibits, Marketing and Communications and Advancement Departments.
◦Experience in collections management would be an advantage, as would an interest in creative ways of engaging the public in research (e.g., citizen science).
◦The Curator will be expected to develop an active and publically engaging research program, develop working relationships with local universities, mentor students and postdoctoral fellows, and maintain research through obtaining competitive grants and/or funding from other external sources
◦The candidate must have the vision and capability to build a research program that can be integrated within the NHM¹s ongoing efforts to document and interpret biotic responses to environmental change.
◦He/she will manage the collection's growth and undertake research in ways that increase both its scientific and public appeal.
◦The ability to communicate effectively and engage with a wide variety of audiences, including the public and the NHM¹s various stakeholders is paramount.
◦The successful candidate will be expected to help oversee staff and supervise the NHM's Rancho La Brea program including the collections and excavations
◦He/she will actively participate in a broad range of museum activities, such as exhibits, education, outreach, training of educators, public communications including, but not limited to, media interactions, and fundraising.
◦The successful candidate will be expected to play a key role in the ongoing transformation of the Page Museum at the La Brea Tar Pits.
◦The Curator will also be responsible for building productive ties with local universities, professional associations, educators, and other relevant organizations within the scientific and general community.

Applicants should send a cover letter, curriculum vitae, salary history, and the full contact information of at least three professional references to thayden@nhm.org, Page Museum Curatorial Search, Research & Collections, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, 900 Exposition Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90007, USA.