Natural Talent UK Traineeships - Saproxylic Insects based in Oxford

In the UK, forest area has declined from around 75% of the land area 6,000 years ago to less than 12% today. Saproxylic insects are dependent during part of their life cycle upon dead or dying wood or wood-inhabiting fungi and, as such, are considered good indicators of forest quality. In Britain, approximately 7% of all native animals are saproxylic and almost a half of these are beetles (700 species). A significant proportion of the UKs saproxylic fauna is considered of conservation interest.

The apprenticeship will be based in the Hope Entomological Collections (Life Collections, Oxford University Museum of Natural History), with field work focusing on the University’s Wytham Woods. The apprentice will be given opportunity to undertake short placements at other UK Museums, local wildlife groups and the Biological Records Centre, CEH Wallingford. The project will focus on the Saproxylic Insect fauna of Wytham Woods, extracting data from the Museum’s collections, archives and library to produce an annotated inventory of the site. In addition, field work will be undertaken throughout the year testing a variety of sampling methods to provide modern comparative data.

The apprentice will work with the Museums award winning Public Engagement team to develop educational resources and public activities on the value, conservation and ecology of saproxylic insects. In addition, the apprentice will work with the Community & Outreach team developing and delivering educational activities to targeted audiences.

THIS PROJECT IS FUNDED BY THE ESMÉE FAIRBAIRN FOUNDATION

* A full driving licence is required

* This post is subject to a criminal record check.

A 2 page CV is required to support your application. PLEASE MARK YOUR APPLICATION NTUKSAP

You can apply for this post online or you can download an application form in Adobe Acrobat format or Word format and you can download a full job description for this post here.

A full clean or near clean driving licence is essential.

Closing date for completed applications is 5.00pm 31/10/14

Please note:
Unfortunately, due to the necessity to keep our costs down we are not able to respond to everyone who applies to our vacancies. Interviews will be held on 4 December 2014 at our Oxford University Museum of Natural History office. Therefore, if you do not hear from us by this date, please assume that you have been unsuccessful on this occasion.

You can apply for this post online or you can download an application form in Adobe Acrobat format or Word format and you can download a full job description for this post here.

Alternatively you can request an application pack from recruitment@tcv.org.uk quoting the reference NTUKSAP.

Completed applications forms must be returned to John McFarlane, TCV Scotland, 24 Allan Park, Stirling, Scotland, FK8 2QG or j.mcfarlane@tcv.org.uk by 31/10/14.