Digitiser
The eMesozoic project aims to digitise all British Mesozoic vertebrate specimens held at the Natural History Museum. It is a pilot digitisation project to test workflows for digitising palaeontology collections and for capturing high quality metadata associated with the specimens in an efficient manner. The British Mesozoic vertebrate collections present a range of digitisation challenges, which this project seeks to explore and address. These specimens are heavily used by researchers and in public engagement, and the data produced by this project will be available to the public via our online catalogue as well as being used to facilitate effective management of the collections.
The successful applicant will assist with the creation of master lists for British Mesozoic fossil sites, stratigraphy and taxonomy to associate with specimen data. These master lists will be derived from the scientific literature and will be validated by experts. Working as part of a team, the successful candidate will barcode and image individual specimens. This will involve handling very delicate, as well as large, heavy specimens. It will involve working at height in some cases, and with dusty specimens. Finally, the post holder will associate specimen information with catalogue records and images using master lists as well as carrying out direct transcription into a database. Curators and scientists will work closely with the role holder to validate data and refine the workflow. We are looking for self-motivated individuals who show a high degree of attention to detail and have the ability to maintain focus and accuracy.
Role competences: BEFORE beginning your application - Please read the section below about the ‘Online Application Process’ carefully.
If you wish to be considered for this role you will need to address each of the following competences in the ‘other information’ section of your online application:
1. BSc (or equivalent qualification) in Biological or Earth Sciences (or equivalent relevant experience)
2. Demonstrable understanding of taxonomic, anatomic and stratigraphic principles (e.g., attained from college or university courses in geology, palaeontology, systematics, zoology)
3. Solid experience of carefully handling a wide range of objects from small fragile specimens to large heavy ones
4. Highly proficient in Microsoft Office, particularly Excel, with proven experience of manipulating large datasets
5. Significant experience in digital imaging
6. Evidenced experience of reading and accurately transcribing data from handwritten sources into a database
7. Literate and fluent in English, including being familiar with scientific literature
8. Experience of working effectively as part of a team
9. Self-motivated with an ability to remain focussed when completing repetitive tasks
10. High degree of attention to detail
11. Proven ability to follow complex instructions
12. Willingness to work with dusty specimens, at height and to use moving equipment in a collections environment
Online application process: You are required to provide a response to ALL of the role competences listed above within the ‘Other Information’ section of the online application form (up to 140 words per competence). In order to demonstrate how you meet each competence fully, please provide specific examples from your achievements, knowledge, skills and/or experience.
IMPORTANT: The ‘Other Information’ section will ‘timeout’ after 35 minutes and any information not saved during this time will be lost. Please therefore prepare your answers on a separate document before transferring and saving them to your application.
The ‘Additional Questions’ regarding right to work in the UK and age are mandatory questions and any applications received without these answers will not be considered.
Please review your application fully before pressing ‘submit application’ as you will not be able to make any further amends after submitting, and any applications received which have not addressed ALL competences in full and/or the mandatory questions will be rejected.