Curator of Vascular Plants
The Finnish Museum of Natural History (Luomus) invites applications for a five-year position as
Curator of Vascular Plants
The role will commence no earlier than 1 Feb 2025, with the start date negotiable. The selected candidate will join the Vascular Plants Team within the Botany and Mycology Unit at Luomus, contributing significantly to the institution's research programs. After the initial five-year period has ended, there is a possibility the position may become permanent.
The Vascular Plants Team is tasked with managing herbarium collections of vascular plants and algae, which include approximately 1.8 million specimens. The team also oversees living plant collections and a seed bank for endangered species and is involved in updating databases and participating in the Finnish Biodiversity Information Facility. The team consists of twelve permanent employees, including five academic positions.
About the position
We are seeking a dedicated Plant Systematist, Taxonomist, or Conservation Biologist to undertake high-quality, collection-based research on vascular plants in close collaboration with the rest of the team. The ideal candidate will possess a robust understanding of scientific methodologies, such as museomics, and herbarium techniques, with the capability to conduct independent research.
Responsibilities include:
- Joint curation of the vascular plant herbarium alongside the senior curator and other herbarium staff
- Enhancing the collection management system and the curation of living collections at the Kaisaniemi and Kumpula Botanic Gardens
- Teaching university courses on Bachelor level (up to 5% of work time) and supervising MSc and PhD students
- Actively seeking external funding, leading a research group, and supervising its members
- Engaging in international collaborations and community outreach related to the field.
Qualifications
The applicant must hold a doctoral degree, demonstrate experience in scientific research, and possess necessary teaching skills. Leadership abilities and experience in acquiring external research funding are essential. Experience with scientific collections, development of collection infrastructure, and university teaching are highly valued. Proficiency in Finnish and English is required, however, allowances regarding language proficiency are made for international applicants.
What do we offer?
This fixed-term position includes a 6-month trial period. The salary is based on level 6-7 of the Finnish universities' salary scheme for teaching and research personnel. In addition, the appointee will be paid a salary component based on personal work performance. Thus, the gross monthly salary will range from €4,100 to €5,050, depending on the appointee´s qualifications and experience.
In addition to the research and infrastructure funding possibilities offered by the national and international sources, Luomus also has occasionally had funding available for networking and small starter grants for research (i.e., trigger/seed funding).
According to the bi-annual well-being at work survey, we are a healthy work community where people feel safe and enjoy their work and the working environment. We value coaching leadership, and our team highly appreciates conversational and interactive teamwork.
The University of Helsinki offers comprehensive services to its employees, including preventive occupational health services and general medical care, sports facilities, and opportunities for professional development. For further information please check staff benefits and read more about why the University of Helsinki is an excellent career choice. Luomus is an equal opportunity workplace committed to advance wellbeing and diversity and promote gender equality in science and education. We welcome applicants from a variety of genders, linguistic and cultural backgrounds, and minorities.
The appointee is expected to reside in Finland while employed by the University of Helsinki. The University assists employees from abroad with their transition to work and life in Finland. Finland is a very family-friendly country with generous parental leaves, very affordable state-subsidized daycare that is available for all children, as well as world-renowned free primary education and public healthcare. Finland has also been nominated as the happiest country in the world seven times in a row.
How to apply
Candidates’ are requested to submit a single PDF file in English containing:
- Researcher’s CV. Please follow these instructions: TENK.
- List of Publications
- Motivation letter, including a brief outline on their future research plans (in total max. 3 pages)
The application, together with the required attachments, must be submitted through the University of Helsinki electronic recruitment system by 23.10.2024. Employees of the University of Helsinki must submit their applications through the SAP Fiori portal: https://msap.sap.helsinki.fi.
Further information
Further information about the position may be obtained from the Senior Curator of the Vascular Plants Team, henry.vare[at]helsinki.fi
For questions about the recruitment system and process please contact HR: hr-erla[at]helsinki.fi
About Luomus
The Finnish Museum of Natural History Luomus is an independent institute of the University of Helsinki and the national museum in the field of natural history in Finland. The duties of Luomus are to amass, maintain and display its collections, and to conduct related research in biology, geology and natural sciences including isotopic/chronological studies. The collections serve research, teaching, and public education, and form part of the international network of natural history repositories. LUOMUS has five units: Botany and Mycology, Zoology, Earth Sciences, Biodiversity Informatics, and Public Engagement. The institute has a staff of c. 160 and manages natural history collections of c. 13.6 million specimens and datasets of c. 47 million observations. Within the Botany and Mycology Unit there are three teams, Vascular Plants Team, Mycology and Bryology Team, and Garden Team. Luomus is part of the consortium developing DiSSCo infrastructure for European natural history collections.