Central Facility Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum (ZE BGBM)Curator (m/f/d) Full-time position Permanent contract Salary group: E13 TV-L FU Reference code: BGBM-Sammlung Samenpflanzen” Bewerbungsende: 18.10.2021

The Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum are part of Freie Universität Berlin’s central facilities and are among the top five largest botanical gardens worldwide. Their work combines research, managing and curating the collection and education. The Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum are known for their strong international research network in the field of botany and biodiversity. The central facility is the largest research institution and archive for systematic botany and plant geography in Germany. In addition to its vast collection of living plants, it also has its own botany library that is open to the public and an herbarium. The herbarium (acronym B) houses around 3.9 million specimens, of which around 2.7 million are seed plants (spermatophytes), with special emphasis on flowering plants (angiosperms).

Job description:

The curator’s main tasks involve the scientific and curatorial supervision of the collections, including their taxonomic processing, with special attention to the herbarium of the seed plants (spermatophytes) and an emphasis on flowering plants (angiosperms) and the historical background of collectors and the collection. The curator should also continue to develop the seed plants collection (especially flowering plants) based on the facility’s curatorial strategy and in cooperation with the herbarium specialists. The successful applicant will also provide support to visiting scholars and researchers with their research endeavors as well as assist with public relations projects to enhance the Botanic Gardens and Botanical Museum’s visibility.

The position will also require special attention to the development of information management for the collections. Some of the main issues related to this area include the dataflow between parts of the collection (e.g., with the DNA bank) and international data infrastructures (e.g., GBIF and GGBN). The objective behind these issues is to enable a more intensive use of the collections for research purposes as well as to make the collection’s resources more accessible through, for example, databases and digitalized photograph collections.

Furthermore, the new curator will be expected to contribute to the Botanic Gardens and Botanical Museum’s special areas of focus and projects with a geographic focus on the Neotropical region and the European-Mediterranean region (including the Caucasus) and emphasis on Asterales and Caryophyllales. Alongside these tasks, the curator will also continue to conduct their own research and publish their results.

Requirements:

A university degree in biology or other relevant field or an equivalent qualifying degree as well as a doctorate in systematic botany.

(Professional) Experience:

At least two years’ experience working full time in botanical collection curatorship with duties and tasks that correspond to the aforementioned requirements. Experience should be backed up by publications in systematic botany (e.g., monographs, revisions) as well as by expertise in collection curatorship and knowledge of the work structures and topics related to the field (taxonomy, nomenclature, collection management).

Special regulations apply to applicants with civil servant status (Beamter/Beamtin). If this applies to you please inquire for more details.

Desirable:

Knowledge of collection-related biodiversity informatics beyond work with collection curatorship (e.g., feature-based data processing, GIS); experience working with international partners, especially in the geographic focus areas listed above; and experience in obtaining external funding, including grants for collection-related work. A record of research in the focus areas listed above regarding specific taxonomic and geographic fields that are of special importance to the Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum, as well as well-founded knowledge of species in the relevant groups of floweringplants. In addition to very good knowledge of German, applicants should also have strong English language skills (fluent in written and oral expression), as both languages are used on a daily basis to communicate with other team members and users of the herbarium. Knowledge of Spanish is also desirable. The successful candidate should also demonstrate the ability to work in a team, interpersonal skills and excellent communication skills, as well as the ability to think and work in a structured manner.

Please submit your application materials electronically in one PDF to the Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum’s General Administration at [email protected] . Alternatively, you may submit your application materials by mail, using the following postal address:

Freie Universität Berlin

Central Facility Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum

General Administration

Königin-Luise-Str. 6-8

14195 Berlin

On the given occasion and for the duration of the essential on-site operations by Freie Universität Berlin, we kindly ask you to apply electronically by e-mail. The processing of a postal application cannot be guaranteed.

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