[Taxacom] Senior Researcher in Orchids, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew

[David Simpson]

Please see below about a new job opportunity at the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew. Further details and an application form are available at: http://www.kew.org/about-kew/jobs/index.htm

Senior Researcher in Orchids

Ref: 228
Hours of work: 36 hours (41 hours gross)
Job status: Permanent
Salary per annum: £30,742 - £37,490 (under review)
Department and location: Systematics: Orchids. Herbarium, Library, Art & Archives

Job Details

Orchids (Orchidaceae) are one of the most species-rich angiosperm families with approximately 25,000 species in roughly 850 genera, accounting for 8-10% of all flowering plants and one-third of all monocotyledons. The family is distributed worldwide but is most diverse and numerous in the tropics and subtropics. The orchid floras of many countries are poorly known and between 200-500 new species are being described every year.
RBG Kew has long tradition of excellence in taxonomic research on Orchids and our collections of Orchids are second-to-none. This role presents a great opportunity to deliver Kew 's mission and build on previous successes by managing and undertaking orchid research in Kew 's Herbarium, a globally significant resource for plant diversity research and conservation.
The postholder post will be expected to:
* manage, undertake and further develop a world-class programme of research in orchid taxonomy and systematics, writing up the research in high quality publications; will include utilising taxonomic data in novel ways, for example in restoration ecology and in climate change studies with the use of distributional and character data for ecological niche modelling;
* manage the curation of the Orchid collections in the Herbarium; work with Kew living collections staff on the curation and naming of living orchid material;
* maintain and develop collaborations within Kew and at national and international levels;
* seek external funding for projects and supervise postgrads and postdocs;
* undertake collaborative fieldwork to improve collections and obtain material for research;
* undertake teaching on Kew and external courses and participate in international conferences;
* line-manage staff in the Orchids Team.
In addition to a salary from £30,742 per annum and our stunning work environment, Kew offers a generous annual leave entitlement of 30 days per annum, a choice of defined benefit or stakeholder pension and a flexible benefits scheme.
Essentials:
* PhD in plant science.
* Expertise in plant taxonomy/systematics, especially in Orchids.
* Knowledge of methods of taxonomic data analysis including cladistic and/or phenetic methods.
* Experience of using herbarium collections in research.
* Fieldwork experience.
* Experience of writing grant proposals.
CLOSING DATE: Friday 5th March 2010 12pm
INTERVIEW DATE: Tuesday 16th March 2010



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David A Simpson PhD FLS | Assistant Keeper, Systematics; Head of Commelinid Monocots; Editor-in-Chief, Kew Bulletin | Herbarium, Library, Art and Archives, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, TW9 3AB, UK | Tel: +44(0)20 8332 5260 | Fax: +44(0)20 8332 5278 | www.kew.org