[Taxacom] Job Advertisements - Wellcome Medicinal Plant Names Project, RBG Kew

[Abigail Barker]

The Royal Botanic Gardens Kew (www.kew.org<http://www.kew.org/>) is globally recognized as a centre of research and excellence for plant taxonomy with information resources, important collections and staff expertise in all aspects of plant nomenclature and systematics.  Over decades Kew has built and managed a number of standard reference resources for scientific plant names "The  International Plant Name Index" (www.ipni.org<https://outlook.kew.org/owa/redir.aspx?C=7e8a030d14ee4da88fbf9daa7a99fc02&URL=http%3a%2f%2fwww.ipni.org>),  "The World Checklist of Plants" (for selected families www.kew.org/wcsp/<https://outlook.kew.org/owa/redir.aspx?C=7e8a030d14ee4da88fbf9daa7a99fc02&URL=http%3a%2f%2fwww.kew.org%2fwcsp%2f>) and more recently The Plant List (www.theplantlist.org<http://www.theplantlist.org/>).

The Medicinal Plant Names Project is an exciting new multidisciplinary initiative.  The project will be run by Kew from October 2011 to 2015 and will involve partners from many different countries.

The project is being undertaken with support from the Wellcome Trust (www.wellcome.ac.uk<http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/>) and will create:
Ø       a digital reference resource ("Medicinal Plant Name Index") based upon the existing taxonomic resources held by Kew and extended specifically to meet the needs of the health sector;
Ø       a suite of medicinal plant name services aimed at the target audience(s) based upon this Index.  These will include:
o        medicinal plant name portal
o        data validation services
o        data sharing and web services feeding plant name data directly into client's own database systems
o        consultancy services to help others manage their own plant name data
Ø       a "user group" with representatives from different continents and sectors of the target audience to guide the project as to the types of information collated, the desirable characteristics for the information services and the priorities.  This group will also help the project build a business model for sustaining these services in the longer term once project funding has ceased.

The project is jointly led by Bob Allkin (Information Projects Manager) and Alan Paton (Assistant Keeper of Kew's Herbarium).  The project counts on the support of many other colleagues with expertise including the "The Chinese Medicinal Plants Authentication and Conservation Centre" (www.kew.org/science/ecbot/ecbot-cmpac.html<http://www.kew.org/science/ecbot/ecbot-cmpac.html>) and Kew's Innovation Unit (www.kew.org/business-venue-hire/business-innovation-centre/plant-information-centre/)

In readiness we are now looking to fill three positions to join the project team.


 *   An experienced Project Manager to establish the project formally, to plan, monitor and coordinate the activities of four work teams:  'information gathering', 'information services implementation', 'systems development' and 'business analysis and planning' and to report on progress to the project Board and other stakeholders.


 *   A Senior Developer responsible for the design and implementation of the web services and information systems to support the information services being built based upon a solid understanding of the users requirements through interaction with the user group.


 *   An Information Products Support Officer will be a customer facing role and be responsible for establishing the User Group, coordinating their workshops, formulating and collating questionnaires, testing pilot services and documenting needs analysis and feedback.  This post is key to business planning to ensure that we understand and document the significance of the information being provided and the means by which these services can be maintained.

In addition to your annual salary, all positions offer an exceptional work environment, generous annual leave entitlement.

CLOSING DATE:  Monday 12 September 2011 at 12.00pm (for all posts)

INTERVIEW DATES:  Week commencing 26th September 2011 (for all posts)
For further information including details as to how to apply, please see the RBG Kew Website -

http://www.kew.org/about-kew/jobs/index.htm<http://www.kew.org/about-kew/jobs/index.htm>

_________________________
Dr Abigail Barker
Science Applications Manager
Royal Botanic Gardens Kew,
Richmond, Surrey, TW9 3AB, UK.

email: a.barker at kew.org<mailto:a.barker at kew.org>
Phone: 020 8332 5766