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The Natural History Museum is one of the world’s leading museums, internationally recognised for its dual role as a centre of excellence in scientific research and as a leader in the presentation of natural history through exhibitions, public programmes, publications and the web.

Our Fossil Mammal Collection at the Natural History Museum is one of the largest and most significant collections of its kind in the world. Including historical specimens such as the fossil mammals collected by Charles Darwin on the Voyage of the Beagle, as well as areas of intense research activity from which the oldest human remains in Britain have been recovered, it is no surprise that the collection is widely popular with both internal and external researchers, as well as having vast public appeal (e.g. mammoths and giant ground sloths).

As Assistant Curator, you will work with the Senior Curator of Fossil Mammals on the day-to-day curation of the Fossil Mammal Collection. As a part of this, you will look to bring our collection into the modern day by entering specimen details into our electronic Collection Management System. It will have challenges of its own but you will aim to balance meeting the needs for access to specimens and information, whilst ensuring the security and longevity of the specimens and maintaining appropriate documentation standards.

We are looking for an organised, motivated individual, who is able to work with initiative and to tight deadlines whilst maintaining a positive attitude. The ideal candidate would have a good working knowledge of taxonomy, stratigraphy, and collections management, particularly as they apply to fossil mammals.

Salary: Starting from £32,761 per year
Employment Type: Fixed Term, ending 31 August 2020
Hours Per week (exclusive of lunch breaks): 35
Annual Leave: 30 days, in addition to public and bank holidays.
Work Location: 3 Queens Mews, Buckhurst Hill, Essex IG9 5AZ
Closing Date: Midnight 9 January 2019
Interview Date: Week of 14-18 January 2019

Thanks to a generous grant from the John Templeton Foundation (USA), the Wallace Correspondence Project (WCP) is seeking to recruit a Research Editor who will work closely with the two other staff in our small project team. The WCP was founded in 2010 and our current grant is hosted and managed by The Charles Darwin Trust, an educational charity set up in 1999 by members of the Darwin family (see http://www.charlesdarwintrust.org).

The WCP aims to locate, digitize, catalogue, transcribe, interpret and publish the surviving correspondence and other manuscripts of the great 19th century scientist and intellectual Alfred Russel Wallace (1823-1913). Wallace has many claims to fame, not least that he is the 'father' of evolutionary biogeography and the co-discoverer with Darwin of the process of evolution by natural selection. He also made many other important contributions to subjects as diverse as glaciology, land reform, anthropology, ethnography, epidemiology, and astrobiology.

The WCP's mission is to make Wallace's inspirational life and ground-breaking work better known to contemporary audiences, through the publication online and in print of his collected manuscripts for the first time. This archive will be an important primary resource for students of the history of science, cultural studies and 19th century society. For more information see http://www.wallaceletters.info

The Role

The Research Editor will be responsible for meticulously checking and correcting transcripts of letters to and from Wallace which have been produced by project volunteers. They will also research and write detailed scholarly endnotes to help readers better understand and interpret the content of the manuscripts (see for example http://wallaceletters.info/sites/wallaceletters.info/files/WCP342_L342.pdf). Producing such endnotes requires considerable research experience and knowledge of 19th century history and Wallace’s milieu. The transcripts which the Research Editor will be working on will be published in volume 1 of The Correspondence of Alfred Russel Wallace and part of the Research Editor's role will be to play a leading role in producing a 'camera ready' copy of this book.

Essential Skills & Experience

• A good honours degree
• Experience of transcribing and editing transcripts of handwritten 19th/20th century manuscripts.
• Experience of doing historical research.
• Outstanding spoken and written English.
• Excellent IT skills and proficiency in using standard Microsoft Office applications.
• Experience of using a variety of online research resources such as JSTOR, Ancestry.com etc.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.
• Proactive and able to take the initiative.
• Ability to work alone or as part of a team and meet deadlines.
• Excellent planning skills with the ability to manage multiple tasks.

Desirable Skills & Experience

• A good honours degree, preferably in history or biology.
• Previous employment on a similar project.
• In-depth knowledge of 19th century history and ideally the life and work of 19th century biologists, including Wallace, Darwin and colleagues.
• Experience of publishing.

IMPORTANT

• Applicants must have the right to work in the UK.
• This position is limited to the project duration specified.
• The applicant's ability to transcribe manuscripts and edit transcripts will be tested during the interview.
• The applicant must be prepared to commute daily to our office in Buckhurst Hill, Essex (on the Central Line).
• Ideally the applicant should be able to begin work in late February/early March 2019.

HOW TO APPLY

Application is by email to g.beccaloni@wallaceletters.org You should provide a covering letter (600 words maximum) explaining your skills, aptitudes and suitability for this role; a curriculum vitae; and the contact details for two referees, one of which is your most recent employer. Please state when you would be able to begin work should you be offered the post. Please enter "WCP Research Editor job application" in the subject line of your email.

We are Chester Zoo, and for over 80 years we've been a leading conservation and education charity, and an amazing, award-winning visitor attraction.

We're also a team of passionate, talented and expert people, doing everything we can to keep the zoo going giving our 1.9 million visitors an inspirational day out. We work hard because we care about nature, we love Chester Zoo and we want to be the best zoo in the world! If you think you can help us to achieve that, then we'd love to hear from you.

We currently have an exciting vacancy for a Senior Exhibitions and Interpretation Officer to play a key role in our Discovery and Learning department on a temporary basis.

The successful candidate will be highly motivated and support the Exhibitions and Interpretation (E&I) Manager to ensure the effective delivery and ongoing development of all interpretation across the zoo, and ensure education and conservation impact through delivery of our learning outcomes.

The Role:

- To support the E&I Manager and work collaboratively to ensure excellence in the development, implementation and maintenance of interpretation across the zoo. Collaborating widely to ensure buy in and authentic content creation. Supervising interpretation production through brief writing, content development, procurement, installation and ongoing maintenance.
- Lead, develop and motivate the Interpretation Officer in order to ensure efficient delivery of all interpretation work, high morale, delivery of our values and professionalism. Supervise any interns or volunteers working in the department as required.
- Source, recruit, manage and oversee the work of a wide variety of contractors ensuring effective delivery of projects, supervision of their work and management of contracts.
- Ensure all existing interpretation information is accurate and shows the latest field and science updates, and compliant with the requirements of zoo licensing.
- Implement and assist with the development of policies, procedures and safe working practices to ensure the E&I team follow best practice and are compliant with all relevant guidelines and legislation (e.g. copyright, H&S, DDA). Ensure installations are completed safely with risk assessments, and that assets are appropriately managed and documented.
- Develop skills and knowledge in the areas of interpretation and wider exhibition design, keeping up to date with best practice, collaborating with partners in the UK and internationally as appropriate, researching excellence and sharing practice.
- Ensure that interpretation projects are based on high quality research evidence, by initiating and working on pre- and post-evaluation projects, reading widely and working with the E&I Manager, Conservation Social Scientist and others to collect and analyse data about the impact of interpretation and learning at the zoo.
- Support the E&I Manager to lead the direction of interpretation across the zoo, including deputising for them in project meetings and working as part of the wider D&L management team to shape the direction of learning at the zoo.

The successful candidate will have:

- Experience of developing interpretation and/or exhibitions in a zoo, museum, science centre, or similar environment. Experience with the process of building exhibits from brief through to completion. This experience would ideally be supported by a relevant degree or Masters level qualification.
- A working knowledge of conservation and zoology. This is likely be demonstrated by a Zoology or Biological Science degree and/or experience of working within a zoo, conservation organisation or similar environment with a degree in another relevant subject.
- Experience of text writing, ideally in a visitor attraction setting or for a specific audience. Must have excellent written English and understand how to write for different audience types and different media.
- The ability to find accurate information and quality source materials (such as films, maps and images), seek copyright clearance for their usage and edit into appropriate formats for our audiences.
- Excellent verbal, written and visual presentation skills - including the creation of engaging interpretation and learning resources. The ability to brief key stakeholders on projects and requirements. To be able to communicate with a wide range of people with varying levels of technical and subject knowledge. To coordinate with others, especially Animal Teams and Maintenance, regarding installations.
- Skilled in the use of all key Microsoft packages is essential. Basic graphic skills using Adobe Creative Suite or experience with 2D or 3D design software is desirable. Experience using and sourcing a variety of software and hardware for public engagement.
- Excellent time management, administration, project management and workload planning skills are essential. Must be able to cope with multiple conflicting deadlines.
- Excellent interpersonal skills. Ability to work effectively under own initiative and as part of a team, to work under pressure with a positive and enthusiastic attitude. The role requires the job holder to work across different departments and with external colleagues. Experience of line management is desirable.

Hours of work are 40 hours per week, worked Monday-Friday, with occasional evening and/or weekend work as required for an 18 month period.

The salary for this role is £28,391.91 per annum and in addition we offer a range of amazing benefits which can be found at http://www.chesterzoo.org/careers/working-at-chester-zoo.

To apply for this position, please go to http://www.chesterzoo.org/careers and click apply now to provide your current CV and complete the application form highlighting your skills and experience including why you believe you should be considered for our Senior Exhibitions and Interpretation Officer role.

Based at the National Museum of Scotland, you will be the lead curator on an exciting project to assess the palaeontological collections in Scotland.

This post is funded by the John Ellerman Foundation, and is fixed term for two years.

You will work with other Scottish museums to reveal new information about the distributed national fossil collections, to improve their care and increase opportunities for long-term audience engagement. These collections are in abundance across Scottish museums with relatively little information about them in the public domain.

You will also assess the non-paleontological natural sciences collections to inform future requirements and collaborations among Scottish museums with natural science collections.

All these collections provide incredible opportunities for public engagement and are likely to contain type specimens of significant research interest to the scientific community. Importantly, a review of the fossil material across the distributed national collection will allow museums to collaborate and make collections accessible.

At the completion of the project you will be responsible for producing two reports:
a) A review of fossil collections in Scottish Museums and;
b) Priorities for future support and development of Natural Sciences in Scotland.

You will have a degree in geology or biology. You will have knowledge of, and a strong interest in, working with fossils.
Proven experience in paid or unpaid work in museums or a similar environment is essential.
You will be able to demonstrate existing specialist knowledge relevant to the palaeobiological collections and subject areas.
You will be organised and methodical, with good verbal and written communication skills and ICT skills in Microsoft Office, including Word, Excel and Outlook.
You should also have experience of managing your own time and workload, working to deadlines and handling multiple priorities.
A driving licence is desirable.

To make an online application for this post and to find further details of this post and of all our vacancies please visit www.nms.ac.uk.

If you require further information telephone 0131 247 4094 (answerphone) or email applications@nms.ac.uk, stating reference NMS18/894

Closing date for completed applications is 09 December 2018.
It is anticipated that the selection event will take place on 18/19 December 2018.