Herbarium Research Assistant - Vascular Plants & Algae

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Note: Applications will be accepted until 11:59 PM on the Posting End Date.

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At UBC, we believe that attracting and sustaining a diverse workforce is key to the successful pursuit of excellence in research, innovation, and learning for all faculty, staff and students. Our commitment to employment equity helps achieve inclusion and fairness, brings rich diversity to UBC as a workplace, and creates the necessary conditions for a rewarding career.

Job Summary

The Beaty Biodiversity Museum, part of UBC's Beaty Biodiversity Centre, houses over 2.1 million natural history specimens, presents educational programs and exhibits and includes a teaching lab, auditorium, and a museum store. The Beaty Biodiversity Museum is divided into several major collections - Spencer Entomological Collection, Cowan Tetrapod Collection, Fossil Collection, Fish Collection, Marine Invertebrate Collection and the Herbarium which has several collections within itself.

The Herbarium cares for 800,000 specimens and objects and is a major resource for research and undergraduate and graduate engagement for the Faculty of Science supporting the museum's public outreach and educational programming. The Herbarium is overseen by the Herbarium Director in consultation with Faculty Curators. Collections Curators manage day-to-day activities in collections.

Working directly with the Herbarium Collections Curator, the Herbarium Research Assistant - Vascular Plants & Algae is responsible for providing support to collections of the Herbarium by researching, documenting, digitizing, imaging, mapping and analyzing species on British Columbia and Canada's rare and endangered list species ensuring accuracy in data for Environmental Protection and Conservation Management Assessments.

Organizational Status
The Herbarium Research Assistant - Vascular Plants & Algae reports directly to the Herbarium Collections Curator - Vascular Plants & Algae. Additional interactions include working with the Herbarium Director, Faculty Curators, museum personnel, students, volunteers, and other visitors to the Herbarium

Work Performed

The Herbarium Research Assistant - Vascular Plants & Algae is responsible for providing support to collections of the Herbarium by researching, documenting, digitizing, imaging, mapping and analyzing species on British Columbia and Canada's rare and endangered list species ensuring accuracy in data for Environmental Protection and Conservation Management Assessments.

• Research the latest reports, assessments, surveys, resources and taxonomic texts, and assess necessary documents to ensure information on specimens is accurate and up to date
• Update, enhance, and upload the latest dataset for BC and Canada rare and endangered specimens
• Properly image and catalogue each specimen for easy remote high quality access
• Collaborate with government agencies and Canadian natural history institutions to ensure accurate secondary data sources
• Work with large digital datasets in database and online management systems such as FileMaker Pro, as well as imaging tools including Adobe Creative Suite
• Map known and newly georeferenced locations of populations using R-packages
• Analyse changes over time in populations, species ranges, research annotations, climate change data, and DNA and chemical research uses
• Performs other related tasks as required

Consequence of Error/Judgement
Work is reviewed by supervisor. Poor work performance will jeopardize museum specimens, compromise database integrity, yield inaccurate and un-searchable results, and potentially limit the research endeavors of the Herbarium.

Supervision Received
Tasks will be assigned by the Herbarium Collections Curator - Vascular Plants & Algae. The Herbarium Research Assistant - Vascular Plants and Algae will be responsible for routine duties carried out under direct supervision in accordance with detailed instructions

Supervision Given
none

Minimum Qualifications
High school graduation and a minimum one year of related experience or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

- Willingness to respect diverse perspectives, including perspectives in conflict with one's own

- Demonstrates a commitment to enhancing one's own awareness, knowledge, and skills related to equity, diversity, and inclusion

Preferred Qualifications

• B.Sc. in Biology plus one-year related experience working with natural history collections.
• Research and searching of reports, assessments, surveys, resources, texts
• Assessment of the necessary information to verify species distributions, species status, ecology, land uses, chemical extracts, biological information and DNA uses
• Mapping and geolocation skills using R-packages
• Proper and accurate translation of historical data to on-line resources
• Bioinformatics; working with and moving large datasets (250,000 records)
• Databasing and imaging biological specimens and all related data and reports
• Excel, Filemaker Pro 12, and Adobe Photoshop Creative Suite 6
• Project management with deliverables, setting goals and timelines
• Knowledge of the rare and endangered plant species of British Columbia and Canada
• Working in team environments, communication skill necessary to successfully work with others