The Finnish Museum of Natural History (www.fmnh.helsinki.fi) is an independent institute of the University of Helsinki and the national museum in the field of natural history in Finland. The museum’s duties are to expand, maintain and display its collections, and to conduct related research, particularly in the field of species–level biodiversity. The collections serve research, teaching and public education in biology, geology and biodiversity, and form part of the international network of natural history repositories. The Finnish Museum of Natural History, established in 1988, has four units: Botany, Zoology, Chronology and General Services. The institution has a staff of c. 180, of which 70 work in the Botany Unit.
The Botany Unit of the Finnish Museum of Natural History is inviting applications for the permanent position of
Curator
specialising in the systematics of fungi. The appointment will begin on 1st of November in 2012, or as specifically agreed.
The curator will be part of the Mycology Team of the Botany Unit. The duties of the curator will include independent research in systematics as well as managing and expanding the scientific collections together with the other team members. The research of the Mycology Team concentrates on the taxonomy and evolutionary history of fungi as well as the mapping of Finnish fungal species. The fungal collections consist of almost one million specimens (more than half of them lichenised) and include approx. 20 000 type specimens. As an expert in the field, the curator will participate in the museum’s tasks related to societal interaction. The curator is expected to be active in obtaining external funding, supervising research students and junior colleagues, and leading his/her own research group. The duties include an annual average teaching load of two ECT credits.
The curator must hold a doctoral degree and have an international publication record demonstrating competence in research in the field. Experience in working with scientific collections, participation in university teaching and supervision, proven success in obtaining external funding, experience of societal interaction, and an inclination towards teamwork are considered further assets. The official languages of the University are Finnish and Swedish. Applicants of non-Finnish origin may be exempt from formal language requirements. Proficiency in English is essential.
The salary will be based on levels 5-7 of the demands level chart for teaching and research personnel in the salary system of Finnish universities (a senior position equivalent to University Lecturer). The salary includes a component based on personal work performance. Further information about the duties and salary can be obtained from Dr Marko Hyvärinen, Director of the Botany Unit, email: marko.hyvarinen@helsinki.fi.
Applicants should enclose with their applications a CV, list of publications or an academic portfolio containing the same information and a research plan, as well as any other documents that demonstrate their merits. Applicants should provide the contact details of two referees.
Applications should be addressed to the Director of the Finnish Museum of Natural History, and they must be submitted, together with the required enclosures, to the address: Registrar of the University of Helsinki, P.O. BOX 33 (Yliopistonkatu 4), 00014 UNIVERSITY OF HELSINKI, Finland, or by e-mail to hy-kirjaamo@helsinki.fi. The deadline for applications is 31 August 2012 at 15.45 local time.
This is an unofficial translation of the official announcement, which can be found at http://www.helsinki.fi/rekrytointi/index.html?id=57811 (in Finnish).
