[NHCOLL-L:315] Advertisement for Curator/Research Leader - Australian National W ildllife Collection based at CSIRO Wildlife & Ecology, Canberra Australia

[Adamson, Wayne (CWE, Gungahlin)]

Australian National Wildlife Collection
Canberra, Australia

Curator/Research Leader 

$57K- $80K plus Superannuation

We are seeking a research biologist experienced in the management and
development of preserved biological collections as Curator-in-Charge of the
Australian National Wildlife Collection, based at CSIRO Wildlife & Ecology,
Canberra.

You will lead the research projects of the Collection as well as overseeing and
managing its security and maintenance. You will be developing the production of
biodiversity information and undertaking entrepreneurial and development
projects to increase the Collection's profile.

A relevant PhD or equivalent is essential together with expertise in systematics
and phylogenetic theory and practice. You must also have business and
entrepreneurial skills in promoting biodiversity information as well as
commitment to managing biological museum collections.

For more information about the position please contact Dr Denis Saunders 61 2
6242 1661 or mailto: <mailto:d.saunders at dwe.csiro.au> d.saunders at dwe.csiro.au.
For copies of the job description and selection criteria please contact Sue
Palmer 61 2 6242 1527, mailto: <mailto:s.palmer at dwe.csiro.au>
s.palmer at dwe.csiro.au or visit our WWW site
<http://www.dwe.csiro.au/employment/> http://www.dwe.csiro.au/employment/.

Please send your application, framed against the selection criteria and quoting
reference PG99/30 to: The Staff Officer, CSIRO Wildlife and Ecology, GPO Box 284
CANBERRA ACT 2601, by 10 December 1999. 

General Description

We are seeking a research biologist experienced in the management and
development of preserved biological collections as Curator-in-Charge of the
Australian National Wildlife Collection, based in Canberra Australia. Focussed
on vertebrates, the Collection holds extensive research collections of
Australo-Papuan mammals, reptiles and particularly birds, preserved as skins,
anatomicals and cryo-frozen tissues for morphological and molecular
investigation, as well as a comprehensive vertebrate sound library. It is a
gazetted national collection under the care of CSIRO Wildlife and Ecology, and
is supported by the recently formed Australian National Wildlife Collection
Foundation. Since its formation in 1966, the Collection has become a centre of
excellence in Australian bird systematics and biogeography in particular.

After a period of material consolidation, the collection is now looking to
expand its research base into molecular technologies and to develop new
directions in biodiversity assessment at regional and continental scales. These
are to be integrated with Divisional programs in biodiversity conservation and
management. Wide interaction with professional institutions and the Collection's
newly formed Foundation is involved.

Duties 

1.	Lead the research program of the Collection. Within the disciplines of
systematics, phylogeny and biogeography, these will be developed at the
appointee's initiative, relevant to Divisional research and in consultation with
other project leaders in the Divisional research program (Sustainable
Landscapes) in which the Collection's research is nested.
2.	Direct the managerial security and maintenance of the Collection,
developing, through the research program, the Collection's status as a national
reference for Australasian biodiversity in birds and other vertebrates.
3.	Produce biodiversity information through innovative technologies,
including electronic media.
4.	Develop and maintain associations with tertiary institutions and funding
sources for the interactive training of post-graduate students and collaborative
research with post-doctoral fellows in-house.
5.	Undertake entrepreneurial and development projects aimed at increasing
the profile of the Collection and associated support for its use and expansion.