[Nhcoll-l] JOB POSTING: Vertebrate Collections Manager at Arizona State University

[Laura Steger]

Dear all,

The Arizona State University Natural History Collections invites
applications for the position of Vertebrate Collections Manager. Details
and application instructions can be found online at:
https://asu.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/ASUStaffCareers/job/Off-Campus-MesaTempe/Research-Specialist---Vertebrate-Collections-Manager_JR102301

Job Profile:
Lab and Research Specialist 2

Job Family:
Lab and Research Support

Time Type:
Full time

Max Pay – Depends on experience:
$64,700.00 USD Annual

Job Description:

The School of Life Sciences at Arizona State University (
https://sols.asu.edu/)

is seeking a full-time Research Specialist who will serve as the Vertebrate
Collections Manager for the ASU Natural History Collections (ASUNHC). The
position is part of a dynamic, collaborative biocollections and
biodiversity data science group of faculty, staff, students, volunteers,
and other researchers. The ASUNHC is co-located with the National
Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) Biorepository (
https://www.neonscience.org/data-samples) in a unified 28,000 sq. ft.
facility, collectively referred to as the ASU Biocollections. The facility
is ca. 2 miles southwest of the main ASU Tempe Campus, and forms part of
ASU's Biodiversity Knowledge Integration Center (BioKIC;
https://biokic.asu.edu/)

The ASUNHC Vertebrate Collections are primarily focused on documenting
vertebrate diversity in the Southwestern U.S. and Sonoran Desert Region,
and comprise the following four collections: (1) Ichthyology, with 24,000
registered lots and more than 1,000 stained specimens; built most
prominently by Wendell Minckley (70% digitized/online); (2) Herpetology,
with 36,000 specimens (90% digitized/online); (3) Ornithology contains over
1500 specimens (>90% digitized/online); and (4) Mammalogy, with 9,000
specimens (95% digitized/online). The research collections are complemented
by teaching collections located on site. The ASUNHC Vertebrate Collections
Manager will work synergistically with the NEON collection managers, who
archive, curate, and make available to the research community an additional
20,000+ vertebrate specimens and samples collected annually from 81 field
sites spanning the entire US.

BioKIC is a leading promoter of the Symbiota software platform (
http://symbiota.org/) and is co-managing an increasing range of
biodiversity data portals that also feature vertebrate occurrence records.
We therefore seek a candidate with a demonstrated background and/or
willingness to become skilled in biodiversity informatics, portal
management, and digitization workflows. We also strongly encourage the
candidate to develop an active field- and collections-based research
program at a level commensurate with the position, and possibly including
systematic biodiversity, inventory, and ecological forecasting-related
themes. The successful candidate will work in close collaboration with
curators, collection managers, students, and researchers affiliated with
the Biocollections and the School of Life Sciences. Contributing to our
diverse biodiversity/data learning programs is strongly encouraged. A wide
range of applicant profiles will be considered. Candidates who may not be
immediately available to start in the position are nevertheless encouraged
to apply.

Salary Range: $50,000 - $64,700; depending on experience

Essential Duties:

   - Comprehensive management of the ASUNHC Vertebrate Collections,
   including physical and digital data holdings.
   - Specimen-level curation and coordination of regular
   collection/research activities involving organization and conservation,
   information quality, growth, exchanges and loans, and other collection
   activities.
   - Using computer software, data management, and publication tools to
   support specimen digitization and data sharing.
   - Shared responsibility for co-managing BioKIC's Consortium of
   Vertebrate Collections (https://csvcoll.org/portal/) Symbiota-based
   portal and digital data holdings; including digitization of primary data,
   data quality, images, workflows, and other data curation tasks.
   - Regular collaboration and communication with ASUNHC and NEON
   collection managers to ensure seamless coordination of equipment and
   infrastructure management tasks, particularly in shared spaces, promoting a
   synergistic approach to effective teamwork and shared success.
   - Participation in diverse, vertebrate-focused, in-person or online
   learning and outreach activities; including opportunities for instruction
   and course development.
   - Recruiting, training, and supervising graduate and under-graduate
   students and volunteers.
   - Managing donations and expanding the collections

Desired Qualifications:

   - Master's or Doctoral degree in vertebrate biology, or a related field
   with a focus on systematics, evolution, ecology, conservation, or
   vertebrate diversity documentation and forecasting using modern informatics
   tools.
   - Working knowledge of the Symbiota platform.
   - Evidence of advanced, research-level expertise in vertebrate groups.
   - Curatorial skills will ideally include specialized vertebrate specimen
   and sample preparation methods such as taxidermy.
   - Two or more years of curatorial experience in vertebrate research
   collections, including supervisory and mentoring roles.
   - Familiarity with, and willingness to secure and maintain State,
   Federal, and institutional scientific collecting permits.
   - Evidence of effective verbal and written communication skills.
   - Experience in contemporary biodiversity data standards and tools.
   - Experience in collections-centered teaching and outreach activities is
   highly valued.
   - Demonstrated commitment to the ASU Charter (
   https://www.asu.edu/about/charter-mission)

Working Environment:

   - Daily, on-site position with occasional field work (not a remote
   position).
   - Standard scientific research laboratory and collections facility
   environment requiring sitting, standing, walking, climbing stairs, bending
   and lifting moderate loads (20-50 lbs).
   - Occasional strenuous hiking during field work.

Minimum Qualifications:
Bachelor's degree and three (3) years of experience appropriate to the area
of assignment/field; OR, Any equivalent combination of experience and/or
training from which comparable knowledge, skills and abilities have been
achieved.


---
Laura Steger (she/her)
NEON Biorepository Environmental & Zoological Collections Manager
Biodiversity Knowledge Integration Center
Research Specialist Principal, School of Life Sciences
Arizona State University

*Arizona State University is located in the Salt River Valley on ancestral
territories of Indigenous peoples, including the Akimel O’odham (Pima) and
Pee Posh (Maricopa) Indian Communities, whose care and keeping of these
lands allows us to be here today. *
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