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Scientific Leader of Herbarium GB at the University of Gothenburg and Gothenburg Botanical Garden

Do you want to lead the scientific work with botanical collections and biodiversity? We now offer a unique opportunity to develop the research at the Herbarium GB and Botanical Garden in Gothenburg.

At the Department of Biology and Environmental Science (BioEnv), there are educational and research activities that extend from the mountain world’s ecosystem, through forests, land and watercourses, all the way out to sea. In these environments, we work with different biological organizational levels from genes and individuals to populations and ecosystems. We work in ecology, evolution, physiology, systematics and combinations of these subject areas to understand the significance of natural and man-made changes. The department’s strategy is to promote strong, internationally grounded research and encourage excellent teaching. Further information is available on our website.

Gothenburg has one of the Nordic region’s finest botanical gardens and also an herbarium with over a million collected plants and mushrooms. Herbarium GB belongs to the University of Gothenburg and the Botanical Garden is part of Region Västra Götaland. There is an activecollaboration between the institutions and the purpose of this position is to further deepen that collaboration. Working with the two botanical collections together strengthens the organizations’ participation in international projects and networks. Both facilities are facing a very positive development. New purpose-built premises for the herbarium will become a reality within less than a couple of years when it moves to newly built premises on Medicinareberget. In connection with the move, the vascular plant collections (approx. 800,000 specimens) will be imaged and made available digitally. In the Botanical Garden, new greenhouses are being built with improved growing conditions and new opportunities to communicate with the garden’s 600,000 annual visitors.

Both Herbarium GB and the Gothenburg Botanical Garden are active participants in the Gothenburg Global Biodiversity Centre (GGBC), which brings together 17 western Swedish institutions, and thus consolidates its strong position in biodiversityresearch, education and public activities atregional, national and international levels. We are now looking for you who want to develop the scientific activities at Herbarium GB and the Gothenburg Botanical Garden into the future.

More information can be found on our websites:

University of Gothenburg
Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences
Herbarium GB
Gothenburg Botanical Garden
Göteborgs centrum för globala biodiversitetsstudier

Subject area 

Botany with a focus on systematics, taxonomy, and plant geography.

Subject area description  

Botany with a focus on systematics, taxonomy and plant geography has a long history and is a cornerstone of biodiversity studies in plant research. In botanical taxonomy, plants are systematized, named and identified, while systematic botany and plant geography create the basis for taxonomy through studies of evolutionary relationships in relation to geographical and other physical and biotic conditions. The Department of Biology and Environmental Science is responsible for education in these subjects at both basic and advanced level.

Duties 

The position is as a professor of botany with a profile that includes taxonomy, systematics and plant geography.

The tasks include developing collaboration between the University of Gothenburg and the Gothenburg Botanical Garden, developing the roles of the activities in the mapping of botanical diversity, communicating the importance of herbaria and botanical gardens for conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity to the general public, authorities, decision-makers and media, and to broaden research activities based on the amount of information that the collections and their metadata constitute. The duties include:

■ Conduct research and the scientific activities in general that are needed to maintain and develop the Gothenburg Botanical Garden and Herbarium GB at the University of Gothenburg as nationally and internationally strong institutions.

■ Lead and initiate various projects where digital accessibility is in focus so that the collections constitute a knowledge resource for researchers, the general public and stakeholders in society.

■ Actively apply for research grants, lead research groups, and supervise and examine doctoral students.

■ Teach at basic and advanced level at the University of Gothenburg.

■ Contribute to the availability of sufficient botanical expertise at the Herbarium and Botanical Garden and to the quality of scientific activities.

■ Contribute to the plant collections at Herbarium GB and the Gothenburg Botanical Garden meeting the current needs of research and society and constitute a resource for future needs.

■ Collaborate and create good relations with national and international actors such as natural history museums and research institutions, especially in the field of botany, and inform about research and development work nationally and internationally.

Furthermore, you are expected to participate in the university’s and the botanical garden’s activities and collaborate with the surrounding community, both in collaborative projects and in popular science activities.

You who do not have a university pedagogical education must undergo such within two years of admission to the employment. The university offers higher education pedagogical courses.

You should be able to teach in Swedish within two years. The university offers courses in Swedish.

Eligibility 

Eligibility criteria for employment as a professor are stated in chapter 4, section 3, of the Higher Education Ordinance and in the Appointment Procedure for Teaching Posts at the University of Gothenburg.

Eligible to be employed as a professor is one who has completed a doctoral degree in a relevant subject and who has demonstrated pedagogical and scientific skills.

When appointing, scientific skills and characteristics necessary for the tasks will be weighed in primarily, pedagogical skills will be considered secondarily. Since this professorship aims to deepen and develop the collaboration between the Herbarium and the Botanical Garden, special emphasis will be placed on the ability to collaborate and the ability to create good relationships.

The following documented characteristics are requirements for the employment:

– strong scientific publication in internationally leading literature in the subject area

– involvement in subject-relevant international conferences and networks

– ability to obtain external research funding

– experience of doctoral student supervision

– broad and deep knowledge of botanical diversity

– good knowledge of scientific work with botanical collections such as herbaria and botanical gardens

– good leadership and the ability to create good relationships

– ability to enthuse employees, students and the general public

– good communicative ability in the English language, both orally and in writing

Merit is documented experience and skill

– of work, preferably in a leading function, in herbariums or botanical gardens

– of developing research based on digitized information from plant collections

– of popularizing research results

– of working in international networks for herbariums or botanical gardens

– in collaborating with the surrounding society and informing about research and development work nationally and internationally

In summary, in the case of employment, the applicant must be selected who, after an overall assessment of skill and development potential, is judged to have the best conditions to carry out the tasks included in the employment, collaborate with other staff and contribute to a positive development of the activities. The assessment of qualifications and experience will take into account parental leave, sick leave or other similar circumstances. The reasons and extent of absence are stated in connection with the presentation of qualifications and experiences. 

Employment 

Permanent employment, full time 100 %. The position and is located at the Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences. First day of employment as agreed. 

Appointment process

Applications received will be assessed and ranked by at least three external experts. Thereafter, the applicants who are deemed most competent to perform the described tasks will be called for an interview.

Contact information

Åsa Arrhenius, Head of Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences
+46 76 618 26 25
asa.arrhenius@bioenv.gu.se

Bengt Oxelman, Professor, Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences
bengt.oxelman@bioenv.gu.se

Hanna Tornevall, Director, Gothenburg Botanical Garden
+46 73 665 40 41
hanna.tornevall@vgregion.se

Unions 

Union representatives at the University of Gothenburg can be found here.

Application 

To apply for a position at the University of Gothenburg, you have to create an account in our recruitment system. Submit your application via the University of Gothenburg’s recruitment portal by clicking the “Apply” button. 

The application must include: 

• CV, including complete publication list and a list of received external grants

• Doctoral degree (in Swedish or English)

• Description of scientific experiences including a motivation for s maximum of five selected scientific publications that the applicant wantto refer to. These publications should be available in full text via electronic documents. Describe your own contribution to the papers clearly.

• Complete electronic copies of your main publications (maximum ten, working URL links are accepted).

• Research plan with a description of ongoing and planned research as well as other planned activities relevant to the employment (maximum three pages).

• A written vision of how the scientific activities at the herbarium and botanical garden can be developed within the next 10-year period (maximum three pages).

• Report on merits in management, administration and collaboration.

• Experiences, certificates and other documents that you wish to invoke.

Your application must be written in English as it may be reviewed by international experts with English as their working language. You as the applicant are responsible for ensuring that the application is complete in accordance with the advertisement and that it is received by the university no later than the last day for application. 

The application must be received no later than: September 30th, 2022

The University works actively to achieve a working environment with equal conditions, and values the qualities that diversity brings to its operations.

Salaries are set individually at the University.

In accordance with the National Archives of Sweden’s regulations, the University must archive application documents for two years after the appointment is filled. If you request that your documents are returned, they will be returned to you once the two years have passed. Otherwise, they will be destroyed.

In connection to this recruitment, we have already decided which recruitment channels we should use. We therefore decline further contact with vendors, recruitment and staffing companies.
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