The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County (NHMLA) seeks a Curator (Assistant preferred, but open to all ranks) to lead its research on invertebrate paleontology and paleoecology, to oversee the growth and care of collections of NHMLA’s Department of Invertebrate Paleontology (IP), and to provide content for a variety of public programs. More specifically, the successful candidate will conduct collection-based research in late Cenozoic marine paleoecology, with the aim of contributing to NHMLA’s program of long-term ecological change in Southern California.
NHMLA’s vast IP collection (> 7 million specimens) spans half a billion years of biological and geological evolution in Southern California. It includes fossils of all major marine invertebrate groups as well as ichnofossils, and contains the world’s largest collection of Cretaceous-Cenozoic mollusks from the Pacific Rim, the result of a century of research by NHMLA staff and amalgamation of collections from several Southern California universities. Half of this collection consists of fossils from the Pleistocene Epoch. Of the 3.5M Pleistocene specimens, 1.5M have been digitized, allowing this long-term dataset to bear on questions of Southern California’s ecological past and present, in turn greatly augmenting the efforts of NHMLA’s coastal biodiversity initiatives by incorporating a paleontological perspective.
The successful candidate will have a record of outstanding research, excellent communication skills, and a demonstrated ability to engage the public and stakeholders. A Ph.D., a strong record of peer-reviewed publications focusing on late Cenozoic marine invertebrate paleoecology and paleontology, and demonstrated ability to secure extramural funding are required. Experience in managing large natural history collections and active field programs are highly desirable. The Curator will be expected to build an active and publicly appealing research program, to lead continued improvement of the IP collections, to oversee all NHMLA’s programs on invertebrate fossils, and to supervise staff and volunteers of the IP Department. Additionally, the successful candidate is expected to develop working relationships with local universities, mentor students and postdoctoral fellows, strengthen NHMLA’s presence in key professional and governmental networks, and maintain research through competitive grants and/or other funding from external sources. The Curator will be expected to participate actively in a broad range of museum activities, including exhibits, education, community science programs, educator and volunteer training, public communications, media interactions, and fundraising activities. A vision and capability to build a research program that can be integrated with NHMLA’s ongoing efforts to understand regional biodiversity, and to shape the collections and research in ways that activate both their scientific and public appeal, is paramount.
NHMLA is seeking applicants who have demonstrated experience and commitment working with a diverse community. This is a full-time position with a salary and title commensurate with experience.
Application deadline is February 15, 2019. The starting date is July 1, 2019. Applicants should send a cover letter, vision statement, curriculum vitae, and the full contact information of at least three professional references as a single PDF document to thayden@nhm.org, Marine Invertebrate Paleoecology Curatorial Search. The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
