Assistant Professor in Plant Biodiversity and Conservation

School/Department:            School of Natural Sciences/Discipline of Botany 

Job Category and Level:     Academic; Assistant Professor (Tenure Track)

Post Status Tenure Track - This position is Tenure Track position which is 5-years in the first instance, permanency is subject to satisfying the tenure requirements.

The School of Natural Sciences and the Discipline of Botany seek to appoint a tenure track position of Assistant Professor in Plant Biodiversity and Conservation at Trinity College Dublin. The successful applicant will have an established reputation in teaching and research in fields pertinent to plant biodiversity and conservation at national, regional, or global levels, with a strong track record of scientific publications commensurate with career stage. We are seeking a candidate with strong field skills and, ideally, expertise in collection-based science. We are particularly interested in candidates whose research informs plant biodiversity policy and/or practical conservation actions, and welcome candidates interested in using and/or augmenting our botanical collections within Trinity College Botanic Garden and Herbarium in teaching, research, and/or outreach. The successful applicant will be expected to contribute to both undergraduate and postgraduate teaching within MSc and BSc programmes offered by the School. Current MSc programmes within the School include Biodiversity and Conservation, Environmental Sciences, Smart and Sustainable Cities, Developental Practice and Global Challenges for Sustainability. Undergraduate programmes include Moderatorships in Botany (TR060), Environmental Science (TR060) and in Environmental Science and Engineering (TR064). This Assistant Professor position offers an opportunity to take on a curatorial or directorship role at Trinity College Botanic Garden in the future.

Context 

The School of Natural Sciences is part of the Faculty of Sciences, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. The School comprises of the Disciplines of Botany, Geography, Geology and Zoology and is also home to three research centres, the Centre for the Environment, Nature+ and Climate+ Co-Centre. The School is home to 49 academic staff, 31 professional support staff, 35 research staff and a large postgraduate community. The School manages seven undergraduate and four taught master’s degree programmes and contributes to several other programmes at both undergraduate and postgraduate level, catering to more than 850 students collectively. 

The Discipline of Botany hosts internationally significant living and preserved plant collections and collection-based facilities including an active herbarium containing over 400,000 highly valued specimens of plants and algae and Trinity College Botanic Garden and Irish Threatened Plant Seed Bank, with over 3000 accessions in their living and seed bank collections. The Discipline manages state-of-the-art field (Eddy Covariance Towers) experimental (Variable Atmosphere and Light Laboratory) and analytical laboratories (Molecular, Paleoecology, Soil and Plant-Climate Laboratories) for a wide range of plant and environmental science research, and the dedicated off-campus botanic garden is undergoing new glass-house developments and upgrading of facilities. 

Staff and students also have access to cutting edge microscopy (Tescan TIGER SEM and Tescan Mira II SEM), isotope (CF-IRMS for the analysis of H-C-N-O isotopes in organic matter) and elemental (LAICP-MS systems) analysis infrastructure within the School of Natural Sciences that is managed by the Discipline of Geology and Centre for Environment. The Discipline of Botany and the School of Natural Sciences sit within a collaborative initiative called E3. This is an alignment between three Schools – Natural Sciences, Engineering, and Computer Science and Statistics – to foster multidisciplinary research and teaching with a view to tackling complex global problems.

Person Requirements 

The role-holder will require the following knowledge, skills, and attributes for successful performance in the role. 

Qualifications 

• Excellent academic record and have completed a PhD in Botany, Ecology, Conservation, and/or a related area. 

• Academic publications in peer reviewed international journals in the field(s) of botany, ecology, conservation, biodiversity, and/or sustainability