Curator Ichthyology (m/f/d)

The Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change (LIB) is one of the large, globally connected research museums of the Leibniz Association. In addition to excellent research on biodiversity and its change, we are advancing the development of our extensive scientific collections with an international team and state-of-the-art technology. With our exhibition, knowledge transfer and communication work at our exhibition venues Museum Koenig Bonn and Museum der Natur Hamburg, we want to spread enthusiasm for nature and contribute with our research topics to current socio-political discussions on species loss, climate change and the protection of ecosystems. The construction of an integrated natural history museum is being planned for the Hamburg location; the research infrastructure at the Bonn location is currently being significantly expanded.

The LIB is looking for a scientist for a position as

Curator Ichthyology (m/f/d)

at the location Hamburg starting as soon as possible, representing research at an internationally competitive level. The successful candidate will bridge the gap between the fish collection and ichthyological research on drivers of biodiversity change in space and time.

The candidate’s scientific expertise should include collection-based ichthyological research and must cover at least one of the following fields:

• fish morphology,
• population and/or community ecology of fishes,
• evolutionary ecology and/or integrative systematics of fishes.

Essential criteria

• a PhD in zoology or related areas, preferred with focus on ichthyology,
• expertise in fish taxonomy with a track record of research on fish species diversity in extant fishes
• hands-on working experience with natural history collections, especially fishes 2024
• strong publication record
• track record of, or potential for raising third-party funding
• track record of, or potential for developing a research group
• track record of team work and collaboration
• demonstrate a vision for future research and third-party funding
• demonstrate a vision of further developing the fish collection, including all forms of digitization

The successful candidate:

• Will lead the LIB Hamburg Ichthyology section.
• Will function within the Centre for Taxonomy and Morphology in Hamburg, and will play a strong role in advancing the LIB's reputation as a preeminent institution for the study of biodiversity change on a global scale.
• Will be tasked with assuming full curatorial responsibility for the ichthyological collection housed by LIB Hamburg.
• Will be responsible for a wide range of duties such as collection management, provision of scientific services, expansion and digitization of the collection, and contributions to outreach activities.
• Will promote and lead LIB-internal teamwork and external collaborations.

The Leibniz Association is committed to diversity and gender equity. The LIB is certified as a family-friendly institution. We aim to increase the proportion of women in areas where women are under-represented and to promote their careers in particular. We therefore strongly encourage women with relevant qualifications to apply.

This is a tenure-track position, initially limited for three years according to the WissZeitVG. Starting remuneration will be in pay group EG 13 according to the TV-L. After a successful tenure evaluation, the candidate will be classified in EG 14 TV-L.       

Applications from suitable individuals with a certified serious disability and those of equal status are particularly welcome. When recruiting, they have priority over applicants who are not legally privileged and who have essentially the same suitability, qualifications and professional performance. The contract will start as soon as possible.

Applications in English, accompanied by the following supporting documents: CV, motivation letter addressing all but the vision criteria specified above (2 pages max), a letter describing research and funding vision (1 page), a letter outlining vision for collection development (1 page), certificates, lists of publications and funding). Applications including all documents should be submitted no later than November 30^th 2024 to Frau Susanne Jenschke www.leibniz-lib.de/karriere.

For further information about LIB and Museum der Natur Hamburg please see: https://www.leibniz-lib.de.