Carnegie Museum of Natural History – Curator of Insects
Carnegie Museum of Natural History (CM) seeks a new Associate Curator of Insects. Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh is interested in candidates who, through their experience and collaborations, will contribute to diversity and excellence of the Carnegie Museums community. The section of invertebrate zoology contains among the world’s best collections of Lepidoptera and Coleoptera. A candidate with noted expertise in one of these two groups will receive careful attention. The appointment is expected to be at the level of an associate curator, but highly qualified more junior or senior candidates will be considered. A successful candidate must have demonstrated experience publishing in excellent journals, supervising staff, managing a budget, public outreach, fundraising, and understanding of current best practices in arthropod collection stewardship. Applications will be reviewed starting August 30, 2019. Applicants can apply by going to https://carnegiemuseums.org/opportunities/search-careers/ and selecting “Curator of Insects”. Please upload a single pdf that includes a cover letter summarizing your strengths, a paragraph describing your research program, a curriculum vitae, and the names and contact information for three references.
Qualifications: The successful candidate will have a Ph.D., or demonstrate equivalent experience gained through other means, in some aspect of entomological research. Successful candidates will have strong record in grants, scientific publications, and public science communication, commensurate with their
career stage. The curator will play a strategic role in exhibit development and collection stewardship, and therefore should be knowledgeable in the current best practices in museum collection management and have interest in and knowledge of arthropods in general. The curator will supervise a staff including two collection managers, two scientific preparators (one preparator position is vacant and to be filled by the new curator), a laboratory assistant, and a curatorial assistant. The curator is further expected to integrate their understanding of insect natural history with the three outward-facing themes of the museum: the history of life, the interconnected web of life, and the future of life. The curator is expected to collaborate with education, programming and exhibit staff to engage scholars, the public, and policy-makers towards a more sustainable place for humans in the earth’s systems. CM has a strong emphasis on life at the dawn of the Anthropocene, and we seek candidates who will collaborate across disciplines in contributing to this theme in ways that suit their talent and background.
CM is one of the four Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh, with a mission in original scientific research, preservation of collections, and public science education and engagement. The museum has approximately 22 million specimens and artifacts in its collections (half of this is in arthropods), has hired six new members to its curatorial staff in the past four years (a seventh is mid-search) and endowed its collection manager positions. With the museum’s placement within blocks of six
universities (including two major research institutions: U. of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon U.), there is ample opportunity for collaboration and application of insect natural history to fundamental and applied research questions. CM is located in the bustling Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, with easy access
to shops, dining, transportation, major universities and cultural attractions. From the Visit Pittsburgh website, “Pittsburgh's affordable standard of living, top-notch health care facilities and world class cultural attractions combine to make it America’s ‘Most Livable City.’” For cost of living comparisons,
visit: https://money.cnn.com/calculator/pf/cost-of-living/index.html.
Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh is firmly committed to equal employment opportunity for all persons without regard to race, color, religion, creed, national origin, ancestry, sex, gender identity or expression, age, marital status, sexual orientation, citizenship status, veteran status, non job-related disability or genetic information as those terms are defined under applicable law.