Work With an (Virtual) Invert! - Biodiversity Informatics in Finland

The GBIF Node at the Finnish Museum of Natural History seeks a biologist with interest in taxonomy and informatics for a 3-year research project. The purpose of the project is to build an e-infrastructure for resolving scientific names of organisms to facilitate biodiversity data use and data sharing in the Nordic region and beyond. Initial appointment will be up to 24 months using available NordForsk funding. Further continuation is pending on progress and success in acquiring the necessary funding.

The work requires designing and setting up a service on Internet that will issue globally unique identifiers for scientific names and the underlying taxonomic concepts based on the Life Sciences Identifier (LSID) specification, which has been standardized by the Biodiversity Informatics Standards organization TDWG and is recommended by the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). The incumbent will work in a team consisting of a computer scientist and contributors in Nordic countries. Details of the project are described in http://www.gbif.fi/projects/lsid/LSID_project-v4.html.

Preferred qualifications
* Interest in taxonomy and understanding of how scientific nomenclature works
* Awareness of international developments in biodiversity informatics such as TDWG, GBIF, Species 2000, etc.
* General interest in Internet and good computer skills as user
* Good communication skills, including good command of English and preferably knowledge of a Scandinavian language
* M.Sc level in education.

Terms and conditions
Employed as Ph.D. Student at the Finnish Museum of Natural History, P. Rautatiekatu 13. Other location at another Nordic GBIF Node, or working remotely, is possible and can be negotiated.

The salary for a doctoral student is based on level 2 of the demands level chart for teaching and research personnel. With the salary component based on personal work performance the overall salary range is 1678-2450 euros per month.

How to apply
Send letter of application, CV and contact details of one or more referees Hannu Saarenmaa, Finnish Museum of Natural History, P.O. Box 17 (P.Rautatiekatu 13), FI-00014 University of Helsinki. Applications are not returned. The application deadline is Monday, 14 January 2008 at 15.45.

For more information please contact Hannu Saarenmaa, +358 (0) 9 191 28688, hannu.saarenmaa::at::helsinki::dot::fi.