Staff Vacancies

The Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU) is seeking an experienced conservation biologist (with a good degree relevant to wildlife conservation, at least 5 years experience in Africa and a proven field record) to be seconded as Field Coordinator of the Ethiopian Wolf Conservation Programme (EWCP). The Field Coordinator (FC) will be based in the Bale Mountains, Ethiopia, for up to 9 months a year, spending up to 2 months in Oxford.

The FC will be responsible for implementing all aspects of the EWCP in Ethiopia, promoting the conservation of the wolves and their habitat and liaising between different GO and NGO institutions and EWCP personnel. The FC will oversee wolf population monitoring, disease management, community education and other programme activities in Bale, Arsi and North Ethiopia. The FC will provide leadership, establish annual objectives, develop and administer programme budgets, chair the Conservation Committee, present progress and annual reports, publish technical and popular accounts and serve as a spokesperson for the programme. All work will be carried out in close collaboration with federal and regional counterparts. While in Oxford the FC will be an integral part of the WildCRU community at Tubney House, assisting graduate students with their research plans, writing up his/her own research and contributing to fundraising efforts.

This is a fixed-term post for 2 years; however potential candidates should ideally be considering a longer-term commitment.

Only applications made online before 12.00 midday on 19 June 2013 will be considered for this post. You will be required to upload a CV and supporting statement.

This is a key role in the Department’s administration and support staff. Of importance to the role are relevant laboratory and health and safety management experience, the ability to develop good working relationships with a range of staff and experience of staff supervision. This role combines supervision of the team of technicians to jointly support undergraduate practical classes and teaching laboratory facilities, with responsibility for some of the Health and Safety administration for both the teaching laboratories and the wider Department.

The successful candidate must have: a HNC/degree or equivalent in Biology or a related discipline; relevant laboratory experience; proven competence and familiarity with COSHH requirements, University Safety regulations and relevant legislation. Experience of supporting practical science teaching and an interest in working towards formal Health and Safety qualifications would be preferred.

This post will be based in Oxford and is permanent.

Only applications made online before 12.00 midday on 1 July 2013 will be considered. You will be required to upload a CV and supporting statement.

A BBSRC-funded position is available to join a group using Schizosaccharomyces pombe to study fundamental cellular processes relevant to maintenance of genome stability. The project will focus on how ribonucleotide reductase, a key enzyme in nucleotide synthesis, is regulated by small protein inhibitors. Duties will mainly involve practical lab work. You must have a first or upper second class degree and PhD in relevant areas, and lab experience using techniques relevant to cell biology or molecular genetics. For further details see Salguero et al Current Biology 22:720-6 or see users.ox.ac.uk/~kearsey.

The project is available for 3 years and the position will be based in Oxford.

Only applications made online before 12.00 midday on 8 July 2013 will be considered and you will be required to upload a CV and supporting statement.

An opportunity has arisen to recruit up to two new staff members to the Oxford Animal Flight Group, following the extension of an ERC Grant to Dr Graham Taylor. The new posts are fixed-term of a short-term nature, ending 31 May 2014, and will suit candidates who are interested in analysing data collected already on a mature project with the sole aim of maximising the productivity of the grant through publications. This post will be assigned to analysing an existing but unpublished dataset on the kinematics of a perching eagle, obtained using high-speed multi-station photogrammetry. The other post will be assigned to analysing an existing but unpublished dataset on the kinematics of the blowfly flight motor, obtained using time-resolved X-ray microtomography on a synchrotron beamline (see vacancy ID 108459). Both posts will be based in Oxford.

The main responsibilities of each post will be to analyse the respective dataset and to prepare and submit a scientific publication arising from this before the end of the post. Other duties will include presenting the research at an international conference and providing advice to PhD students in the animal flight group. Experience of analysing the locomotor kinematics of animals is essential for each post, as are excellent programming skills in MATLAB, an excellent publication record commensurate with stage of career and excellent scientific presentation skills. A PhD in a relevant subject is also required.

Only applications made online before midday on 16 July 2013 will be considered. You will be asked to upload a CV and supporting statement.

An opportunity has arisen to recruit up to two new staff members to the Oxford Animal Flight Group, following the extension of an ERC Grant to Dr Graham Taylor. The new posts are fixed-term of a short-term nature, ending 31 May 2014, and will suit candidates who are interested in analysing data collected already on a mature project with the sole aim of maximising the productivity of the grant through publications.

One of the posts will be assigned to analysing an existing but unpublished dataset on the kinematics of a perching eagle, obtained using high-speed multi-station photogrammetry. The other post will be assigned to analysing an existing but unpublished dataset on the kinematics of the blowfly flight motor, obtained using time-resolved X-ray microtomography on a synchrotron beamline. The post will be based in Oxford.

The main responsibilities of each post will be to analyse the respective dataset and to prepare and submit a scientific publication arising from this before the end of the post. Other duties will include presenting the research at an international conference and providing advice to PhD students in the animal flight group. Experience of analysing the locomotor kinematics of animals is essential for each post, as are excellent programming skills in MATLAB, an excellent publication record commensurate with stage of career and excellent scientific presentation skills. A PhD in a relevant subject is also required.

To be considered for this role please apply online before 12.00 midday on 16 July 2013. You will be required to upload a CV and supporting statement.

A NERC funded research assistant position is available for a period of 6 months starting on 1 August 2013. The goal of the research is to establish the role of female immune-responses in sperm competition and cryptic female choice in birds, using the red junglefowl, Gallus gallus as model system. The researcher will be part of a small team combining immunological assays and artificial insemination techniques to study patterns of sperm utilisation under experimental conditions.

Applicants should hold a BSc (or equivalent) in a relevant discipline such as immunology, biology, physiology or ecology with experience of performing laboratory based assays relating to immune function and/or cell biology. The successful candidate will have: (1) experience with a range of immunological methods (e.g. ELISA, Western blotting and/or cell culture), (2) experience with molecular methods including RTPCR and qPCR (3) a willingness to assist other staff/students in field elements of the project, and (4) effective organisational skills, responsible attitude and ability to work independently and as part of a multi-disciplinary team. Field experience/animal handling will also be a benefit. Desirable expertise includes: (1) a strong background in biology, (2) broad technical experience in cell biology, immunology and molecular biology techniques including real-time RTPCR assays, and (3) an interest in immunology and/or sexual selection.

The researcher will be based in the Department of Zoology of the University of Oxford, linking the laboratories of Dr Smith (Immunology) and Dr Pizzari (Edward Grey Institute of Ornithology). The Department of Zoology at the University of Oxford has a long-standing reputation for world-class research and teaching.

Only applications made online before 12.00 midday on 16 July 2013 will be considered. You will be required to upload a CV and supporting statement.