Finnish Museum of National History is looking for a

Doctoral student

to join lichenology team for a two years fixed-term appointment starting on March 1st, 2021, or as agreed on. The appointment will be until 31 December 2022. Further funding will be applied during the project.

Job summary

The PhD candidate will work in the research group as part of the PUTTE II (Research programme of deficiently known and threatened forest species) research project funded by the Ministry of Environment. The research will be carried out at the University of Helsinki, FMNH in collaboration with researchers from The Finnish Environment Institute SYKE and The Department of Geosciences and Geography, University of Helsinki.

The project aims to examine the key habitats for threatened and poorly known lichens in Finland and the PhD candidate will work in a subproject focusing on the diversity of lichens in northern Finland. The aim our planned research is to examine how different snow conditions affect the species composition in subarctic environments. We will focus on environments, which will be affected most severely by climate change, including wind-swept substrates, late-melting snow beds and Betula pubescens subsp. chzerepanovii forests. The collected lichen material will be identified using morpholocigal, anatomical, chemical and molecular characters. The species composition and the effect of different environmental factors will be analyzed statistically.

Qualifications

Students with a MSc degree in systematics, ecology, evolutionary biology or other related fields are encouraged to apply. The successful candidate should be skilled in lichen identification (preferably also crustose lichens) and have a strong interest in the research questions and a high motivation to pursue a PhD. Prior expertise in statistical and phylogenetic analyses methods and laboratory work are beneficial. Excellent written and oral communication skills in English are required, as are the ability to work efficiently and independently in field. A suitable candidate should have a valid driving license.

Right to pursue a doctoral degree

The appointee must obtain the right to pursue a doctoral degree at the Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki and approval by a suitable doctoral programme by the end of the 6 month probationary period of the employment. Suitable doctoral programmes include doctoral programme in wildlife biology (Finnish acronym LUOVA). The specific research plan and other application material will be prepared together with the PhD supervisor(s) in the beginning of the employment period.

Salary and benefits

The salary is based on the demands level chart for teaching and research personnel in the salary system of the Finnish universities. Doctoral students typically start from level 2 and advance to level 3, when the research work and studies have advanced according to the plan and the publication work has begun, and eventually to level 4, when the time to completing the thesis is about one year. In addition, the appointee will be paid a salary component based on personal work performance. In total, the starting gross salary of a doctoral student is typically about 2200-2400 EUR per month.

For further information on the position, please contact Dr. Leena Myllys (leena.myllys[at]helsinki.fi), cc Dr. Annina Kantelinen (annina.kantelinen[at]helsinki.fi).

Got interested? Please send your application as a single pdf document with title ‘Doctoral Student PUTTEII’ by using the electronic recruitment system of the University of Helsinki via the link “Apply for job”. Applicants who are employees of the University of Helsinki are requested to leave their application via the SAP HR portal. Please note that your pdf-application document should include (1) a statement of research interests and why you have applied for this position, (2) your CV, (3) an authorized copy of your MSc degree (if available at time of application, and (4) contact details of two references.

The deadline for applications is January 31st, 2021.

For information on the University of Helsinki, please visit: http://www.helsinki.fi/university/index.html

For information on the Finnish Museum Natural History, please visit: https://www.luomus.fi/en

For information on Research programme of deficiently known and threatened forest species PUTTE II, please visit: https://ym.fi/en/-/ymparistoministerio-on-valinnut-13-hanketta-puutteell...