Collections Specialist, Senior

About the California Academy of Sciences

The California Academy of Sciences is a globally renowned scientific and cultural institution located in the heart of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. Home to a world-class planetarium, aquarium, research center, and natural history museum—all under one living roof—our mission is to regenerate the natural world through science, learning, and collaboration.

Our extensive collections span plants, animals, fossils, and cultural artifacts from across the globe and throughout history. We are a diverse team of leading biodiversity scientists, educators, storytellers, designers, and communicators who work collaboratively to advance knowledge and inspire action through science and storytelling.

When you join the California Academy of Sciences, you become part of a mission-driven community that values curiosity, collaboration, and innovation. Whether you're working behind the scenes in research or engaging the public on the museum floor, your work will help connect people to the natural world and empower them to protect it.

About the Opportunity

Reporting to the Herbarium Collection Manager and under minimal supervision, the Curatorial Assistant III performs duties related to specimen preparation, cataloging and archiving, processing loans, digitization, collection maintenance and organization. The incumbent is expected to work with a high degree of autonomy, developing and leading projects as needed, and to provide expertise in the relevant discipline. The incumbent will independently manage one or more of the duties and responsibilities listed, and will contribute to the team’s efforts in many, if not all, of the others. Assigned responsibilities for this position are diverse and range from moderately simple to complex in nature.

Organizational Culture
Join a team dedicated to the Academy’s mission, vision and values! Currently, the Academy has a new strategic plan including three initiatives – Hope for Reefs, Thriving California, and Islands 2030 – that leverage biodiversity science, environmental learning, and collaborative engagement to regenerate fragile ecosystems around the world. Learn more at https://www.calacademy.org/about-us/major-initiatives.

We hope you are inspired by what we do and are excited to contribute to our mission. The mission of the California Academy of Sciences is to regenerate the natural world through science, learning, and collaboration. The Academy is looking for candidates who do great work, and we know they may come from a number of different backgrounds and experiences. We encourage you to apply even if you do not believe you meet every qualification for the position.

Key Responsibilities

• Helps maintain departmental collection and its files, including specimen preparation, updating and organization of current collection, and accessioning of new specimens
• Performs curatorial duties such as processing loans & exchange
• Assists in overseeing departmental digitization activities; must become familiar with specimen database, operating digital camera equipment and image processing software
• Trains and supervises all department volunteers and interns 
• Performs literature review and archival research to answer inquiries or in the performance of routine curation of collections
• Provides taxonomic identifications consistent with education and training or experience appropriate to this position
• Assists in maintaining the quality of information in the database
• Assists visitors, students or scientists in the use of the collections; leads departmental tours and occasional public demonstrations for Academy members and visitors
• May assist Curators in research activities, which may include fieldwork, labwork, literature review and/or other research-related activities
• Serves as acting collection manager in the Collection Manager’s absence, responsible for all day-to-day collections activities and decision making
• Serves on Academy-wide committees, or as a liaison for the Collections Manager on standing committees
• May contribute to the building of exchange material by participating in field collection efforts
• Encouraged to participate in or present talks at professional scientific meetings
• May perform heavy lifting
• Follows all Academy safety regulations 
• Other duties as assigned

Minimum Qualifications: A successful candidate will have the following:

• Bachelor's degree in Botany or closely related field required; Master’s degree in Botany or closely related field required, or equivalent education and experience required
• Demonstrated expertise in Botany
• Experience in relevant computer programs required
• Minimum six years of experience in curatorial or closely related work (inclusive of education), including physical curation, object tracking, loan processing, data management and facilitating collections visitors
• Minimum two years’ experience working with volunteers or interns, including onboarding, training and managing
• Ability to identify needs of the departmental collections and willingness to lead projects independently
• Specific knowledge of systematic botany and the literature relevant to the field
• Ability to work well collaboratively with internal team members and external collaborators
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills and the ability communicate effectively with staff, cross-functional teams and external partners from different identities and experiences
• Ability to bring new ideas, create inventive solutions and find efficiencies to transform manually or detailed processes
• Bilingual (spoken and/or written) in any non-English language, or the ability to research translations of non-English languages, is desirable
• Familiarity with the California/western North American flora is desirable
• Demonstrated commitment to equity and inclusion

Physical Environment:
To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential job duty satisfactorily. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform essential job functions. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently required to stand, sit, walk, reach with hands and arms, talk and hear. Must be able to lift 40 lbs.  Must be able to climb rolling ladders and reach above shoulder level for twenty percent (20%) of the day. Must be able to perform repetitive motions 50% of the time.

Compensation and Benefits:
The salary range for this position is Step 1 $35.78, Step 2 $36.50, Step 3 $37.23. Actual compensation will be commensurate with the final candidate's qualifications and experience, including skills, knowledge, relevant education, certifications and aligned with the internal peer group. We believe in fair and equitable compensation practices and are committed to providing competitive salaries within the industry and market standards. The Academy offers a total compensation package that emphasizes both base salary and comprehensive benefits based on the hours per week worked. Further details regarding compensation and benefits will be discussed during the interview process.

Schedule:  Full-Time, Temporary Position (40 hours/week). Initial term of 2 years with potential for extension, contingent upon continued funding.

How to Apply:

Interested candidates should submit a resume and application through our Careers Page portal.

The California Academy of Sciences will give full consideration for employment to all qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with the requirements of the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance (SF Police Code, Article 49).