About the job

Job summary

For over two decades the Millennium Seed Bank Partnership has been at the forefront of global plant conservation through the study, conservation, and use of seeds of some of the worlds rarest and most important plant species. Described as one of the world’s most ambitious conservation projects, the MSBP is managed by Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew working with a global network of partners in more than 100 countries.  Helping to build national collections of seed material whilst ensuring they are made available to research and conservation communities lies at the heart of our work. The majority of these collections are duplicated to our own Millennium Seed Bank housed in the heart of the Sussex countryside at RBG Kew’s iconic Wakehurst gardens.

Job description

Our team of Conservation Partnership Coordinators develop collaborative global partnerships, identify and design projects, secure funding, manage projects through to completion, undertake and support plant conservation research.

This role is a 50% job share for the Conservation Partnership Coordinator for Africa. With a healthy portfolio of existing and proposed projects, the role will assume responsibility for an agreed set of these projects allowing for professional development and an opportunity to further develop the existing network of seed bank partners and regional networks across Africa. 

Person specification

We are looking for an individual with a strong interest in and a good working knowledge of the African flora. You must be passionate about working with external collaborators, be able to convert identified conservation needs into compelling project ideas and articulate these projects into full project documentation including fully costed budgets. Your project management experience will have been gained through your contribution to similar conservation projects, preferably as a Principal Investigator, in an African context and with input from different organisations. You will therefore need to be able to demonstrate your ability to coordinate peers, project teams, and a variety of in-country stakeholders through a diplomatic yet assertive leadership style, to deliver project outcomes.

The role is central to developing capacity with in-country partners and you will be confident in delivering talks and delivering training courses, advise on equipment purchases and help develop job profiles and work plans of in-country project staff. We will expect you to bring research experience to support particular aspects of our published Seed Conservation Standards and to further add to the breadth of expertise currently available to support the global Partnership.

Benefits

Our fantastic benefits package includes opportunities for continuous learning, a generous annual leave entitlement, flexible working to help you maintain a healthy work-life balance, an Employee Assistance Programme and other wellbeing support such as cycle to work scheme and discounted gym membership. We also offer a competitive pension, an employee discount scheme and free entry into a wide range of national museums and galleries, as well access to our own beautiful gardens at Kew and Wakehurst.

Things you need to know

Selection process details

To apply for this role, please submit your application through the Kew Gardens website.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window). The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.