About the job

Job summary

We are seeking applications from promising early-career scientists with interesting, innovative, and viable research ideas for the Future Leader Fellowship in Plant and Fungal Science. 

The Future Leader Fellowship in Plant and Fungal Science provides a unique opportunity for early-career researchers to develop their scientific portfolio and skills in a vibrant research environment, working with colleagues in Kew Science to make substantial contributions to challenges facing humanity.  

Kew offers five Future Leader Fellowships each year, aligned across our Research Priorities. This Fellowship will contribute to . The successful candidate will be based at Kew. 

Job description

Our flagship Future Leader Fellowship programme enables the brightest and most innovative young scientists to develop research projects in their field of expertise while gaining the necessary leadership and professional skills for the next stage of their careers.  

The successful applicants will form an integral part of our vibrant, dynamic and cross-disciplinary scientific environment and will gain direct access to the world’s most extensive plant and fungal collections along with state-of-the-art laboratory facilities. 

Line managed by a senior researcher, the candidate will be benefit from opportunities for development that include – but are not limited to - training workshops on topics from grant writing to research impact, a mentorship programme, bi-annual meetings with the Director of Science, and other chances for researcher-led training. They will also be able to apply for secondment and research funding internally and are encouraged to use this funding to travel for their research. 

The Fellowship aims to provide early career researchers with an internationally outstanding level of training and professional development, empowering them to become established as independent research leaders in their discipline by the end of the Fellowship. This Fellowship is offered as a four-year research post based at Kew Gardens. 

Person specification

Are you an energetic taxonomist with a determination to revolutionise taxonomy? We want to hear from you. In Accelerated Taxonomy, one of five Priorities in the Science Directorate, our ambition is to speed up the description, naming and classification of plants and fungi using new data, tools and technologies.   

Working with Kew’s Herbarium of c. 8 million preserved plant specimens, or our Fungarium of c. 1.25 million mycological specimens, your research will align closely to our ambitious strategy for Kew Science and to Kew’s Manifesto For Change.  

We focus geographically on Madagascar, Africa, Asia and the Americas, with systematic strengths in cosmopolitan plant families such as Poaceae, Cyperaceae, Orchidaceae, Acanthaceae, Compositae, Fabaceae, Myrtaceae; and fungi families such as Cortinariaceae. 

We share three goals: (1) to prioritise taxonomic emergencies in the most biodiverse and threatened regions and systematic groups, (2) to complete Tree of Life for plants and 50% of fungi, and (3) to develop new identification tools for collections and field use. Your work will complement these shared research foci and strengths, finding a synergy within Accelerated Taxonomy and other areas of Kew Science.  

You will hold a relevant PhD and post-qualification experience in taxonomy, phylogenomics and their application. Your research interest will go beyond nomenclature and classification to address the scenarios where taxonomic progress will support the sustainable use and conservation of Earth’s plant and fungal biodiversity. In this post, you will have the opportunity to contribute to various aspects of Kew’s scientific remit, and your interests may include, for example, machine learning, imaging, the tree of life, or conservation prioritisation metrics. We are particularly keen to attract researchers who will benchmark machine learning approaches against DNA sequencing approaches to identify and/or delimit species based on our collections. 

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.