Environmental assessment analyst with focus on taxonomy

Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment
The Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment (www.slu.se/aquatic-sciences) is working with applied environmental science, with a national responsibility for assessing the condition of Swedish surface waters with respect to water chemistry, pollution and aquatic biota. The department has some 140 employees. The research focuses on geochemical and hydrological processes, aquatic ecology and biodiversity, aquatic microbiology, as well as on aquatic ecotoxicology and environmental chemistry. The department is part of a Soil-Water-Environment centre, a recently established competence centre for landscape-level processes that also includes the Departments of ‘Soil and Environment’ and ‘Energy and Technology’. The breadth of expertise among the 300 members in combination with a well-equipped infrastructure creates a unique platform for high quality research as well as environmental monitoring and assessment.
Read more about our benefits and what it is like to work at SLU at https://www.slu.se/en/about-slu/work-at-slu/

The department's biodiversity laboratory is used for analyses of aquatic biota, and the results are used to monitor long-term changes in the environment, develop assessment criteria and classify ecological status in order to plan measures. The laboratory which analyses samples from Swedish monitoring of lakes and watercourses and from research projects, needs to be strengthened with a taxonomist.

Duties:
Your main duties:


• Analyse phytoplankton and zooplankton samples, mainly from national environmental monitoring
• Enter result to the database for reporting to the national data including publication on the data portal Miljödata MVM
• Quality-assure data
• Stay up to date on relevant taxonomy

Analyses of other organism groups such as benthic fauna may be added. Fieldwork and writing reports may be required. Analyses of other groups of aquatic organisms may also be undertaken in the future. Species identification takes place mainly with keys in English and German. The quality documentation is in Swedish. Your closest colleagues will be our eight taxonomists who analyse phytoplankton, zooplankton, benthic diatoms, macrophytes and invertebrates in freshwater.

You need to be good at morphological details and enjoy microscopy!

Qualifications:
You have a university degree (in biology) or other experience that the employer deems equivalent such as well-documented knowledge and ability in analyses of plankton. Preferably, you have taken university courses in limnology or aquatic ecology. Previous experience of analysing phytoplankton and zooplankton is an advantage. It is a bonus if you have experience in benthic fauna analyses.

The work languages at the department is Swedish and English and the interview will alternate between those two languages.

As a person, you are accurate, efficient, flexible, and interested in morphological details and species identification.

Place of work:
Uppsala

Form of employment:
Permanent employment. SLU uses probationary employment.

Extent:
100%

Starting date:
According to agreement.

Application:
We welcome your application no later than 2023-11-24, please use the button below.

Academic union representatives:
https://internt.slu.se/en/my-employment/employee-associations/kontaktpersoner-vid-rekrytering/



The Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) has a key role in the development for sustainable life, based on science and education. Through our focus on the interaction between humans, animals and ecosystems and the responsible use of natural resources, we contribute to sustainable societal development and good living conditions on our planet. Our main campuses are located in Alnarp, Umeå and Uppsala, however, the university also operates at research stations, experimental forests and teaching sites throughout Sweden.

SLU has around 3,000 employees, 5,000 students and doctoral students and a turnover of over SEK 3 billion. We are investing in attractive environments on all of our campuses. We strive to provide a work environment characterised by inclusivity and gender equality, where different experiences generate conversations between people and pave the way for science, creativity and development. Therefore, we welcome applications from people with diverse backgrounds and perspectives.