Research/Field Assistant (20%) in Theoretical Biology

Skilled and committed employees are a crucial factor in the success of Linköping University. And we need more of them. Our core expertise comes from teachers and researchers, but a successful university requires experienced and motivated employees in many fields. Everyone is important. We need to recruit many new employees thanks to, among all, an expansion in our research activity. We need you here. We look forward to receiving your application!

The Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology conducts research and offers education at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Research, the predominant activity, is often done in collaboration with corporate and international partners. We are one of the university’s largest, oldest and most well known departments, encompassing five interacting scientific fields: biology, chemistry, material physics, applied physics and theory and modelling.
Read more at https://liu.se/en/organisation/liu/ifm

We are looking for a Research/Field Assistant (20%) in Theoretical Biology. 

Your future work assignments 
Are you looking for a job that will let you get away from the computer screen for a day a week and get outside? This could be a great opportunity for you!
Help us collect water samples from urban gardens in Linköping.

Project you would be a part of:
The position is announced as part of the research project “Urban agriculture as blue-green infrastructure: Can it feed bodies and minds while protecting waterways?” Urban agriculture is increasing in popularity but is an understudied green infrastructure type in terms of nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus. The project aims to help fill this knowledge gap.
 
Duties
General:
Every Tuesday you would be responsible for sampling water in urban agriculture plots in the city. All sites are within biking distance from LiU VALLA campus. Training will be provided as well as detailed written protocols and videos over the first few weeks of employment.
 
Specific tasks:
- Collect water samples
- Log data on water volume, pH, temperature, and samples taken in the field using a tablet
- Organize and store samples in fridge and freezer after field work
- Prepare sample bottles and equipment for field and lab work (labeling, acid washing, vial combustion)
- Keep an inventory of lab and field equipment (to tell us when to order more stuff)
 
- Depending on qualifications it may be possible to extend the scope of employment to run TN analyses and thus time commitment (up to a maximum of 15 hours per week when samples are run for analysis)

Your qualifications
Necessary skills:
- Good organizational skills
- Proven capacity to work independently
- Attention to details (it is really important that samples are well labelled, are in the proper bottles, and that data logging is done accurately)
- Reliability (field work must be conducted every Tuesday, except agreed upon vacation)
 
Desired skills:
- Good spoken Swedish (to interact with gardeners)
- Experience in the implementation of ecological field work
- Experience with water quality laboratory work (If you have (or want to learn) some lab skills it may be possible to run Total Nitrogen analyses on samples every week)
- Familiarity or interest in urban agriculture, urban ecology, or water quality

Form of employment
12 months. Time per week: 20% (8 hours a week), but this could be less in the winter and a bit more in the summer. 

Starting date
May 2021 or by agreement.

Salary and employment benefits
The university applies individual salaries. Please indicate salary demands in the application.

More information about employment benefits at Linköping University is available here.

Union representatives
Information about union representatives, see Help for applicants.

Application procedure
Apply for the position by clicking the “Apply” button below. Your application must be received at latest 9 March 2021.

Applications and documents received after the date above will not be considered.


Linköping University will continue to develop as an attractive and creative place of work, characterized by equal terms and actively works for equality and diversity.

We look forward to receiving your application!


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