Community Science Officer, Natural History Museum

Closing deadline for applications 20th June 2022.

The role is based within the Community Science Programme in the Museum’s Angela Marmont Centre for UK Biodiversity. Community Science (often called citizen science) is where members of the public with no specialist scientific training can collaborate with professional researchers to undertake real environmental research. It forms a key part of the Museum’s Strategy to 2031. The Museum’s Community Science Programme is well established, having delivered a broad range of innovative research projects for over fifteen years. The community science team collaborate nationally and internationally to support the growth of community science as a movement and as a research approach, and to conduct research into the benefits and outcomes of participating. We aim to identify and advocate for best practice in the field.  

The Museum’s Urban Nature Project is a large multi-partner project to transform our onsite outdoor spaces to engage visitors with our core narratives of origins of evolution, diversity of life and sustainable futures. As part of this transformation, we are delivering national learning programmes and a national community science programme that will involve audiences across the UK in authentic urban biodiversity research, connecting people to urban biodiversity, the issues it faces and the roles they can play in achieving positive change. Through this programme, we aim to connect people with nature and create advocates for the planet - people who speak up on behalf of nature and ultimately take action to protect it.  

The post-holder will be working on the development and delivery of large scale community science projects to engage thousands of people across the UK in authentic urban biodiversity research. The research direction of these projects will be informed by young people who have been submitting research ideas to the Museum since March 2022. The postholder will be coordinating between participants, research teams and external stakeholders to develop innovative projects that deliver high impact outcomes for science, for the environment and for the people who take part. The first community science project is due to launch in 2023, and a second cycle of the above will take place, with a goal of launching a second mass community science project in 2024. This project aims to develop young people’s science identities and sense of agency to take environmental action, by placing them at the heart of the research process. We are seeking a Community Science Officer to deliver this ambitious programme.

Full details on the role and how to apply can be found here.