Job Description
Job title:
Department/School:
Grade:
Location:
Data Clerk (Phylogenetic Data Assistant)
Biology and Biochemistry
6
4 South 1.07
Job purpose
We are seeking to appoint a graduate biologist or other life scientist with an interest in the
diversity and phylogeny of arthropods. They will work as an integral part of a BBSRC funded
project “The Arthropod Supertree of Life: An Online Interactive Resource for Testing Patterns
in Arthropod Evolution and Biodiversity” within the Biodiversity Lab at the University of Bath.
Main duties will include searching the scientific literature for phylogenetic trees, then curating
and processing these data using bespoke software written by members of the Biodiversity
Lab. Applicants must be self-motivated with strong computational skills and should have an
interest in evolution and phylogenetics. Programming skills and knowledge of arthropod
taxonomy would be an advantage.
Source and nature of management provided
Dr Matthew Wills, Reader in Evolutionary Biology
Will also work closely with Dr Katie Davis
Staff management responsibility
None
Career and Professional Development Activities
You will be part of an active research team, and a project jointly funded between the
University of Bath and the NHM, London. There will be opportunities to participate in joint
publications from the project, as well as to take an active part in both biodiversity lab and
evolution group meetings. The appointee will have the opportunity to learn about the
management of phyloinformatic data and methods of supertree construction.
From time to time you may be asked to assist in the facilitation of CPD activities. This will
form part of your substantive role and you will not receive additional payment for these
activities.
Special conditions
From time to time, the group may need to work to tight deadlines, and your workload may
therefore be similarly variable depending upon our requirements.
Main duties and responsibilities
1 Conducting systematic and repeatable searches of the scientific literature in order to
locate phylogenetic data.
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Acquisition of the papers and other sources containing the above data. Where these are
not accessible via the University of Bath library, the appointee will obtain papers and
data from the NHM or other sources. This may require some initiative and
resourcefulness (e.g., e-mailing authors directly).
Curation of the above resources, pdfs and data.
Using bespoke software to process phylogenetic data for supertree construction. This
will necessitate additional searches of the taxonomic literature, the use of graphical user
interfaces (e.g., TreeView) to reconstruct trees, and entering additional meta-data via a
bespoke database (The Supertree Toolkit - STK).
Beta testing the above STK software, and providing detailed feedback on its operation to
the code authors and other members of the team.
Assembling summary matrices from the above data, and troubleshooting any problems
with its assembly.
Use of TNT and other phylogenetic software to produce preliminary drafts of supertrees.
Maintenance of the project website, and submission of data and results to our online
repositories.
Communicating results to other project members.
Involvement in writing papers with the other project members, as appropriate.
You will from time to time be required to undertake other duties of a similar nature as
reasonably required by your line manager.
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Appendix B
Person Specification
Criteria
Essential
Desirable
Qualifications
BSc (2i or higher) in
Biology, Zoology,
Entomology,
Palaeobiology or a
related discipline.
MRes in
Systematics,
Taxonomy, some
branch of
arthropod
biodiversity,
phylogenetics or
computing
Experience/Knowledge
• Knowledge and
experience in
phylogenetics,
evolution and taxonomy
• Supertrees
• Arthropod
taxonomy
• Data mining
• Coding
Skills
• Excellent computer
literacy.
• Ability to multitask and
collate/synthesise
disparate threads of
information.
• Excellent record
keeping and
organisational skills.
• Scripting or
programming in
any language
• Ability to use
Linux/UNIX
command line
interfaces
Attributes
• Excellent attention to
detail.
• Excellent time
management.
•Ability to work on own
initiative, and maintain
focus during repetitive
tasks.
• Self-motivation.
• Excellent team player.
Assessed by
A/F
√
I/T
R
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√
√
√
√
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Code: A/F – Application form, I/T – Interview/Test, R – References
Human Resources
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16/02/2016
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