Assistant Curator, Restoration Ecology

NYBG Job Description

Position Summary:

The New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) is seeking an outstanding Assistant Curator in Restoration Ecology for a career-track appointment in the Center for Conservation and Restoration Ecology. We seek candidates who are innovative, collaborative, and eager to advance science-based and nature-based solutions to contemporary conservation, restoration, climate resilience, and biodiversity challenges using plants.

The successful candidate will develop an externally funded, field-oriented, collections-informed, and collaborative research program focused on ecological restoration using plants.  The position will strengthen NYBG’s capacity to address restoration and conservation challenges locally, nationally, and internationally, with a desirable emphasis on tropical ecosystems and, preferably, experience in the Caribbean and Latin America.

The new hire will join a growing interdisciplinary research and scholarship team at NYBG. The position reports to the Director of the Center for Conservation and Restoration Ecology, one of the core centers of NYBG Science. The Center currently includes experts in invasive species, global change, forest ecology, and landscape ecology.  Other strengths at NYBG include ethnobotany, plant taxonomy and systematics, molecular ecology, ecophysiology, computational biology, and horticulture.

Specific Duties & Responsibilities:

• Develop a strong, innovative, and internationally recognized research program in restoration ecology that advances the science and practice of ecological restoration, especially as relates to issues of plant conservation, ecosystem recovery, climate resilience, and biodiversity-based solutions.

• Design and lead field-based restoration ecology research, monitoring, and evaluation projects that may include plant community recovery, ecological reference models, seed-based restoration, restoration genetics, functional traits, landscape connectivity, invasive species management, degraded lands recovery, urban and peri-urban restoration, or climate adaptation.

• Leverage NYBG’s collections and resources, including the Thain Family Forest, William and Lynda Steere Herbarium, the LuEsther T. Mertz Library, the Pfizer Laboratory, digital assets, biocultural collections, living collections, and especially existing restoration and conservation initiatives.  More information about NYBG Science can be found here:  https://www.nybg.org/plant-research-and-conservation/

• Build integrative, collaborative, and synergistic research programs and develop new partnerships within and outside NYBG, including with academic institutions, government agencies, conservation organizations, community partners, and botanical gardens.

• Attract extramural funding from federal, state, local, philanthropic, and private sources and produce a robust body of peer-reviewed publications, applied outputs, technical reports, and other scholarly products.

• Engage in service to NYBG Science, the broader institution, and the scientific community, as well as communication with the general public and partner communities.

• Enhance NYBG’s role in education and training by advising graduate students, mentoring interns and postdoctoral fellows, teaching graduate-level courses, developing professional workshops, and contributing to public education and scientific communication.

• Advance NYBG’s strategic objectives, including environmental action, community engagement, digital innovation, and organizational excellence.  NYBG’s strategic plan can be read here:  https://www.nybg.org/about/institutional-information/strategic-plan/.  More about NYBG’s Science Strategy can be found here:  https://www.nybg.org/plant-research-and-conservation/science-strategy/.

Qualifications:

• An earned PhD in ecology, botany, biology, restoration ecology, conservation biology, plant science, environmental science, or related field.

• Preference for candidates with postdoctoral or equivalent professional experience.

• Strong publication record and evidence of potential or current success in securing external funding to support research.

• Demonstrated expertise in restoration ecology, plant community ecology, conservation biology, ecosystem recovery, restoration monitoring, or a closely related field.

• Experience working in tropical ecosystems is desirable; experience in the Caribbean and Latin America is preferred.

• Ability to design and implement field-based research and monitoring programs, including work in diverse and potentially remote outdoor environments.

• Strong quantitative skills in one or more areas such as statistics, ecological modeling, GIS, remote sensing, experimental design, functional trait analysis, data science, programming, machine learning, or related quantitative approaches.

• Ability to connect taxonomic, ecological, and applied restoration knowledge to real world sites and situations.

• Demonstrated ability to build collaborative partnerships and contribute to a collegial, inclusive, and interdisciplinary research environment.

• Demonstrated ability to communicate science effectively to multiple constituencies, including scientific peers, students, practitioners, funders, community partners, policy makers, and the public.

• Preference for candidates with experience successfully teaching, advising, mentoring students, or training environmental professionals.

• Excellent English language communication skills (reading, writing, speaking) are required.  Preference for a candidate who speaks and/or writes languages in addition to English, especially languages used in Latin America and the Caribbean.

• Demonstrated experience fostering an inclusive environment, working with people from diverse backgrounds, and incorporating diverse and innovative perspectives in research, education, and engagement.

• Kindness, collegiality, and a sense of humor are required.

Physical Demands & Work Environment

This position will require work in an office environment, with extended periods sitting or standing at a desk, using a computer, and attending meetings virtually and in person with other people.

Travel is required, both within the United States and internationally. Fieldwork may be an important component of this position and may require work in diverse, remote, tropical, urban, or otherwise challenging outdoor environments.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of this position.

Baseline Work Schedule:

35-hour work week; some extended hours based on deliverables may be required. Generally, work hours are Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., with a 1-hour lunch break, with evening, weekend, and holiday work as needed. NYBG’s hybrid work policy applies to this exempt position. The primary work location is at The New York Botanical Garden.

Salary: $87,550

Benefits:

• 15 Vacation Days
• 13 Paid Holidays
• 12 Sick Days
• Health and Dental Insurance Coverage
• 401K
• Pension Plan

Please submit:

• A cover letter, up to two pages, that briefly summarizes the candidate’s research agenda, expertise, goals, and how these would advance scientific and conservation efforts at NYBG.

• Curriculum vitae of appropriate length with links to significant publications and a summary of research, teaching, service, community engagement, outreach, contributions to equity, diversity, and inclusion, and/or other relevant activities.

• A research and conservation statement, up to two pages, describing your proposed research program at NYBG working in the context of NYBG’s institutional and science strategies (linked above).

• A teaching and outreach statement, up to one page, of education and engagement that may include teaching philosophy, graduate student training, workshops for environmental professionals, public education and lectures, scientific exhibition content, or related outreach activities.

• Up to three representative publications or accepted manuscripts.

• Names and contact information (email and phone numbers) for three professional references.

If you have specific questions about the application process, please contact the Chair of the Selection Committee c/o Dr. Eric W. Sanderson at Show email.

Application Deadline: To ensure optimal consideration, all application materials must be received by September 11, 2026, although the position will remain open until filled.

The anticipated starting date for the position is January 1, 2027, though is negotiable. All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply.

If you require an accommodation for any part of the application process, please notify the Human Resources department at Show email. 

If you are interested in applying for a position at the New York Botanical Garden, please go to http://www.nybg.org/employment to submit your application.EOE