technician Amherst, MA
Amherst College
Full Time
Amherst, MA
49920 - 12.04 USD HOURLY Today
Job description
Amherst has taken a leadership role among highly selective liberal arts colleges and universities in successfully diversifying the racial, socio-economic, and geographic profile of its student body. The College is similarly committed to enriching its educational experience and its culture through the diversity of its faculty, administration and staff.
Job Description:
Amherst College invites applications for the position of Museum Technician at the Beneski Museum of Natural History. This is a part-time (16 hours per week), casual hourly position, starting at $24.00/hour, without benefits. Given Amherst’s distinction as one of the most diverse liberal arts colleges in the country, the successful candidate will demonstrate the ways in which they bring value to and will work towards supporting a broadly diverse community.
Under the direction of the Head of Collections and Operations, the Museum Technician provides support in the upkeep, preparation, and maintenance of the museum’s three floor exhibit hall. The Technician assists with specimen storage, specimen cataloging, loan packing, and environmental monitoring.
The Beneski Museum of Natural History (
https://www.amherst.edu/museums/naturalhistory
) at Amherst College is one of New England’s largest natural history museums, featuring three floors of exhibits with more than 1,700 specimens on display, and over 200,000 in its collections that are made available for use by scholars and researchers from across campus and around the world. Museum exhibits highlight the history of the local landscape through geologic time, including the age of dinosaurs as represented by a world-class collection of dinosaur footprints. Vertebrate and invertebrate fossils, minerals, and rock specimens are the largest of the Museum’s collections – but the Museum also holds meteorites, archaeological materials, paleobotanical specimens and taxidermy. The Museum is dedicated to preserving and interpreting the physical evidence of the geologic history of the Earth, the evolutionary history of its inhabitants, and the processes that have shaped both through time. The Museum seeks to stimulate the scientific curiosity of visitors of all ages by providing direct experience with the materials and former inhabitants of the Earth.Summary of Responsibilities:
- Routine exhibit cleaning and maintenance of the displays and gallery spaces
- Scheduling, planning, and executing rotating cleaning of geological and paleontological specimens within the three-floor exhibit hall
- Design, fabrication, and adjustment of object mounts for display, storage, and loan
- Preparation of specimens for use in college classes, loans and display
- Environmental monitoring including Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and Temp/RH monitoring in the galleries and collection storage areas
Qualifications:
Required
- High school diploma or equivalent
- Strong written and verbal, interpersonal, organizational, and time management skills
- Attention to detail
- Ability to safely handle delicate objects; excellent manual dexterity
- Ability to work independently and as a part of a team
Preferred
- Associate’s degree or higher
- 2 years of experience working in museum preparation, conservation or collections care or comparable experience
- Carpentry, plexiglass fabrication, metal fabrication, machining and/or mechanical skills; experience with small power tools
Amherst College offers many opportunities for professional growth and development, continued learning, and career advancement.
Please be sure to upload all requested documents prior to clicking Submit. Applications cannot be revised once submitted. (Current employees and students should apply by clicking on the Career icon from their Workday home screen) Review of applications will begin immediately and will continue until the position is filled.
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