UBC Botanical Garden Research Assistant - Technician 3

Staff
- Union Job Category CUPE 116 Job Profile CUPE 116 Hourly
- Research Assistant /Technician 3 Job Title UBC Botanical Garden Research Assistant
- Technician 3 Department Program Support | Botanical Garden and Centre for Horticulture Compensation Range $31.06 - $33.86 CAD Hourly
Posting End Date August 12, 2026

Note:

Applications will be accepted until 11:59 PM on the Posting End Date.
Job End Date March 31, 2027
At UBC, we believe that attracting and sustaining a diverse workforce is key to the successful pursuit of excellence in research, innovation, and learning for all faculty, staff and students.

Our commitment to employment equity helps achieve inclusion and fairness, brings rich diversity to UBC as a workplace, and creates the necessary conditions for a rewarding career.

Job Summary  The Collections Technician accessions plants in the UBC Botanical Garden collection, and assists in the identification and name verification of plant specimens, organizes and leads the collection of plant specimens for deposit as vouchers in the UBC herbarium, organizes and photographs key identifying features of living plants and vouchers of UBC Botanical Garden's plant collections.

* Please note:

this is a part-time position, working 2 days a week.
Organizational Status  The Collections Technician reports primarily to the Associate Director, Collections & Horticulture
Work Performed   Accessions plants in IrisBG plants database
Maps plant accessions using IrisBG plant database
Produces laser-engraved accession labels and accessions related signage
Supports inventories of accessions with curators and horticulturists and performs collections audits as determined by the Associate Director, Collections and Horticulture
Assists in maintaining the IrisBG plant database
Develops statistical and report-generating procedures
Participates in Botanical Garden committee and student support work
Coordinates the depositing of herbarium vouchers with UBC Herbarium staff
Collects and processes UBC Botanical Garden plant specimen material for germplasm and tissue requests, including correspondence and fulfillment
Collects UBC Botanical Garden plant material in support of Garden and other university classes
Enters and retrieves data associated with tissue, herbarium vouchers and images
Photographs key identifying features of living plants and vouchered plant specimens
Processes digital images for inclusion in image database and uploads images and associated metadata
Produces laser-engraved name tags, signage and other items for use in the Garden
Assists Associate Director Horticulture and Collections and research team with identification and name verification of plant specimens
Corresponds with taxonomic experts to assist with identification and name verification of plant specimens
Provides data to researchers to assist with identification of difficult plants
Supports researchers in the Garden by assisting in the location of plants, identification of plants, removal & supply of plant material and related work
Contributes to the Garden's public outreach channels, including creating blog posts and moderating the UBC Botanical Garden Forums
Participates in plant collecting field trips or research trips on behalf of the Garden or Garden-affiliated researchers
Supervises and trains temporary staff/students
Ensures a safe, clean working environment around equipment and supplies
Orders supplies needed for sign-making and sign-making equipment, herbarium vouchers, tissue banking, germplasm requests and research projects
Maintains/operates research equipment
Performs other related duties as assigned
Consequence of Error/Judgement  Works within established procedures exercising independent initiative and judgment. Poor choices regarding development of strategies for documentation of specimens and storage of information will result in repeating tasks or loss of key information. Careless attention to detail in handling of data may result in difficult-to-fix errors in the biological databases or plant specimens. Improper documentation of plant specimens may jeopardize the accuracy of the plant accession records, compromise the efficient transfer of information, and impede local, national and international research using the garden's collections or databases.
Supervision Received  Works independently under administrative direction from the Associate Director Horticulture and Collections
Supervision Given  Temporary staff and students

Minimum Qualifications   Completion of a relevant technical program or a university degree in a relevant discipline and a minimum three years of related experience or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
Willingness to respect diverse perspectives, including perspectives in conflict with one’s own
Demonstrates a commitment to enhancing one’s own awareness, knowledge, and skills related to equity, diversity, and inclusion

Preferred Qualifications   University Degree in a relevant discipline
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