Smithsonian Director, Tennenbaum Marine Observatories

The Smithsonian Institution seeks an innovative leader for the newly endowed Tennenbaum Marine Observatories (TMO).  For more information on the TMO, please visithttp://newsdesk.si.edu/releases/smithsonian-launches-global-marine-biodiversity-project-10-million-donation .

The Smithsonian has launched the TMO, an initiative envisioned as a long-term, global-scale network of ecological observatories that will be dedicated to understanding changes in the structure and function of marine ecosystems. This network is committed to innovative measurements and experiments that will span traditional disciplinary boundaries and be executed in a standardized fashion over exceptional spatial and temporal scales. It is anticipated that this approach will lead to a new and fundamental understanding of our oceans that supports sustainable use.

The TMO will build upon the extraordinary strengths, capacity, and leadership of the Smithsonian Institution in marine sciences. With over 50 marine scientists, the Smithsonian expertise provides considerable depth that spans many disciplines in biology, ecology, evolutionary biology, paleobiology, anthropology, systematics, geochemistry, genetics, and other areas. The Smithsonian also has excellent infrastructure for marine science, including marine laboratories in Maryland, Florida, Belize, and Panama. 

The founding director of the TMO will have the opportunity to lead a cutting-edge research program that will result in high profile, policy-relevant discoveries.

Characteristics that we seek in a director include: 

• Record of experience and scholarly achievement in core areas of TMO research.
• Evidence of innovative approaches and ability to integrate ideas/concepts across traditional disciplinary boundaries.
• Clear record as an effective leader in developing and implementing a major research program and in working with diverse groups of people both inside and outside the home institution.
• Demonstrated strong organization and management skills.
• Ability to serve as the spokesperson/ambassador to other Smithsonian programs, outside collaborators, donors, and the public.
• Successful track record of competitive grant funding.

The director will be based at the National Museum of Natural History (http://www.mnh.si.edu) in Washington DC, with the opportunity to establish close affiliations with one or more other research units at the Smithsonian including the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (http://www.serc.si.edu), the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (http://www.stri.si.edu), and the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (http://nationalzoo.si.edu/scbi/default.cfm). The director will guide all aspects of the design, development, implementation and growth of this new initiative, in consultation with TMO participants, and will manage all TMO activities both nationally and internationally.

The Smithsonian Institution is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

This is a full-time, permanent position located in Washington, DC with a pay range of $150,000 to $165,300.

Review of applications will start on January 21, 2013.

For further details and information on how to apply, consult http://www.sihr.si.edu/jobs.cfm and scroll to position number EX-13-08.