Description
The Department of Botany seeks candidates for a tenure-track Assistant Professor in the area of Non-Seed Plant Diversity with an expected start date of July 1, 2026. This is a full-time position with an expected starting salary range of $120,000 to $135,000 per annum. Applicants conducting innovative research in the area of bryophyte, fern, or lycophyte diversity are encouraged to apply, including those who employ systematics, phylogenetics, evolution, paleobotany, ecology, cell biology, developmental biology, physiology, molecular biology, genomics, or related techniques, and whose research ideally includes the collection and use of field samples and/or museum collections to address fundamental questions on the biodiversity and comparative biology of non-seed plants.
The position requires a Ph.D. degree to be awarded before the start of the position. The successful candidate will also be expected to have postdoctoral experience and an exceptional research track record. Responsibilities include establishing and conducting an internationally competitive and externally funded research program, commitment to excellence in teaching at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, supervising graduate students, and participating in service roles that contribute to the department, university, and academic/scientific community. The successful applicant will have a strong commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion to create a welcoming community for all, particularly those who are historically, persistently or systemically marginalized. In evaluating candidates, we will also consider evidence of leadership within the candidate’s community, and potential for developing and implementing evidence-based teaching approaches. The position includes opportunities for strong interactions with UBC’s Biodiversity Research Centre, Michael Smith Laboratories, Beaty Biodiversity Museum, UBC Botanical Garden, the Faculty of Land & Food Systems, and the Faculty of Forestry.
The UBC Department of Botany has 30 research faculty members and is one of the strongest botanical/plant-science-focused departments in North America. We offer a wide range of research and educational programs (https://www.botany.ubc.ca/). The Department of Botany embraces research, teaching, and learning at the frontiers of plant, algal, fungal, and protist biology. This organismal diversity is studied at all biological levels, from biochemical, molecular, genomic, and cellular levels, to the evolution of species and domains of life, and the ecology of populations, communities, ecosystems, through to the biosphere as a whole. The department is also home to 15 teaching faculty members who are innovative leaders in science education. The Departments of Botany and Zoology collaborate to teach the UBC Biology undergraduate program, and research and teaching faculty from both departments have a strong tradition of enhanced educational experiences that engage students in research and the scholarship of teaching and learning. Research in the department is supported by the UBC Herbarium, microscopy infrastructure in the Bioimaging Facility (BIF), the Sequencing+Bioinformatics Consortium, and departmental plant growth facilities. Botany faculty members occupy research labs located primarily in three adjacent modern research facilities: the Biosciences Building, the Michael Smith Laboratories, and the Biodiversity Research Centre.
UBC’s campuses are located on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the Syilx (Okanagan) Peoples and of the Coast Salish Peoples, including the territories of the xwmθkwym (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Stó:l and Slílwta/Selilwitulh (Tsleil Waututh) Nations.
Applicants must submit via Academic Jobs Online:
https://academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/31140
1. Cover letter (1 page maximum) that summarizes:
Your research vision and accomplishments
How your expertise, scholarship, and planned research will integrate with the Department of Botany
How you have displayed leadership through existing or proposed research, teaching, service, student training and mentoring, community engagement, outreach contributions to equity, diversity, and inclusion, or other relevant activities
2. Curriculum vitae, including a list of publications
3. Research statement (up to 3 pages maximum) describing your current and proposed research program
4. Teaching statement (1 page maximum) describing teaching philosophy/interests and accomplishments, addressing how you will teach core undergraduate courses in the UBC Biology program, and how you would mentor graduate and undergraduate students in research
5. Diversity statement (1 page maximum) describing your lived background experience (if comfortable stating this) and your past experience and future plans to work with a diverse student body and contribute to a culture of equity and inclusion. When preparing the statement, applicants are encouraged to familiarize themselves with UBC EDI mandates and resources (https://equity.ubc.ca/).
6. Up to three representative publications in PDF format
7. Names and contact information for three referees
Applications must be addressed to Botany Head Shawn Mansfield and submitted via Academic Jobs Online https://academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/31140. The closing date for applications is December 19, 2025 at 5pm (Pacific Standard Time).
Additional Information:
UBC hires on the basis of merit and is committed to employment equity. Equity and diversity are essential to academic excellence. An open and diverse community fosters the inclusion of voices that have been underrepresented or discouraged. Inclusion is built by individual and institutional responsibility through continuous engagement with diversity to inspire people, ideas, and actions for a better world. We encourage applications from members of groups that have been marginalized on any grounds enumerated under the B.C. Human Rights Code, including sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, racialization, disability, political belief, religion, marital or family status, age, and/or status as a First Nation, Métis, Inuk, or Indigenous person. UBC acknowledges that certain circumstances may cause career interruptions that legitimately affect an applicant’s record of research or educational leadership achievement. We encourage applicants to note in their applications whether they would like consideration given to the impact of any circumstances, such as those due to health or family reasons, in order to allow for a fair assessment of their research productivity. All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however Canadian citizens and permanent residents will be given priority, and members of historically marginalized groups will be given special consideration.
If you have any needs or questions regarding accommodations or accessibility during the job application, recruitment and hiring process or for more information and support, please visit UBC’s Center For Workplace Accessibility website at https://hr.ubc.ca/health-and-wellbeing/working-injury-illness-or-disability/centre-workplace-accessibility or contact the Centre at workplace.accessibility@ubc.ca.
The University is committed to creating and maintaining an accessible work environment for all members of its workforce. Within this hiring process we will make efforts to create an accessible process for all candidates (including but not limited to disabled people). Confidential accommodations are available on request by contacting Jenifer D’souza, Faculty HR Manager at jenifer.dsouza@botany.ubc.ca.
