Paleontology Project Manager

University of Utah; Salt Lake City (UT); On-site; USD 55,000 - 65,000; Full time

Job summary

The University of Utah's Natural History Museum of Utah seeks a Paleontology Project Manager to coordinate a three-year grant-funded project focused on preparing, conserving, and curating fossil specimens from the Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry. The role involves collaboration with prep staff, collections team, registrar, and digitization personnel.

You will manage workflows, supervise volunteers, and ensure timely delivery of project milestones while aligning with grant reporting requirements.

Qualifications

• Equivalency: 1 year of higher education may substitute for 1 year of related work experience.
• Job levels include Supervisor and Senior Supervisor with degree/experience requirements.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate workflows and movement of specimens and records between prep lab, collections, registrar, and databases.
• Lead volunteers and supervise fossil preparation, curation jackets, and housing of specimens.
• Oversee digitization of assets and ingestion into EMu and other systems.
• Ensure grant deliverables and reporting milestones are met on time.

Skills

Supervising staff

Collections databases

Paleontology data structures

3D modeling

Education

Bachelor's degree or higher

Master's degree or equivalent

Job description

Paleontology Project Manager

Job Summary

The Natural History Museum of Utah's Collections & ResearchDepartment seeks a motivated Paleontology Project Manager tocoordinate a three-year project preparing, conserving, and curatingfossil specimens from the Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry, partlyfunded by a grant from the Institute of Museum and LibraryServices. This position is funded for three years corresponding tothe start and end date of the grant. The Project Manager willcoordinate with:

• the Fossil Preparator and Lab Manager and team of volunteers toprepare and conserve specimens;
• the Paleontology Collections Manager and team ofstudents/volunteers to physically curate and catalogspecimens;
• the Collections Digitization Coordinator and student interns tophotograph and 3D scan specimens, and ingest these assets into thedigital asset management system;
• the registrar to digitize associated records and ingest theminto our Collections Management Database System, EMu; and
• the Curator of Paleontology to ensure project goals andreporting requirements are met.

This position is essential toensuring this project keeps to the grant timeline and ensures theMuseum achieves all promised deliverables.

Responsibilities

The Paleontology Project Manager will ensure the success of theCleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry project by:

• Collaborating with Collections & Research staff to developworkflows and coordinate the movement of specimens, digital assets,and associate records between the fossil preparation lab,collections, registrar, and digital spaces (e.g., collectionsdatabase).
• Collaborating with Collections & Research staff to identifyand meet monthly, quarterly, and yearly targets to achieve overallproject goals
• Work with the Fossil Preparator and Lab Manager to supervisevolunteers in the fossil preparation lab, as well as assignspecimens and answer general preparation questions
• Work with the Fossil Preparator and Lab Manager to train andsupervise volunteers in making curation jackets for large, preparedfossil specimens
• Work with the Paleontology Collections Manager to train andsupervise students and volunteers in housing and curating preparedfossil specimens
• Assist the Fossil Preparator and Lab Manager and PaleontologyCollections Manager in training volunteers
• Work with the Collections Digitization Coordinator to develop,implement, manage workflow of prepared specimens for digitalphotography and 3D scanning.

This job description is not designed to contain or be interpretedas a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities andqualifications required of employees assigned to the job. WorkEnvironment and Level of Frequency typically required: NearlyContinuously: lab environment Often: Office environment PhysicalRequirements and Level of Frequency that may be required: Nearlycontinuously: Sitting, standing, hearing, listening, talking Often:Repetitive hand motion (typing, fossil preparation), walking,bending, reaching overhead, lifting and carrying objects up to andover 20 pounds

Minimum Qualifications

EQUIVALENCY STATEMENT: 1 year of higher educationcan be substituted for 1 year of directly related work experience(Example: bachelor's degree = 4 years of directly related workexperience).

Department may hire employee at one of the following joblevels:

• Supervisor, Operations Project / ProgramManagement: Requires a bachelor's (or equivalency) + 2years of directly related work experience or a master's (orequivalency) degree.
• Senior Supervisor, Operations Project / ProgramManagement: Requires a bachelor's (or equivalency) + 4years or a master's (or equivalency) + 2 years of directly relatedwork experience.

Preferences

• Experience with collections management systems/databases
• Understanding of paleontological data structures
• Experience supervising staff, students, and/or volunteers
• Experience creating and editing 3D surface models

Requisition Number:

PRN46415B

Full Time or Part Time?

Full Time

Work Schedule Summary:

M-F with occasional evenings,weekends, and holidays. This position requires regular on‑sitepresence at the Natural History Museum of Utah on the Research Parkcampus of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City and occasionaltravel for professional meetings, offsite meetings and events,fundraising, and/or collaborative projects.

Department:

00018 - Utah Museum of Natl Hist Oper

Location:

Campus

Pay Rate Range:

$55,000-65,0000

Close Date:

11/06/2026