Facility
Animal Park at the Conservators Center
Closing Date
[jobclosingdate]
Description
The Animal Care Manager is responsible for the daily husbandry and overall welfare of the animal collection. This Manager works alongside, trains, and oversees the animal care staff. The Animal Care Manager interacts regularly with individual animals for their daily care, as well as with other staff and park guests to help provide exceptional visitor experiences. The Animal Care Manager position is an intermediate management position with the potential for growth through continuing education, new skills training and extended job responsibilities.
The person filling this role works weekends and holidays, outdoors in all weather, and maintains a positive, professional attitude at all times. Benefits include PTO, continuing education opportunities, group discounts for dental, vision, and other coverage, and professional guidance for insurance plans available through the Marketplace. This position is salaried, commensurate with experience.
RESPONSIBILITIES & ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS
Supervises all aspects of the daily husbandry of the park’s animals, including diet prep and feeding, basic habitat maintenance and facilitating health care
Manages a staff of zookeepers including hiring, training, scheduling, working alongside, and supervising
Follows and updates standard operating procedures, advises on changes to policy, and advocates in the interests of the animals and related staff
Maintains daily electronic record-keeping on diets, health, welfare, and training
Manages the departmental budget with guidance and oversight from leadership
Works with the Executive Director and other leadership to write and manage Animal Welfare and Contingency plans
Creates and facilitates operant conditioning training plans for animal husbandry management
Maintains clean and appropriately enriched habitats, free from pests and hazards
Administers prescribed medications, supplements, and treatments under veterinary supervision
Coordinates with veterinarians regarding animal health concerns, medications and visits
Manages the intern program, including advertising applications, interviews, training, and program development
Integrates and supervises volunteer support staff
Responsible for acquisition, processing, and storage of animal food, including whole prey
Interacts with donors and members of the public regularly, sharing an educational perspective and encouraging participation in Animal Park programs
May participate in educational experiences including keeper chats, tours, animal presentations or demonstrations, and/or other public interactions
Performs basic landscaping maintenance and eliminates toxic or harmful plants
Maintains supply inventory and manages reordering
Keeps service areas clean and organized, and maintains equipment in good repair
Identifies and reports maintenance needs and potential safety issues
Safely operates motorized vehicles and equipment
Cross-trains and supports other areas of the business, such as educational program assistance
Performs other duties as assigned
Education and Pre-requisites
SKILLS & QUALIFICATIONS:
Five or more years of experience working with exotic or wild animals as a staff member/employee, including potentially dangerous animals like large carnivores
Experience with operant conditioning and with developing training plans
Strong interpersonal, team-building, and communication skills
Experience with simple construction and maintenance
Public speaking and educational presentation skills
Experience or willingness to learn firearm handling and safety
Capacity to learn new skills and complex tasks quickly and thoroughly
High adaptability and flexibility on the job
EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE:
Bachelor’s or Associate degree in Zookeeping, Animal Science, Biology, or related field (comparable work experience considered)
Five or more years of experience working in a zoo setting (comparable work experience considered)
Basic skills with Microsoft Office software applications
LICENSURE, CERTIFICATION & REGISTRATION:
Valid driver’s license
COVID-19 vaccination required; booster vaccines may be required
Pre-exposure vaccination for rabies will be required after a training period
WORK ENVIRONMENT:
Requires working weekends and holidays
Requires prolonged standing, significant walking, and bending, stooping, lifting and stretching
Requires the ability to move safely over uneven ground while carrying items
Requires lifting up to 50 pounds
Rural location requires reliable transportation
Requires working outdoors in all weather conditions and temperatures
Requires handling predictable and controllable hazards associated with animals, including exposure to dust and allergens, medications, chemicals used for husbandry and cleanliness
Requires animal contact and handling, which contains some element of risk associated with it
Compensation and benefits
COMPENSATION:
The salary for this position is commensurate with experience. Salary range begins at $32,568.
Subsidized shared housing opportunities may be available during relocation.
Benefits include PTO, continuing education opportunities, group discounts for dental, vision, and other coverage, and professional guidance for insurance plans available through the Marketplace.
Application instructions
For additional information, please visit our website at www.animalparknc.org. All resumes, references and questions can be emailed to: applications@animalparknc.org. Please list the job title in the subject line, and attach your resume/CV and at least two relevant references. The selection process will include traditional interviews that may take place over the phone for individuals who are not local.