Facility
Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo
Closing Date
[jobclosingdate]
Description
The Animal Care Manager (ACM) is a mid-level, supervisory position requiring the individual to be an active participant in the routine care, collection planning, and management of a diverse collection of exotic species in collaboration with the Curators. Although their primary responsibility is with the animals and leadership with their primary team, ACM’s aid the Curator in managing the animals and personnel of the entire Animal Department. The job entails animal care, health, welfare, and enrichment, staff scheduling and job assignments, staff guidance and feedback, maintaining exhibit quality, and working to provide a quality visitor experience.
Animal Care Managers serve as primary supervisors over specific animal departments, and as such participate in regular zookeeping duties plus the following:
-Daily supervision of all keeping staff within the assigned department(s)
-Set an example for all keepers by maintaining good standing, attitude, work ethic, etc., providing exceptional customer service to guests, and striving to maintain harmonious relations among staff
-Cover ALL lead duties in departments under their management in which a separate lead is not appointed
-Ensure all exhibits, non-animal areas and daily practices meet or exceed USDA and -ZAA regulations and facility standards
-Daily checks (AM and PM) on any known animal health/safety concerns within the department
-Manages the key box and daily distribution/collection of the keys
-Communicate with Curatorial Staff regarding animal concerns
-Helps resolve conflict and complaints made by staff members with the aid of the Curator and HR department
-Create departmental schedules and review at AM meetings; make sure all staff members are present and on time, and all duties are covered; make adjustments as needed to cover unexpected absences or other situations that arise on short notice, including covering normal keeping rotations whenever necessary
-Maintain ACT training and participation
-Serve as lead on code calls within the department, and coordinate with other departments as needed to resolve their code calls
-Supervise daily enrichment selection, and monitor usage and documentation
-Review weather forecasts and plan accordingly for the day and overnight
-Participate in evaluation and interview of applicants for departmental job openings
-Conduct regular keeper reviews (at least once a year, or more as needed)
-Help keepers stay on track for advancement and record benchmarks
-Review keeper forms such as vacation requests, diet change requests, exhibit modifications, new enrichment projects etc. and submit to Curatorial staff for final approval
-Ensure that medical treatments and medicines are administered as prescribed
-Generate and update departmental SOPs, deep cleaning schedules, and other departmental paperwork with input from Lead Keeper
-Review SOPs with new/cross training keepers
-Helps develop the interpretive message for the department
-Develops new keeper interactions and interpretation opportunities within the department
-Supervise weekly department meetings; participate in weekly ACM meetings
-Maintain communication with curatorial staff, management, and maintenance regarding any problems as they arise
-Manage staff lunch breaks by keeping track of who is on/off site, etc.
-Schedule fecal checks and communicate with Curatorial Staff to schedule veterinary checkups
-Work with Guest Engagement team to create content for social media
-Work with Training Committee to oversee departmental training plans and long-term training goals
-Participate in after-hours events and animal care
-Work with Curatorial Staff to plan long-term development of department
-May be appointed to serve as proxy for curatorial staff (being “in charge” for the day) in their absence
-Other duties as needed, including non-animal related tasks and cooperation with departments outside of animal care (maintenance, retail, amusements, etc.)
Education and Pre-requisites
-High school diploma plus
-Bachelor’s degree from a recognized college or university is required; preferably in zoology, biology, animal science or related field. (In lieu of a bachelor’s degree, years of experience may apply.)
-Five years paid experience in an accredited zoological facility is required, previous supervisory experience is desired.
-The candidate must have a working knowledge of the ZAA Standards for accreditation and USDA Standards for licensing.
-Must be comfortable with public speaking on and off of a microphone
Compensation and benefits
Annual Salary: $40,689.00
Benefits:
-Dental insurance
-Vision insurance
-Health insurance
-Employee discount
-Life insurance
-Paid time off
Application instructions
Please send a resume and cover letter to humanresources@algulfcoastzoo.org In the subject line of the email, include: AAZK Applicant for ACM position