Facility
Oakland Zoo
Closing Date
[jobclosingdate]
Description
An Animal Keeper may hold any keeper position in the Animal Care, Conservation and Research Department (Primary, Relief, or Floater). Work ranges from the physical tasks associated with feeding and maintenance of the animals’ living areas to more analytical tasks of planning, record keeping and communication. The Animal Keeper is expected to develop the appropriate level of knowledge of the natural history and captive wildlife management and use the tools of animal observation, enrichment, training and other management methods to ensure the best possible psychological well-being of the animals in their care. S/he is expected to implement Department/Zoo priorities as well as demonstrate the initiative and expertise to regularly find ways to make improvements. S/he is expected to guide and support junior staff and volunteers as appropriate. The Animal Keeper takes direction from the Senior Keeper, Lead Keeper and/or the Zoological Manager regarding daily operations as appropriate. S/he must also be able to represent the Zoo in a variety of public settings including press interviews, instructional classes and casual communication with Zoo guests. This position is for a Floating/Relief Keeper, this person is trained to cover three different animal strings in Section A of the Zoo. Each string has a Supervising Primary, who works five days per week on the string and is responsible for the daily management of the string and string staff. The Relief/Floating keeper is expected to cover strings in the absence of the primary keeper or assist the primary keeper with the string duties and special projects as needed. The strings for this position include a wide variety of species including, lions, tigers, giraffe, hyena, warthog, vervet monkey, meerkat and camels.
Job Requirements
Good physical condition; able to lift a minimum of 50 lbs. (i.e. feed sack) and move a minimum of 120lbs.(i.e. hay bale)
Valid driver’s license and clean driving record
Willingness to work outside normal business hours including weekends and holidays.
Good written and verbal communications skills
Knowledge of the habits and hazards of working with wild animals; willingness to work with some physical risk while observing proper safety precautions
Education and Pre-requisites
Experience and Qualities Preferred
Minimum of two years full time experience in the care of captive wildlife in the zoo field.
1. Bachelor’s degree in zoology, biology or a related field.
2. Extensive knowledge and experience in behavioral training theory and practical application
3. Working knowledge of large carnivores.
4. Ability to be flexible and learn to cover 3 different strings.
Compensation and benefits
Salary: $20.00 per hour depending on experience. Full medical benefits, 403b retirement plan, 10 paid vacation days.
Application instructions
TO APPLY:
Please send resume, cover letter, and three professional references via email only to:
Ann Marie Bisagno- Zoological Manager, Section A
abisagno@oaklandzoo.org
Applicants selected for candidacy are required to attend an on-site working interview.
Candidates not meeting minimum requirements will not receive a response.