Animal Husbandry Manager

Animal Husbandry Manager

Animal Park at the Conservators Center

The Animal Park at the Conservators Center—a nonprofit wildlife park with a carnivore-based collection, including big cats, wolves, and small cats—is seeking a Husbandry Manager. This position is an intermediate management position with the potential for growth through continuing education, new skills training and extended job responsibilities.

The Animal Husbandry 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 Husbandry 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 Husbandry 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 Husbandry 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.

This Manager is ready to hit the ground with an understanding of USDA licensing standards, maintaining daily records for the animals and their environment, carnivore body scoring, writing and implementing training and enrichment plans, following and updating animal welfare plans, and contributing to contingency planning and drills. Where this Manager may be lacking a skill, they are ready to learn with confidence and then lead, training others on the team.

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, professional guidance for insurance plans available through the Marketplace, and some flexible scheduling.

This posting is abbreviated. Please see our website for more details.

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
• Maintains daily electronic record-keeping on diets, health, welfare, and training
• Manages the departmental budget with guidance and oversight from leadership
• 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
• Identifies and reports maintenance needs and potential safety issues
• Safely operates motorized vehicles and equipment
• Performs other duties as assigned

SKILLS & QUALIFICATIONS

• Four or more years of experience working with exotic or wild animals as a staff member/employee, including potentially dangerous animals like large carnivores
• Strong interpersonal, team-building, and communication skills
• Experience with simple construction and maintenance
• Public speaking and educational presentation skills
• Experience with or willingness to learn to safely operate firearms
• 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 Zoo Keeping, Animal Science, Biology, or related field (comparable work experience considered)
• Four or more years of experience working in a zoo setting (comparable work experience considered)
• Basic skills with Microsoft Office software applications and the ability to learn new apps

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. 
• Requires working weekends and holidays

WORK ENVIRONMENT

• 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 most weather conditions
• Requires handling predictable and controllable hazards associated with animals, including exposure to dust and allergens as well as chemicals used for husbandry purposes

Compensation and benefits

• The compensation for this position is commensurate with experience. Hourly rate begins at $17, and will increase based on demonstrated skills and experience. Subsidized shared housing opportunities may be available during relocation.
• Benefits include PTO, continuing education opportunities, group discounts for dental, vision, and other coverage, professional guidance for insurance plans available through the Marketplace, and some flexible scheduling.