OVERVIEW

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

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:

• 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:

We are currently accepting applications. 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.