Northwest Passage/Teton Trek Zookeeper

This position is responsible for daily husbandry of Northwest Passage and Teton Trek animals as it relates to their physiological and psychological well-being as well. The collection includes California sea lions, polar bears, black bears, grizzly bears, wolves, North American porcupine, elk and mixed bird species. The Zookeeper is also responsible for ensuring a positive guest experience when interacting with guests, facilitating multiple sea lion shows per day as well as keeper chats.

Essential Job Functions

• Daily husbandry of assigned animals.

• Facilitates formal and informal public presentations to engage guests and provide a positive guest experience. Includes daily sea lions shows and speaking on microphone.

• Actively observes animals’ behavior, checking for any signs of illness; reports irregularities and abnormal behavior to supervisor; works with vet staff to address medical needs.

• Prepares and administers appropriate daily diets, medications and maintain accurate records of assigned animals.

• Appropriately cleans and disinfects assigned animal enclosures/barns according to written protocols and ensures a sanitary and safe environment.

• Maintains a safe working environment with Class 1 Animals.

• Assists hospital staff in all aspects of animal treatment within the assigned section.

• Partners with research staff for ongoing research projects associated with animals in collection.

• Incorporate behavioral husbandry techniques such as operant conditioning and environmental enrichment into daily animal care.

Salary: $16-17.50/hour (commensurate with experience).

Minimum Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in Zoology, Biology, or a related field

Preferred Qualifications: Previous experience with animal care and operant conditioning in a zoological setting.

Competencies:

• Written and oral communication Proficiency

• Proficient in MS Office, current technology and applications for communication, research and record keeping.

• Create daily reports

• Problem Solving/Analysis.

• Stress Management/Composure.

• Flexibility.

• Teamwork Orientation.

Supervisory Responsibility: None

Reporting Structure: Reports to Team Lead.

Position Type/Expected Hours of Work: This is a full-time position that works a minimum of 40 hrs per week and regularly requires weekend and holiday work.

Work Environment: While performing the duties of this job, the employee frequently works in outside weather conditions. The employee is occasionally exposed to wet and/or humid conditions, fumes or airborne particles, chemicals and vibration.

Physical Demands: The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently required to stand, walk, sit, talk and hear. The employee is constantly required to use hands and fingers to feel, handle or operate objects, tools, or controls; and reach with hands and arms. The employee is occasionally required to climb, balance, stoop, kneel, crouch, crawl and walk. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 50 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, peripheral vision, color vision, and the ability to adjust focus.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Other Duties: Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

Experience

Preferred

• Animal care and operant conditioning experience

Education

Required

• Bachelors or better in Biology or related field

Behaviors

Preferred

• Detail Oriented: Capable of carrying out a given task with all details necessary to get the task done well
• Team Player: Works well as a member of a group