General Curator

At Lincoln Children’s Zoo, our mission is to enrich lives through interaction with living things. We provide a hands-on experience for more than 250,000 guests per year and care for over 400 creatures. We are champions of STEM education through camps and programs, and help families make memories by producing special events and experiences throughout the year.

As a team, we are serious about using our Core Values to guide our actions:

1. We are there for each other.

2. We generate enthusiasm.

3. We are humble.

4. We go above and beyond.

Position Overview:

The General Curator oversees the day-to-day activities of the Lincoln Children’s Zoo’s animal population under the guidance and direction provided by the Chief Executive Officer. The General Curator is responsible for development and implementation of the Institutional Collection Plan, and all the daily decisions that affect the care of the animals, including animal care operations, staffing and facilities maintenance.

The General Curator is responsible for prioritization of staffing and resources to provide consistent world-class animal care to all taxa at the Lincoln Children’s Zoo, with attention to maintaining the best modern zoological standards of animal care, welfare, training and enrichment, sustainability of populations, safety, exhibitory and modern practices for records and information management specific to animal records.

For additional information, please visit: https://issuu.com/lincolnchildrenszoo/docs/general_curator

Essential Job Functions:

• Oversees all aspects of the day-to-day management of the Animal Care staffing, animal care and facility’s needs.
• Develops and updates an Institutional Collection Plan (ICP) as per AZA standards.
• Oversees consistency in care of animals across taxonomic groups incorporating animal care sciences, welfare, behavioral training, enrichment, and other disciplines as they develop.
• Oversees day to day staffing and personnel needs of the various animal care areas of the Lincoln Children’s Zoo, including supervisor coverage and animal care expectations and their animal care staffing needs.
• Collaboratively establishes performance planning objectives and supervision of all animal care staff, animal care supervisors, and performs performance evaluations.
• Oversees consistency in hiring practices, staff training and management for all areas in the animal care team, following established institutional policies and culture.
• Oversees interactions and grows collaboration between animal care and other areas of the zoo directly involved in the care and wellbeing of the zoo’s animals, including but not limited to veterinary medicine, nutrition, welfare and behavioral sciences, and reproductive sciences, facilities maintenance, etc.
• Oversees consistent implementation of record keeping policies, as per established standards of care across all animal areas, and in direct supervision of the Zoo’s registrars and information management program.
• Oversee in collaboration with the Safety Committee, all animal care safety initiatives, including coordination or assignments for performing zone inspections, safety drills, safety audits and ongoing review of best practices and modern zoological practices.
• Works collaboratively to create opportunities for career development and advancement of staff, including mentoring of existing staff and well as the deliberate creation of career and educational pipelines that can lead to careers in modern zoo fields.
• Manages the operational budget for the animal department.
• Facilitates and ensures compliance with all policies, practices and standards mandated by AZA, USDA and pertinent regulatory agencies.
• Represents the Lincoln Children’s Zoo as requested for media, public relations and marketing events.
• Supports and participates in donor cultivation, recognition and fund-raising initiatives of the Lincoln Children’s Zoo as needed

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Biology, Zoology, Animal Science or some related field strongly preferred. Advanced degree in a related field preferred.
• Must have a minimum of 5-8 years of full-time experience in a zoological park or wildlife setting managing a large and diverse animal collection and a multi-disciplined animal care team.
• Candidates must possess a high level of emotional intelligence and demonstrate a proven history of building cooperative relationships across all organization functions and levels.
• Competitive applicants must be able to share a clear vison for attracting, developing, and retaining high-functioning engaged team members.
• Familiarity with AZA animal population management programs (SAFE, SSP, TAG, PMC, etc.). Leadership service as a studbook keeper, SSP coordinator, or Taxon Advisory Groups
• Demonstration of a high level of emotional intelligence and the ability to work as a positive team member.
• Must have a working knowledge of AZA Accreditation Standards and USDA Animal Welfare Standards.
• A working knowledge of animal diseases and methods of preventing the spread of contagious disease
• Proficient in ZIMS software and experience maintaining records and preparing reports
• Habitat design and construction experience/planning a plus

Job Type: Full-time

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• 401(k) matching
• Dental insurance
• Employee assistance program
• Employee discount
• Flexible schedule
• Health insurance
• Life insurance
• Paid time off

Schedule:

• 8 hour shift
• Holidays
• Weekends as needed

Ability to Relocate:

• Lincoln, NE 68502: Relocate before starting work (Required)

Work Location: In person