Animal Care Assistant jobs in Saxapahaw, NC

Are you an experienced zookeeper ready to move up into management? If you still have a passion for animal care and are ready to grow through teaching and guiding less experienced keeper staff, this could be the right match for you.

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 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, employee discounts, 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
• 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:

• 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 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 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:

• Salary range begins at $35,658, but will increase based on demonstrated skills and experience.
• Subsidized shared housing opportunities may be available during relocation.
• Benefits include PTO, continuing education opportunities, employee discounts, group discounts for dental, vision, and other coverage, and professional guidance for insurance plans available through the Marketplace.

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $16.00 - $17.00 per hour

Expected hours: No more than 45 per week

Benefits:

• Employee discount
• Flexible schedule
• Paid time off
• Professional development assistance

Schedule:

• Weekends as needed

Experience:

• ZooKeeping: 2 years (Required)

Ability to Relocate:

• Burlington, NC 27217: Relocate before starting work (Required)

Work Location: In person