Aquarist

SEA LIFE Great Yarmouth

We are SEA LIFE Great Yarmouth and we are part of the magical Merlin Entertainments!

We’re looking for a knowledgeable and passionate Aquarist (Maternity Cover) to join the displays team here at Great Yarmouth SEA LIFE Centre.

*You will need experience in aquatic animal care to be considered for this role!

About the role

We have lots of animals here and you will find that no two days are never the same. Your work routine (if you can call it that!) will be divided by an assigned area as we have over 30 displays. During a typical day you could be creating enrichment for our “bale” of terrapins or scrubbing the carapace of Noah, our large Green Sea Turtle. You could also enter a display for siphoning and get really close to our rays.

Preparing the food and feeds for our animals is a big part of the job (so is the washing up). You could be preparing the feed for our two African Dwarf Crocodiles, Ntombi and Masozi or our playful gang of Humboldt Penguins. We have reptiles, amphibians, native marine fish, tropical fresh water, a tropical ocean display (250,000 Lt) and lots of life support systems to take care of, each tank has its own dedicated system! It goes without saying therefore, that you will need to ensure the highest of standards are met as you will be responsible for the cleaning, maintenance and refurbishment.

You will be interacting with guests during feeding sessions whilst providing information about the animals, entertaining and educating our visitors and making their journey into the deep a memorable one!

This is a full-time, Fixed Term, Maternity Cover role commencing March 2021, working any 5 days from 7, including working a regular fair share of weekends and bank holidays as required as well as providing emergency call out cover on a roster basis.

About you

You’ll have a genuine passion for the welfare of reptiles, amphibians, freshwater and marine animals and a good understanding of aquarium animal care. Experience within public aquariums involving maintenance, plumbing and operation of large life support systems would be an advantage. You’ll need a basic understanding of the fundamentals of water chemistry as applied to an aquarium environment and an ability to quickly identify and resolve any environmental issues.

Ideally, you’ll have a degree level qualification in animal care, zoology or equivalent.

You will also have demonstrable experience of aquatic animal husbandry, a practical ability to create ‘wow’ displays with a working knowledge of the correct use of, theming, lighting and water movement to deliver this. Skills in animal training and enrichment are desirable too, and a love for conservation and the wild environment is essential.

As you’ll be engaging with our guests, you’ll need to have great communication skills.

Why join Team SEA LIFE Great Yarmouth?

When you join us, you’ll receive a salary of £18,508 per annum, 28 days holiday pro-rata including bank holidays, 25% discount in our retail shops and restaurants, 40% off LEGO, and benefits (Group Personal Pension Plan, Employee Assistance Programme, Life Assurance.)

You’ll also get your flippers on a Merlin Magic Pass - giving you free tickets to our attractions across the GLOBE!

Closing date for applications is: 18th Jan 2021

To apply please follow this link and click apply now - https://merlin.csod.com/ux/ats/careersite/4/home/requisition/7212?c=merlin

FYI

This vacancy has been posted out to the many thousands who read the popular Zoo Jobs Blog Page and then on to the 129,400 plus followers of the ZooNews Digest Facebook Page. It is then immediately forwarded on to Twitter and then to Pinterest and Linkedin (8,000+ connections). Many vacancies are shared to individuals and groups. In short your vacancy will have the potential of reaching something in the region of some 80,000 plus people within 24 hours. Most of these people are working in a zoo environment, Keepers, Curators, Vets, Zoo Directors, Trainers, Aquarists and more.

ZooNews Digest has subscribers in over 1200 Zoos in 150+ countries. Zoo professionals are International.

The number of people who will actually read the posted vacancy will actually be considerably less. Usually this will be between two hundred and three thousand. This will depend on the type of post, the time of the year and where it is located…of course not all will apply. I wish you the very best of luck in finding the right candidate for your post.

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