Zoo Jobs: Deputy Section Leader (Birds)

Deputy Section Leader (Birds)

Paradise Wildlife Park currently has a vacancy for an experienced keeper to join our team as a Deputy Section Leader on our Bird section.

Applicants must have experience with the husbandry and management of a wide variety of species due to our current and expanding section. This includes psittacines, raptors and a breeding colony of African penguins, amongst others.

Our bird section is primarily focused on training and shows therefore experience in these areas is more important to this particular role than incubation and rearing techniques.

The bird section is responsible for 2 free flight bird shows daily (1 in winter), along with flying birds in the animal park’s mixed taxa shows. Experience in presenting shows and delivering keeper talks is essential, as is experience of training and maintaining birds in free flight shows using positive reinforcement.

The successful applicant will be happy to follow protocols set by the Section Leader and Senior Keeper team, and enjoy working as part of a team. The Deputy Section Leader will support the Section Leader in managing our small team, including variable volunteers and interns.

This is a hands on role on a busy section with lots of public interaction, therefore the applicant must be very personable and able to communicate well with visitors and staff.

This is an exciting time to join our bird team as we move into our peak season and have plans for future section development.

Job Details:

Full time; Permanent position
Reports to; Section Leaders & Head keepers
Hours; Summer 8am-6pm, Winter 8am – 5pm. Includes weekend and bank holiday work on a flexible rotated basis. Flexibility in working hours is essential due to the nature of the job.

Primary Duties and Responsibilities include:

Carrying out and enforcing high standards of welfare and animal husbandry routines set by the Section Leader and Head Keepers.

Deliver high standards of visitor interaction in the form of; keeper talks, animal shows, encounters, experiences, tours and education events
Overseeing and developing junior keepers, interns, volunteers and work experience
Liaise and assist in general duties and requirements as directed by senior management
Undertake and record animal observations

Other duties to support effective and efficient site maintenance may include: Fire Marshall, First Aider, Company vehicle driver (including tractor trailer), Litter picking/rubbish removal/sweeping and general cleaning in order to maintain high standards (nb - full training will be a given prior to the post holder being required to undertake new tasks)

Requirements:

An animal science related qualification
Minimum 2 years full-time experience in a zoological collection
Excellent communication skills
Hard working, conscientious and uphold high standards of animal husbandry and welfare
Ready to assist with other areas of the park, including talks, general maintenance and upkeep of public areas
Adaptable for a flexible rota
Physically fit for the demands of this role
Free flight bird and presentation experience
Full UK driving licence