Thursday, February 25, 2021

Animal Keeper - African Experience Section

Salary commensurate with experience

Plus a living out allowance, or possibly, on-site accommodation.

Howletts & Port Lympne Wild Animal Parks, in conjunction with the Aspinall Foundation, are a charity based organisation committed to protecting rare and endangered animals from extinction through captive breeding and reintroduction programmes. The parks are home of one of the world’s most prized wild animal collections and are one of the biggest visitor attractions in Kent.

We are looking for an experienced, enthusiastic and motivated individual to join our team of dedicated African Experience keepers at Port Lympne Hotel & Reserve. The section comprises of various species including; Rothchild Giraffe, Black Rhino, Ostrich, Eland, Chapman Zebra and Blue Wildebeest among others.

The main duties will involve:

· Observing the behavior, health and security of animals and reporting any problems

Cleaning and maintaining enclosures
Maintaining courteous and helpful relations with visitors
Assisting with the movement and transport of animals
Contributing to the enrichment of the species on the section

You must have experience working with animals, gained in a mainstream zoological collection and a full valid driving licence is essential. You will possess excellent all-round animal husbandry skills, combined with excellent communication and interpersonal skills.

This is a physically demanding position, so candidates must have a good level of physical fitness. Experience of driving tractors is also essential to the role. It is desirable that you have previous experience of working with Giraffe, along with a broad understanding of species’ biology, husbandry and welfare.

This permanent role is 40 hours a week working 5 days out of 7 including weekends and bank holidays, the successful candidate will have a genuinely flexible approach to working hours. All applicants must have right to work in the UK.

Closing Date: Tuesday 9 February 2021

To apply: Please email a CV along with a covering letter to - personnel@aspinallfoundation.org

Visit our website: www.aspinallfoundation.org to find out more about us.

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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.

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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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