Animal Keeper Team Leader - Great Apes
A unique career
opportunity to lead the team caring
for all 4 Great Apes!
East
Midland Zoological Society has been running Twycross Zoo for almost 60 years in
the heart of England in Atherstone.
We are an award-winning conservation and science-led zoo which is rapidly growing, and pre-Covid, were welcoming over 600,000 people every year to our 100-acre rural site.
We are an ambitious organisation
keen to drive the conservation and scientific aspects of the zoo to new heights as well as optimising on commercial advantages. We are the only
zoo in the UK to
house all 4 great apes -
Gorilla, Orangutan, Bonobo and Chimpanzee - and we care for some of the most endangered animals to the highest welfare
standards, including an extensive primate collection plus tiger, leopard, giraffe, rhino, penguin,
flamingo and giant tortoise
represented.
The Role - Animal
Keeper Team Leader - Great
Apes
Reporting to the Curator of Living
Collections, you’ll play a key role in leading the team of around 14 colleagues caring for our Great
Apes. Your role will require
you to:
·
Motivate and manage a team of Deputy
Team Leaders and Keepers
·
Ensure that the team are adequately trained
and new employees are properly
inducted
·
Ensure that all departmental colleagues consistently demonstrate best customer service practice
·
Carry out performance management of direct
reports
·
Liaise with the HR to ensure appropriate handling of people management issues
·
Ensure that the day-to-day
responsibilities for animal welfare and the presentation of the collection is met, while ensuring
continued improvement of standards in line with best practice and being involved in making
ethical decisions
·
Work closely with the zoo’s animal
health/veterinary department regarding all aspects of animal health care, including assisting with the capture and
restraint of all species and being involved with implementation of preventative medicine programmes as required
·
Maintain up-to-date knowledge and understanding, relevant
to area of responsibility, utilising
all available resources and making recommendations for change
·
Ensure that budgeting guidelines and responsibilities are adhered to
·
Represent the zoo on appropriate
professional and scientific bodies and promote its profile and reputation as an outstanding centre
of animal management, education and conservation
·
Be part of the team ensuring the
security of the zoo premises and grounds at all times, and handle emergencies as required
·
Be part of the rota covering Duty Animal
Manager role
Our Requirements – Animal Keeper Team Leader - Great Apes
·
Proven relevant experience of
zoological animal management, which must have included working with Great Apes
·
Experience managing and motivating a team of animal keepers
·
Flexible and calm working style
to effectively handle
a variety of issues at once
·
IT competence, and good
communication skills including ability to produce written documents as required
·
A passion for the Zoo’s
work and purpose
·
Willingness to be trained as a first aider
and to be on call as part of the zoo’s first
aid duty rota
Although not essential, an
appropriate animal related qualification or willingness to work towards, would
be preferable.
The Package
Staff engagement is at the
very core of what we do.
We are committed to the fundamental approach
of equal opportunities in employment.
You will benefit from:
·
A salary of £26,520
·
31 days annual
leave
·
A
staff membership card giving
you free entry to the Zoo on your days off and
discounts in our retail and food outlets,
and
·
Free onsite parking
·
Permanent contract, working
an average of 43 hours per week
on a rota. You’ll work 5 days out of 7 between the hours of 8am to 6pm
during the summer and 8am to 5pm during the winter months.
More about Twycross Zoo:
Over the last 8 years we have
opened a new gibbon island complex, a multi-million-pound chimpanzee area, built a new tiger habitat
and a new rhino area and welcomed our largest visitor numbers ever in 2019. We launched our Tz2030Vision in late 2019 which sets out
the developments for the next 10 years
including a National
Science and Conservation Centre.
Covid has hit us hard but with
great teamwork and restructuring only put development plans on hold for a year so we are emerging
with a renewed energy to restart and continue
our growth and success.
You’ll be part of an evolving and
progressive organisation at Twycross Zoo East Midland Zoological Society.
We can promise a challenging and supportive workplace where your expertise
is valued, and change
is a constant! Our organisation strives to educate and inspire everyone to care
about, and therefore help save, the other species with which we share our planet.
All applications for this Animal Keeper Team Leader - Great Apes
vacancy are to be submitted online, and strictly no agency calls or agency CV submissions.
Please apply via this link: https://jobs.twycrosszoo.org/twycrosszoo/search/vacancy/all/1/4283198/animal%20keeper%20tea m%20leader%20-%20great%20apes%20atherstone%20england.html?keywords=animal%20keeper
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 | | Peter Dickinson
Independent International Zoo Consultant |
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