Overview

Summary

The position will act as primary caregiver to the Conservation and Research Departments living animal collection, which includes a large breeding colony of Louisiana pine snakes and dusky gopher frogs, and smaller groups of a variety of other reptiles, amphibians and invertebrates.

The Research Husbandry Technician is also responsible for ensuring a positive guest experience when interacting with guests and facilitating research and conservation chats.

Essential Job Functions

• Daily husbandry of assigned animals.
• Facilitates formal and informal public presentations to engage guests and provide a positive guest experience.
• Actively observes animals behavior, checking for any signs of illness or disorder; reports irregularities and abnormal behavior to supervisor; works with vet staff to address medical needs.
• Prepares and administers appropriate daily diets and maintain accurate records of assigned animals.
• Appropriately cleans and disinfects assigned animal enclosures/habitats according to written protocols and ensures a sanitary and safe environment.
• Exercise good judgement when making decisions that affect our collection.
• Assists hospital staff in all aspects of animal treatment within the assigned section.
• May incorporate modern behavioral husbandry techniques such as operant conditioning and environmental enrichment into animal care.

Qualifications

Minimum Requirements:

• Bachelors degree in Zoology, Biology, or a related field
• Extensive knowledge in the husbandry of captive reptiles and amphibians, including nutrition, behavior interpretation, signs of illness and disease, methods to stimulate captive reproduction, safe handling techniques, cleanliness of enclosures and biosecurity procedures, and caging security.
• Preferred Qualifications: Knowledge of basic principles of experimental design is desirable for providing husbandry to animals which are contributing to conservation research projects.

Competencies:

• Written and oral communication Proficiency
• Proficient in MS Office, current technology and applications for communication, research and record keeping.
• Records and reports creation and management
• Problem Solving/Analysis.
• Stress Management/Composure.
• Flexibility.
• Teamwork Orientation.

Supervisory Responsibility: None

Reporting Structure: Reports to Director of Conservation & Research.

Position Type/Expected Hours of Work: This is a one-year funded, full-time 40 hrs per week position which regularly requires weekend work.

Work Environment: While performing the duties of this job, the employee frequently works in outside weather conditions. The employee is occasionally exposed to wet and/or humid conditions, fumes or airborne particles, chemicals and vibration.

The noise level in the work environment is usually quiet while in the office, or moderately loud while on Zoo grounds.

Physical Demands: The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently required to stand, walk, sit, talk and hear. The employee is constantly required to use hands and fingers to feel, handle or operate objects, tools, or controls; and reach with hands and arms. The employee is occasionally required to climb, balance, stoop, kneel, crouch, crawl and walk. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 50 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, peripheral vision, color vision, and the ability to adjust focus.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Other Duties: Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice.