Zoological Specialist

MIRAL; United Arab Emirates; On-site; AED 30,000 - 40,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading wildlife organization in the United Arab Emirates is looking for an animal care specialist. The role involves daily husbandry tasks, ensuring nutrition and care of marine mammals, applying behavioral techniques, and providing guest services. The ideal candidate should have a high school diploma in a relevant field, certification in Open Water SCUBA, and 2 years of relatable animal experience. Strong communication, swimming skills, and basic computer knowledge are essential. Join our team to make a meaningful impact in wildlife care.

Qualifications

• 2 years of relatable animal experience in a professional setting.
• Demonstrate an understanding of marine mammal husbandry and training principles and techniques.

Responsibilities

• Perform daily husbandry tasks including administration of vitamins and medication.
• Prepare food and provide proper nutrition and care for animals.
• Maintain safe and sanitary living conditions for all animal habitats.
• Apply behavioral modification techniques and maintain trained behaviors.
• Ensure safety through monitoring behavioral precursors.
• Assist in training colleagues and animals as directed.
• Provide guest services through interactions and inquiries.
• Make daily observations and report abnormalities.
• Maintain animal records and area responsibilities.
• Consistently practice safe work habits.
• Deliver department trainings as required.

Skills

Marine mammal husbandry

Excellent verbal and written communication skills

Swimming and diving skills

Basic mathematical skills

Basic computer knowledge

Education

High School diploma and/or degree in Psychology, Zoology or Biology

Certification in Open Water SCUBA

Job description

The job scope includes:

• Performs daily husbandry tasks including administration of vitamins and medication as directed
• Prepares food, provides proper nutrition and constant care of animals
• Maintains a safe, appropriate and sanitary living conditions for all animal habitats
• Applies proficient behavioral modification techniques. This includes, but is not limited in developing and implementing new behavior, training of naïve animals with minimum supervision, training behavior to completion without supervision, proactively maintaining conditioned behavior, and the ability to form relationships with most, if not all, of the animals in assigned area
• Ensures guests, personal, and animals’ safety through constant monitoring of the behavioral precursors of potentially harmful behavior by both animals and people
• Assists on the training of colleagues and animals as directed by the leadership
• Provides proactive guest services through guest interactions, pre and post shows, and responding to guest inquiries
• Performs assigned roles in education and general public programs, and guest interaction programs
• Makes daily observations of animals and reports any abnormalities to the leadership team
• Maintains all animal records, equipment, area responsibilities, and communication requirements on a daily basis
• Functions as Ambassador by displaying consideration, tolerance, cooperation, open communication, and reliability; maintains a consistent attitude, motivation, and ability to accept feedback
• Ensures all policies, guidelines, manuals and SOPs are followed at all times
• Consistently practices safe work habits including, but not limited to the use of personal protective equipment, lifting and reporting of unsafe situations
• Delivers department trainings as well as completes all required trainings; ensures in maintaining professional development and competencies
• Performs other duties as assigned

To be considered for this role, you will need to have:

Job Essentials:

• High School diploma and/or degree in Psychology, Zoology or Biology or equivalent
• Certification in Open Water SCUBA
• 2 years of relatable animal experience in a professional setting
• Demonstrate an understanding of marine mammal husbandry and training principles and techniques
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English
• Excellent swimming and diving skills
• Basic mathematical skill
• Basic computer knowledge including MS Office and animal recording system