Assistant Curator

The Royal Zoological Society of SA Inc; Adelaide; On-site; AUD 70,000 - 95,000; Full time

Job summary

Zoos SA in Adelaide is seeking an experienced Assistant Curator to lead the Life Sciences team at Adelaide Zoo. This permanent, full-time role focuses on animal management, staff coaching, and operational coordination across sections to deliver high standards of care and engaging visitor experiences.

Reporting to the Curator, you will mentor staff, oversee rostering and documentation, act as Duty Manager on a rostered basis, including weekends and public holidays, and foster a positive team

Qualifications

• Experience leading teams in animal care environments.
• Strong focus on animal welfare and safety standards.
• Excellent communication and coaching skills.

Responsibilities

• Provide leadership and operational support to a high-performing Life Sciences team.
• Mentor staff through coaching, training and feedback.
• Oversee rostering, documentation and positive team culture.
• Support engaging visitor experiences and conservation messaging.
• Occasionally act as Duty Manager, including weekends/public holidays.

Skills

Leadership

Team coordination

Animal husbandry

Communication

Safety & welfare

Education

Certificate III in Captive Animals

Job description

Are you ready to take the next step in your zoo career?

Zoos SA is looking for an experienced and passionate animal professional to join our Life Sciences team as an Assistant Curator at Adelaide Zoo.

This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced leader to further develop their skills in animal management, team leadership and operational coordination within a progressive zoological organisation.

We’re interested in hearing from people with a strong background in animal husbandry and a genuine passion for leading people and delivering high standards of animal care. We are open to experience across different taxa, and are more interested in your leadership capability, animal management experience and approach than a particular taxonomic background.

About the Role
Reporting to the Curator, the Assistant Curator plays a key role in supporting the daily operations of the Life Sciences team. The position focuses on:

• Providing leadership and operational support to a high-performing team
• Assisting with the delivery of best-practice husbandry, animal welfare and safety standards
• Mentoring and developing staff through coaching, training and feedback
• Contributing to planning, rostering, documentation and positive team culture
• Supporting the delivery of engaging visitor experiences and conservation messaging
• Acting as Duty Manager on a rostered basis, including weekends and public holidays

This is a permanent, full-time position working a 5-day roster. The role is based at Adelaide Zoo, but may involve working across different sections depending on operational requirements.

About You
We’re looking for someone who lives Zoos SA’s values and is excited by the opportunity to lead, develop others and contribute at a higher level.

You’ll bring:

• A minimum Certificate III in Captive Animals, or equivalent qualifications and experience
• Previous experience in a leadership, supervisory, or team coordination role.
• Strong animal husbandry experience and a commitment to high standards of animal welfare
• Strong communication skills and the ability to lead and support a team with professionalism and positivity
• A proactive approach to safety, animal welfare and operational problem-solving
• A collaborative mindset and willingness to support the team wherever needed
• Strong organisational skills and attention to detail, with confidence in documentation and planning
• The ability to build positive relationships and contribute to a strong team culture

We’re happy to consider candidates from various zoological and animal care backgrounds. What truly matters most are your skills, experience, and leadership qualities, rather than the specific taxa you've worked with.

If you’re an experienced keeper ready to take the next step, or an established leader looking for a new challenge, we’d love to hear from you.

Zoos SA is passionately committed to equal employment opportunity. We believe diversity, inclusion and reconciliation are fundamental to our rich organisational culture and values, and we demonstrate this commitment through all our employment practices so that our people continue to reflect the local communities in which we work.