Experienced Keepers (x2)

The Royal Zoological Society of SA Inc; Adelaide; On-site; AUD 65,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

The Royal Zoological Society of SA Inc is seeking two Experienced Keepers to join our Life Sciences Curatorial team at Adelaide Zoo. These 1.0 FTE permanent roles operate on a 7-day roster, including weekends and public holidays, delivering excellent animal care, welfare, and visitor experiences.

Ideal candidates have extensive exotic animal experience, strong husbandry and welfare knowledge, and the ability to train and engage visitors.

Qualifications

• Extensive professional experience working with exotic animals in a zoological or wildlife park environment.
• Experience with dangerous or Category 1 animals is highly desirable but not essential.
• Strong practical animal husbandry and management skills.
• Solid understanding of animal behaviour, welfare and positive reinforcement training.
• Confidence working safely with animals of varying sizes, behaviours and risk levels.
• Experience in breeding or conservation programs is desirable.
• Ability to identify changes in animal health, behaviour and welfare and respond appropriately.
• Strong workplace health and safety understanding around potentially dangerous animals.
• Confident delivering keeper talks and visitor experiences.
• Willingness to work across a 7-day roster, including weekends and public holidays.

Responsibilities

• Undertake daily husbandry and operational duties for a diverse species collection.
• Safely handle, restrain and manage animals per procedures and risk controls.
• Develop positive relationships with animals through training and conditioning.
• Support enrichment and behavioural management programs promoting welfare.
• Participate in breeding and conservation programs when required.
• Monitor health and behaviour, reporting changes or concerns.
• Maintain accurate animal records including welfare and veterinary data.
• Deliver keeper talks and visitor presentations to engage guests.
• Collaborate with veterinary, curatorial and other teams across Zoos SA.
• Contribute to ongoing improvement of husbandry and animal welfare practices.
• Work across other areas of the Curatorial Department as needed.

Skills

Exotic animals experience

Husbandry skills

Animal behaviour knowledge

Safety around dangerous animals

Visitor communication

Flexibility

Independent work

Team collaboration

Education

Certificate III in Captive Animals

Job description

This is an exciting time at Adelaide Zoo, with several significant projects underway and planned for the future. Zoos SA offers a unique opportunity to build a career in a progressive, conservation-focused organisation delivering exceptional animal care, conservation outcomes, and memorable visitor experiences.

Adelaide Zoo is seeking two experienced, highly motivated Experienced Keepers to join our Life Sciences Curatorial team.

These positions suit experienced zoo keepers with a strong background working with exotic species and a passion for delivering exceptional animal care, welfare, and visitor experiences. Experience with dangerous or Category 1 animals, particularly primates, ungulates and carnivores, is highly desirable; however, we welcome applications from keepers with experience across a broad range of taxa.

Both positions are offered on a 1.0 FTE permanent basis, working across a 7-day roster, including weekends and public holidays.

ABOUT THE ROLE...

Guided by Zoos SA's values, you will work collaboratively with the keeping team to deliver best-practice animal care, conservation outcomes and engaging visitor experiences. Under general supervision and within established guidelines, you will safely and effectively undertake a broad range of animal keeping and operational duties.

As an Experienced Keeper, you will contribute to the daily care and management of a diverse collection of animals. The successful applicants will be expected to demonstrate strong husbandry skills, sound animal behaviour and welfare knowledge, and the ability to work confidently with a range of species and environments.

Key responsibilities include:

• Undertaking daily husbandry and operational duties for a diverse collection of species;
• Safely handling, restraint and management of animals in accordance with established procedures and risk controls;
• Developing and maintaining positive working relationships with animals through appropriate training and conditioning techniques;
• Supporting animal training, enrichment and behavioural management programs that promote natural behaviours and positive welfare outcomes;
• Participating in breeding and conservation programs where required;
• Monitoring animal health and behaviour, and identifying and reporting changes or concerns appropriately;
• Supporting voluntary participation in routine husbandry, veterinary procedures and health checks;
• Maintaining accurate animal records, including husbandry, behavioural, breeding and veterinary information;
• Delivering engaging keeper talks, formal presentations and visitor experiences;
• Supporting the development and delivery of engaging animal presentations and interpretation activities;
• Working collaboratively with other keepers, veterinary staff, curatorial staff and other teams across Zoos SA;
• Contributing to the ongoing development and improvement of husbandry practices, animal welfare and visitor experiences;
• Working flexibly across other areas of the Curatorial Department as required, including other keeping rounds.

ABOUT YOU...

The successful candidates will demonstrate:

• Extensive professional experience working with exotic animals in a zoological, wildlife park or similar professional animal management environment;
• Experience working with dangerous or Category 1 animals is highly desirable, but not essential;
• Strong practical animal husbandry and animal management skills;
• A sound understanding of animal behaviour, welfare and positive reinforcement training principles;
• Confidence working safely with animals of varying sizes, behaviours and levels of risk;
• Experience participating in breeding programs, conservation programs or other species management initiatives is desirable;
• Demonstrated ability to identify changes in animal health, behaviour and welfare and respond appropriately;
• Strong understanding of workplace health and safety, including working safely around potentially dangerous animals;
• Confidence delivering keeper talks, presentations or visitor experiences;
• Certificate III in Captive Animals or another relevant and acceptable zoo-keeping qualification;
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to engage visitors, staff, volunteers and external stakeholders;
• Strong organisational skills and the ability to work both independently and collaboratively;
• Flexibility and willingness to work across a 7-day roster, including weekends and public holidays.

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, ensuring our people continue to reflect the local communities in which we work. If you are unable to submit your application because of incompatible assistive technology or require reasonable adjustments, please contact Genesse via 08 8230 1211 and [[e-mail]](mailto:[e-mail])

Applications close at 5:00 pm on 26th September.

Please note that Zoos SA reserves the right to close applications early if required.

Further appointments may occur from this recruitment process.