Head of Aquarist and Conservation

Randstad Malaysia; Kuala Lumpur; Sur place; MYR 180 000 - 300 000; Plein temps

Avantages offerts par ce poste

Competitive executive compensation

Medical benefits

Statutory benefits

Leadership development opportunities

Résumé du poste

Randstad Malaysia is seeking an experienced leader to direct animal welfare and ethical governance for a premier aquatic destination. In this role you will establish welfare standards, oversee daily care, and coordinate with veterinary teams to safeguard health and welfare across the collection.

You will lead quarantine, biosecurity, and disease-surveillance programs, manage allocation of resources, staff development, and multi‑year collection planning.

Qualifications

• 8–10+ years of progressive leadership experience in public aquariums, zoos, or wildlife centers.
• Proven expertise in welfare monitoring, veterinary coordination, quarantine protocols, and biosecurity.
• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field; advanced training in aquaculture or marine animal care preferred.

Responsabilités

• Lead the animal welfare framework and ethical governance across the collection.
• Coordinate veterinary care, preventive health, and disease surveillance.
• Oversee quarantine, biosecurity, and performance audits.
• Manage budgeting, staffing, and multi-year collection planning.

Connaissances

Animal Welfare

Veterinary Coordination

Quarantine Protocols

Biosecurity

Staff Training

SOP/Data Governance

Conservation Programs

Collection Planning

Formation

Bachelor Degree

Description du poste

About the Company

A premier operator of world-class aquatic destinations dedicated to marine care, immersive education, and impactful environmental conservation. Combining cutting-edge biological management with public outreach, they are an industry leader in animal welfare and habitat restoration.

Animal Welfare and Ethical Governance

• Establish, implement, and continuously improve an animal-welfare framework covering physical health, nutrition, environment, behaviour, and species-specific needs.
• Ensure daily observations, documented checks, and formal welfare assessments are completed with clear triggers for escalation and veterinary review.
• Investigate animal-welfare concerns and abnormal behaviors, ensuring commercial or operational pressures never override legal and ethical welfare standards.

Animal Husbandry and Collection Care

• Direct daily husbandry for the full animal collection, including feeding, cleaning, habitat upkeep, conditioning, and special-needs care.
• Develop and approve species-specific husbandry manuals detailing environmental parameters, stocking densities, compatibility, and enrichment.
• Maintain accurate animal inventory and census records, managing safe introductions, transfers, and off-show quarantine operations.

Veterinary Coordination and Preventive Health

• Establish an effective working arrangement with the appointed veterinarian for routine rounds, emergency access, and clinical treatment protocols.
• Coordinate preventive-health programs, including diagnostic sampling, health examinations, parasite control, and geriatric care plans.
• Maintain controlled stocks of authorized medicines and manage diagnostic testing, pathology, and post-mortem reviews to identify corrective actions.

Quarantine, Biosecurity and Disease Surveillance

• Maintain risk-based quarantine and acclimatization protocols for incoming acquisitions, transfers, rescued animals, and disease exposures.
• Implement strict cross-contamination controls covering movement between quarantine, treatment, holding, and public exhibit areas.
• Direct disease-surveillance indicators, lead outbreak-response planning with the veterinarian, and audit biosecurity compliance regularly.

Aquarium, Habitat and Life-Support Operations

• Define critical operating limits for habitats, filtration, circulation, oxygenation, temperature control, salinity, and backup systems.
• Coordinate daily with Engineering and Maintenance on LSS status, preventive maintenance, alarms, and planned system shutdowns.
• Review LSS logs for performance deviations, confirm animal-care readiness before commissioning habitats, and maintain emergency backup capacity.

Water Quality and Environmental Monitoring

• Establish species-specific water-quality standards, testing frequencies, action limits, and escalation thresholds.
• Direct routine testing and trend analysis of chemical, physical, and microbiological parameters using calibrated instruments.
• Investigate out-of-specification results, coordinate corrective action, and provide monthly LSS and water-quality trend reports to Management.

Animal Nutrition, Feed Safety and Food-Preparation Control

• Develop species-specific diets, feeding schedules, portions, and supplementation plans based on veterinary guidance and body condition.
• Approve feed specifications and suppliers, enforcing cold-chain integrity, storage rotation, and strict food-preparation sanitation.
• Monitor feed consumption, wastage, and animal body-condition trends, adjusting diets and managing annual feed budgets accordingly.

Behavioural Enrichment, Conditioning and Animal Training

• Implement species-appropriate enrichment programs that promote natural behaviors, exploration, and cognitive stimulation.
• Utilise positive-reinforcement conditioning for voluntary medical exams and handling to reduce stress and physical restraint.
• Set ethical standards for public demonstrations, train staff in safe conditioning techniques, and measure enrichment effectiveness.

Conservation, Research, Rescue and Rehabilitation

• Develop an annual conservation plan aligned with local biodiversity priorities, regional research, and institutional expertise.
• Lead or support wildlife rescue, stabilization, rehabilitation, and release programs in coordination with authorities and qualified partners.
• Evaluate external research proposals for scientific merit and ethical standards while maintaining accurate, evidence-based conservation records.

Conservation Education and Public Engagement

• Set technical content and learning objectives for animal talks, presentations, tours, signage, and public campaigns.
• Verify that all public information regarding species, welfare, rescue, and conservation is factually accurate, current, and balanced.
• Train aquarists and educators on clear, responsible communication and establish operational stopping criteria during visitor interactions.

Species, Collection and Transfer Planning

• Maintain a multi-year collection plan addressing demographic structure, exhibit capacity, welfare, compatibility, and financial sustainability.
• Evaluate proposed acquisitions, breeding, transfers, and rescues for legal provenance, health status, transport risk, and lifetime care obligations.
• Coordinate transport logistics— including specialized containers, environmental control, permits, and post-arrival monitoring— for all animal movements.

Regulatory Compliance, Permits and Professional Standards

• Maintain a current register of all statutory obligations, wildlife permits, licenses, and veterinary compliance mandates.
• Prepare regulatory applications, renewals, and movement records, coordinating official inspections and addressing audit findings promptly.
• Benchmark operations against recognized zoo and aquarium accreditation standards, escalating any compliance or permit concerns to Management immediately.

SOPs, Records, Data Integrity and Quality Assurance

• Develop, control, and review standard operating procedures (SOPs) and work instructions for all husbandry, LSS, and emergency operations.
• Maintain complete, traceable records for animal inventory, daily care, treatments, water parameters, and operational incidents.
• Perform regular internal quality checks and data reconciliations between animal care, veterinary, and permit records to ensure full audit readiness.

Team Leadership, Competency and Workforce Planning

• Supervise, mentor, and develop aquarists and animal-care staff, setting clear operational duties, performance expectations, and shift rosters.
• Maintain a technical competency matrix covering species care, diving, water quality, medication administration, and emergency response.
• Conduct regular briefings, toolboxes, and performance reviews while fostering an open culture for reporting safety and welfare concerns.

Risk Management, Safety and Emergency Response

• Maintain risk assessments and emergency protocols for animal escapes, bites/envenomation, diver incidents, power loss, and natural disasters.
• Ensure emergency equipment, capture tools, personal protective equipment, and backup generators are fully operational and routinely inspected.
• Lead regular cross-departmental drills, investigate incidents using root-cause analysis, and support business-continuity planning.

Exhibit Development, Redevelopment and Technical Advisory

• Act as principal technical adviser for new exhibit builds, redevelopments, holding spaces, and life-support facility upgrades.
• Define operational design criteria covering space, depth, barriers, filtration parameters, animal capture access, and staff safety.
• Review contractor designs, participate in readiness gate reviews prior to commissioning, and oversee animal introduction and post-opening monitoring.

Budgeting, Procurement and Asset Planning

• Prepare and manage operating and capital budgets for feed, veterinary care, water-testing reagents, conservation, and facility equipment.
• Evaluate and select suppliers for feed, lab testing, specialized tools, and consulting services while managing critical inventory stock levels.
• Formulate lifecycle replacement plans for animal-care equipment, identifying single points of failure to prioritize capital expenditure.

Management Reporting, Performance and Stakeholder Coordination

• Provide concise monthly reports and dashboards to the General Manager covering welfare, health incidents, water quality, compliance, and budget tracking.
• Immediately report serious welfare, safety, environmental, or regulatory incidents, providing verified operational updates as they develop.
• Collaborate cross-departmentally with Engineering, Operations, and HR, representing the organization in technical meetings with external authorities and partners.

Skills and Experience Required

• 8–10+ years of progressive experience in a public aquarium, marine park, zoo, research facility, or wildlife conservation center.
• 3–5+ years in a supervisory, curatorial, or management capacity overseeing animal‑care teams, budgets, operational readiness, compliance, and collection planning.
• Hands‑on experience in husbandry, welfare monitoring, veterinary coordination, quarantine protocols, LSS interfaces, incident response, staff training, and SOP/data governance.
• Experience in facility redevelopment, animal transfers, rescue/rehabilitation, or conservation partnerships is highly desirable.
• Deep understanding of aquatic animal biology, health surveillance, water chemistry, filtration, circulation, oxygenation, and the direct impact of LSS parameters on specimen welfare.
• Practical experience managing species such as teleost fish, sharks/rays, reptiles, turtles, birds/penguins, or marine mammals.
• Knowledge of international zoo/aquarium standards (e.g., WAZA, SEAZA, ZAA, AZA, EAZA) is preferred.

Culture and Benefits

The company's culture is built on safety, collaboration, and operational reliability, fostering a supportive, hands‑on environment where technical expertise is valued, teamwork is encouraged, and employee contributions are actively recognized. In addition to a purpose-driven workplace focused on marine stewardship, employees enjoy competitive executive compensation, comprehensive medical and statutory benefits, and ongoing opportunities for professional growth and leadership development.

experience

8 years

skills

marine curator, aquarist, marine operations, aquatic conservation, aquatic animal husbandry, animal welfare, animal science, zoo, aquarium, marine park, veterinarians, veterinary

qualifications

no additional qualifications required

education

Bachelor Degree