Wildlife Nutrition Centre Lead — Operations & Diet Strategy

Mandai Wildlife Group; Singapore; On-site; SGD 90,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Mandai Wildlife Group in Singapore seeks a seasoned Operations Leader for its Wildlife and Avian Nutrition Centres. You will oversee procurement, preparation and distribution of diets for over 15,000 animals across five zoological parks, ensuring animal welfare and sustainable practices.

You will lead staff, coordinate with veterinary, curatorial and procurement teams, drive KPI performance, and implement HACCP-compliant processes, while advancing mechanisation and cost control.

Qualifications

• Minimum 5 years of managerial experience in central kitchen, commissary, wildlife nutrition, zoo or rescue center operations, or animal feed management.
• Procurement and contract management for feed and supplies.
• Quality control and inventory systems.
• Leading and developing operational teams in a high-compliance environment.
• Worked in a zoo or similar animal set up with a sound understanding of the intricate relationship between diet design, preparation and provision and consumption compliance by the animal.

Responsibilities

• Oversee the smooth and efficient operations of the Wildlife Nutrition Centre and Avian Nutrition Centre to ensure optimal nutrition for MWG animals.
• Manage daily operations including ordering, receiving, storing, preparing, and distributing animal diets.
• Ensure compliance with hygiene, safety, and regulatory standards (e.g., HACCP, AVS).
• Reviewing and implementing work procedures to improved productivity by using mechanisation and automation.
• Collaborate with Veterinarians, Curators, to implement nutrition strategies and food quality control programs.
• Work with veterinarians, curators, and the Scientific Programmes team to refine and implement evidence-based diets.
• Work with curators on methods of feeding and food presentation to encourage natural feeding behaviours and food consumption
• Support nutrition-related research and contribute to MWG role as a living laboratory.
• To oversee drafting of the tender specifications of animal feeds, and work with sustainability, legal and finance department to draft contract clauses.
• To work with procurement department and use online portal (SESAMi) to perform tender exercise.
• To be responsible for managing suppliers and contractors to ensure the compliance and fulfilment of the contract.
• To assist Senior Curator in preparing and planning the annual animal feed budget.
• To ensure economically and environmentally sustainable sourcing of animal feed.
• Plan and recruit staff to ensure smooth operations of the Center.
• Plan goals and development of Wildlife Nutrition and Avian Nutrition Centre for staffs.
• Establish KPI and goals setting with Senior Curator for staff to pursue in each FY and work alongside with the Assistant Manager.
• Arrange training and plan staff development programs, ensuring staff's continuous progress and development
• Together with the Assistant Manager to assess the performance of staff in Wildlife Nutrition Centre and Avian Nutrition Centre
• To arrange regular meetings or catch-up sessions to monitor the progress of staff's goals and KPIs Coach and guide staff to achieve their goals, assign senior staff as mentors when needed.

Skills

Leadership

Team management

Cross-functional collaboration

Planning & organising

Kitchen equipment knowledge

Regulatory compliance

Procurement systems

Contract management

Problem solving

Communication

Driving license (Class 3/4)

Nutritional/diet challenges

Decision making

Tools

SESAMi

Job description

Mandai Wildlife Group in Singapore seeks a seasoned Operations Leader for its Wildlife and Avian Nutrition Centres. You will oversee procurement, preparation and distribution of diets for over 15,000 animals across five zoological parks, ensuring animal welfare and sustainable practices.

You will lead staff, coordinate with veterinary, curatorial and procurement teams, drive KPI performance, and implement HACCP-compliant processes, while advancing mechanisation and cost control.