Admissions Supervisor

Zoo Careers; Seattle (WA); On-site; USD 37,000 - 56,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental & vision plans

Paid holidays & vacation

FSA

Employee Assistance Program

Tuition reimbursement

Free zoo membership

Staff parking

403(b) Retirement Plan

Job summary

Woodland Park Zoo seeks an Admissions Supervisor to lead guest services and admissions operations. You will supervise daily activities, manage schedules, and coach a team to deliver exceptional visitor experiences.

You will collaborate with other departments to streamline processes and ensure a welcoming environment for a diverse audience, including weekend coverage and varied start times.

Qualifications

• AA degree (or equivalent) from an accredited college or technical school; or two or more years of related experience.
• Experience supervising and coordinating a team of more than fifteen staff.
• Basic computer, communication, and mathematics skills.
• Applicants must be at least 18 years old.
• Ability to delegate, coach, and provide actionable feedback.
• Ability to listen and translate vision into planning and implementation.
• Demonstrated customer service and cash handling skills.
• Ability to enforce policies clearly with onsite staff and other departments.

Responsibilities

• Plan, organize, schedule, and supervise daily activities of admissions and guest services operations.
• Forecast staffing needs, post jobs, interview, and hire in coordination with managers.
• Prepare onboarding and separations paperwork; train staff.
• Develop year-round schedules to cover operations and events.
• Provide ongoing feedback and corrective action as needed.
• Address customer service, policy, or operations issues and implement improvements.
• Facilitate visitor flow and crowd control; fill in as needed.
• Respond to and resolve visitor disputes or complaints.
• Support visitors to ensure a positive zoo experience.

Skills

Customer service

Leadership

Communication

Staff management

Education

AA degree or equivalent

2+ years related experience

Tools

Basic computer skills

Job description

SALARY & FLSA:$26.89 to $40.34 per hour ; FLSA non-exempt

The $26.89 to $40.34 hourly starting pay is structured to be competitive and may extend up to the $33.61 midpoint of the annual range, reflecting our commitment to offering competitive compensation to qualified candidates.

OPENING DATE: 08/05/2026

CLOSING DATE: 08/19/2026 (May close sooner if a sufficient number of applications are received.)

JOB TYPE: Full-Time, Regular

UNION: Non-Represented

OPENINGS: 1

LOCATION: Onsite

DEPARTMENT: Admissions & Guest Services

This is a full-time, 40-hour-per-week position requiring weekend availability. Shifts are 8 hours, Thursday through Monday, with start times ranging from 7:00 AM to 9:00 PM based on business needs.

HOW DO YOU ZOO?

More than 1.3 million people visit Woodland Park Zoo each year. We connect people with wildlife and remind them of what’s at stake in our changing world. Our job is to motivate people to take action and provide them with the tools needed to join us in saving endangered species. Working for the zoo means upholding our mission, “To save wildlife and inspire everyone to make conservation a priority in their lives.” Apply today and show us how you zoo.

WHO YOU ARE

As our new Admissions Supervisor, we know you will be successful in this role because you:

• Provide Exemplary Customer Service: You have excellent work standards and provide amazing customer service daily. You enjoy motivating others to also provide superior guest service. You enjoy working with other departments to develop visitor-friendly processes.
• Are A Strong Leader: You enjoy working hard. You like to create work schedules to cover operations and accommodate employee sick days, vacation requests, breaks, special events and team meetings. You also enjoy supervising the daily activities of the Admissions Department
• Are Comfortable Speaking and Working with Everyone: You are comfortable working with teammates, people from other departments, and assisting zoo guests. You enjoy working as part of a diverse team. You treat everyone with respect and are comfortable adapting your communication based on the audience and always communicate inclusively.
• Are A Problem Solver: You are comfortable responding to and rectifying visitor disputes, complaints, and issues to ensure that all guests have a positive experience. You can communicate problems or issues related to customer service, personnel, policy, or other areas; and you can implement improvement plans to prevent further issues from arising.

YOUR PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Plan, organize, schedule, and supervise the daily activities of the Zoo entry gates and membership areas, guest services, carousel, fee-based exhibits, and other revenue related areas.
• Assess and forecast staffing needs by filling vacancies in a timely manner, including posting jobs and screening applicants, as well as conducting interviews and selecting friendly and competent hires in conjunction with Admissions managers.
• Follow appropriate procedures and prepare paperwork for employee onboarding and separations, and provides departmental training for ticket and membership services, the carousel, and other related positions.
• Develop work schedules throughout the year to cover operations and accommodate employee sick days, vacation requests, breaks, special events, and trainings/staff meetings.
• Supply continuous feedback to individual employees on performance, including identifying shortcomings and taking corrective action in coordination with other managerial staff as appropriate.
• Communicate problems or issues related to customer service, personnel, policy, or other areas relevant to the operations of the department and identifies and implements improvement plans including coordinating changes with impacted staff.
• Facilitate visitors’ entries, helps with crowd control, and fills in for any staff positions as needed.
• Respond to and rectify visitor disputes, complaints, and issues.
• Support visitors to ensure a positive zoo experience.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Ability to speak a language in addition to English.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Associate degree (AA) or equivalent from an accredited two year college or technical school; or two (2) or more year’s related experience and/or training; or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Experience supervising and coordinating a team of more than fifteen (15) staff.
• Basic computer, communication, and mathematics skills.
• Applicants must be at least 18 years old.
• Ability to delegate responsibilities, work with others, and coach employees to develop their full potential. Provide helpful, behaviorally specific feedback to others.
• Ability to listen, give and receive feedback in a productive and professional manner. Able to translate vision into planning and organizational implementation.
• Demonstrated customer service skills and ability to interact with visitors in a courteous and professional manner.
• Demonstrated strong cash handling skills.
• Able to understand, explain, and enforce policies to onâsite staff, other zoo departments and the general public in a clear and confident manner.

BENEFITS

The Woodland Park Zoo offers a comprehensive benefits package for full time staff including:

• Medical, dental, and vision HMO and PPO plans for you and eligible dependents
• 11 paid holidays and 2 personal holidaysâ¯
• Accrue 12 vacation days and another 12 days of sick your first year
• Flexible Spending Account (FSA)â¯
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)â¯
• Tuition reimbursementâ¯
• Free zoo membership that includes zoo admission and discounts after 90 daysâ¯
• 4 complimentary tickets per year plus other discounts and perksâ¯â¯
• Free staff parkingâ¯
• 403(b) Retirement Planâ¯

SELECTION PROCESS

Application

Please include a resume with your application through our Zoo Careers site at zoo.org/jobs. Please be sure to list or upload copies of all relevant training and certifications on your application. The zoo may review existing application pools to fill this position or use this pool to fill future vacancies.

This opportunity is open to all candidates that meet the qualifications. Woodland Park Zoo values diverse perspectives and life experiences. Applicants will be considered regardless of race, color, creed, national origin, ancestry, sex, marital status, disability, religious or political affiliation, age, sexual orientation, or gender identity. The zoo encourages people of all backgrounds to apply, including people of color, immigrants, refugees, women, 2SLGBTQ, people with disabilities, veterans, and those with diverse life experiences. Woodland Park Zoo is committed to providing access and reasonable accommodation in all its services. If you need accommodation in the application or interview process, please contact our recruiting team at [e-mail].

Screening

We will review applications and select some candidates for screening calls. Final candidates will be invited for virtual or in-person interviews.

Offer

Job offers are contingent on the verification of credentials and other information required by the employment process including the completion of a background check.