Zoo Commissary Staff (part-time) / Frank Buck Zoo

City of Gainesville; Gainesville (TX); On-site; USD 30,000 - 40,000; Full time

Job summary

City of Gainesville is seeking Animal Care staff to prepare meals for animals and to work with Zoo Admin to inventory, procure, and maintain dietary items for the zoo collection. You will follow diet sheets, maintain kitchen areas to USDA standards, rotate and label items, and assist with browse collection as needed.

The role requires reliability, safety-consciousness, and the ability to work in all weather conditions while collaborating with a team.

Qualifications

• High school diploma or GED is required.
• No prior zoo experience required; prior animal care preferred.
• Valid driver license is required.

Responsibilities

• Prepare all daily diets according to animal area diet sheets.
• Work with Lead Animal Care staff to keep diet sheets up to date.
• Maintain commissary, Carnivore kitchen and Fish kitchen to USDA standards.
• Clean and maintain all coolers/freezers.
• Rotate dietary items and label/date incoming supplies.
• Maintain mealworm colony.
• Select items from orchard and berries when ripe for diets.
• Wash, dry, and store kitchen items.
• Assist animal care staff with browse collection as requested.
• Perform related duties as assigned.

Skills

Maturity

Time management

Safety consciousness

Following procedures

Customer service

Weather adaptability

Instruction following

Independence

Communication

Teamwork

Education

High school diploma or GED

Job description

To provide Animal Care staff with prepared meals for the animals in their care. To work with Zoo Admin to inventory, procure and maintain dietary items necessary to prepare meals for the all the animals in the zoo collection.

EXAMPLES OF DUTIES

Responsibilities and duties may include, but are not limited to, the following:

Essential Functions:

• Prepare all daily diets according to animal area diet sheets.
• Work with Lead Animal Care staff to ensure area diet sheets are up to date.
• Maintain commissary, Carnivore kitchen and Fish kitchen to USDA standards.
• Clean and maintain all coolers/freezers.
• Rotate all dietary items as they come in. Label/date all dietary items as they come in.
• Maintain mealworm colony.
• Pick items from orchard and berry plants as they become ripe and utilize in diets.
• Wash, dry, store kitchen items.
• Run loads of laundry as requested/needed.
• Assist Animal care staff with browse collection as requested.

Additional Duties:

• Perform related duties as assigned.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Demonstrates maturity and professionalism.
• Exhibit good time management and organizational skills.
• Ability to follow established practices, protocols and procedures to prepare safe and healthy meals for animals in the zoo collection.
• Ability to provide courteous customer service.
• Ability to perform work in adverse weather conditions.
• Ability to follow written and verbal instructions, and work independently.
• Ability to maintain a safe work environment for yourself and others.
• Ability to communicate effectively with Lead Animal Care and Admin staff.
• Ability to work as a member of a team as needed/requested.
• Ability to maintain a safe work environment for yourself and others.

Experience and Training Guidelines:

Any combination of experience and training that would likely provide the required knowledge and abilities is qualifying. A typical way to obtain the knowledge and abilities would be:

Experience:

No experience required. Previous experience in working in a zoo environment preferred.

Training:

High school diploma or General Equivalence Diploma (GED) required.

License(s) or Certificate(s):

Possession of a valid driver license.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.

• Regularly required to stand; walk; sit; run; reach with hands and arms; stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl; and talk or hear.
• Frequently required to use hands to finger, handle, or feel objects, tools, or controls.
• Occasionally required to climb or balance.
• Regularly lift and/or move up to 50 pounds.
• Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.
• Ability to wear and use PPE as required.

WORK ENVIRONMENT

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those that must be made by an employee to successfully perform essential functions of this job.

• Regularly works in near moving mechanical parts and in outside weather conditions.
• Regularly exposed to wet and/or humid conditions and extreme heat.
• Occasionally exposed to fumes or airborne particles, toxic or caustic chemicals, risk of electrical shock, risk of radiation, vibration, and biological pathogens.
• May be exposed to zoonotic diseases that may be life threatening.
• The noise level in the work environment is usually loud.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of this job.

This job description is not an employment agreement, contact agreement, or contract. Management has exclusive right to alter this job description at any time without notice.