Animal Care Specialist

General Statement of Duties

Serves as primary caretaker providing daily care and feedings for a wide variety of farm animals on an interpretative living history farm museum complex, or to reptiles, amphibians and fish in a nature center setting with a 50,000-gallon outdoor aquarium; provides routine care and maintenance to the animals' habitats and related structures and systems; develops and facilitates or assists with educational and informational programming; does related work as required.

Essential Duties

This position will be primarily stationed at Meadow Farm Museum
Sound current working knowledge of the keeping, care, feeding, dietary and environmental needs, and display of a wide variety of farm animals
Sound current working knowledge of animal habitat maintenance
Sound current working knowledge of animal husbandry and wellbeing practices
Sound current working knowledge and understanding of health maintenance, health issues, relevant appropriate treatments for common health issues, medicines and medical techniques, related healthcare supplies and rehabilitative care for animals at assigned location
Familiarity of basic principles of positive reinforcement training
Familiarity of basic principles of behavioral enrichment practices
Sound working knowledge of data collection and management to create and maintain a wide variety of records and inventories
Excellent organization skills with the demonstrated ability to plan and execute, work effectively to successfully complete assigned tasks accurately and in a timely manner within established deadlines
Ability to multi-task effectively
Sound critical thinking and problem-solving skills with the ability to appropriately resolve a variety of questions and issues within established policies, guidelines, requirements, and procedures
May require the ability to research issues and identify solutions
Sound judgment with demonstrated ability to consider and weigh a variety of relevant factors and make accurate decisions or recommendations
Visual and hearing acuity sufficient to support the safe handling and care of animals and ensure safety of self and others onsite
Sound computer skills with ability to use computer and typical business software, proprietary software and applications to complete assigned tasks
Excellent interpersonal and communication (verbal and written) skills to communicate information to diverse audiences in user friendly language
Ability to express ideas clearly and concisely, orally and in writing; ability to plan, design and create live animal/reptile exhibit set-ups with a variety of methods and materials appropriate for diverse target audiences
Ability to work independently and as part of a team
Ability to collaborate effectively to establish and maintain a good working relationship with all levels of Division staff, contractors, and other relevant stakeholders
Personal accountability including teamwork and establishing and maintaining positive working relationships
Excellent customer service skills with the demonstrated ability to interact patiently, respectfully and with tact and courtesy with all site visitors and other stakeholders with varying levels of understanding and needs to appropriately address requests, needs and issues
Must be able to represent the County positively and appropriately in interactions with the public and other site-specific stakeholders
May be required to work holidays as assigned
Requires the ability to work a flexible schedule, including days, evenings, weekends, and on-call as needed

Additional Information

Important: Communications regarding your application will come from [email protected] and [email protected] (our applicant tracking system). Please add both addresses to your safe sender list and check your spam or junk folder regularly.

A criminal history record check and fingerprinting is conducted on all persons conditionally offered employment, including a conditional offer of initial employment, or a conditional offer to promote, demote, or laterally transfer an employee.

Minimum Requirements

Completion of relevant college-level coursework in animal science, biology, zoology, or a related field; relevant four (4) year degree preferred, and four (4) years of relevant hands-on work experience; OR, any equivalent combination of experience and training which provides the required knowledge, skills and abilities.

Background Check Disclosure

Applicants considered for employment must successfully complete the following background investigations/tests:

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Criminal History Investigation
State Police Criminal History Investigation
Child Protective Services (CPS) Investigation (Dept. of Social Services, JRJDC, Juvenile Detention Home)

EEO Statement

The County seeks to hire the best-qualified applicants available for each position vacancy, without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions (including lactation), age, marital status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, or military status, status as an organ donor, or any other characteristic protected by law (except where such is a bona fide occupational qualification).