POSITION SUMMARY
The Curator of Aquatics will oversee the care, display, and management of aquatic animals and habitats of Mississippi Aquarium. This individual will lead the aquatics team, ensure the well-being of all aquatic species, and maintain high standards for habitat, health and exhibit quality. They will also play a vital role in staff development, conservation initiatives, and research projects.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
- Supervise a team of animal care staff, volunteers, and interns to ensure the welfare of live animal collections and management of all areas to which they are assigned. Areas of responsibility include daily operations, care and maintenance of live exhibits, record keeping, disease recognition, potential field collecting and species identification, and caring for animals in quarantine. Inspect, evaluate and maintain the care and well-being of the animals and apply established husbandry, nutritional and behavioral management standards.
- Responsible for daily operation of assigned areas including direct management of staff that requires recruitment, training, scheduling, payroll and performance management; provide encouragement of staff development through effective leadership communication, training, coaching and mentoring; create, foster and maintain a positive team-oriented work environment.
- Works with SVP and with industry contacts to help create and curate institutional ICP. Obtains all necessary permits for legal collection, holding, exhibiting and transport of a variety of species. Ensure all required reporting for each permit or loan agreement is performed in a timely manner.
- Maintains and purchases equipment, food, and other supplies necessary for the operation of the department and maintenance of the living collection.
- Establish work schedules and approves leave. Assigns individual tasks and makes reassignments as priorities change. Directly conduct the performance evaluations of the animal care staff in collaboration with your SVP and HR .
- Manage the Mobile Shark Cart Animal Program. Coordinates animal rotation and rest periods in alignment with industry best practices / standards. Program is run in conjunction with Marketing, Public Relations, Guest Experience and Education teams to provide an engaging experience for our guests, public appearances including both on and off-site experiences (outreach, field trips, special events etc.)
- Work with the all senior curatorial staff to create a comprehensive animal training program to enhance the animal welfare.
- Perform advanced husbandry responsibilities such as, but not limited to, training, organizing and working with veterinary staff to facilitate animal physicals; animal transports and acclimation; assessing animal health; performing or assisting in design, construction, operation and maintenance of habitats; assessing water quality and nutritional needs with SVP, water quality, life support, senior curatorial and veterinary staff; developing, implementing and maintaining procedures within animal care division.
- Assist in administering medical treatments, such as injections and clinical treatments, as directed by veterinary and in accordance with governing agencies’ and regulatory/accrediting bodies’ standards and guidelines.
- Collaborate with Facilities Operations staff to address exhibit needs outside aquarist/keeper span of control as described in established division protocols. Dive in enclosed exhibit systems to perform cleaning and maintenance activities as needed. Ensure adherence to safety protocols when using/applying hazardous materials and construction tools/equipment.
- Assist senior curatorial staff and senior vice president of property operations with development and implementation of collection plans for existing and new exhibits, including budgeting and strategic planning; designing and creating the enclosures, educational information, labels, and other exhibit displays; breeding, collecting and/or otherwise acquiring animals, requiring the coordination of, transfers, acclimations, dispositions, and live animal shipments or transports, as appropriate. May require driving to transport animals.
- Assist senior staff with developing budgets, procurement efforts, and purchasing in assigned areas. Assist with procurement processes in preparing specifications, evaluating products and vendors, and contributing to the decision-making process.
- Support the guest experience by participating in visitor enhancement development; may lead public programs and tours; serve as a spokesperson on behalf of the Aquarium; and actively seek out guest engagement opportunities.
- This is by no means an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, skills, duties, requirements, efforts, or working conditions associated with the job. Management reserves the right to revise the job or to require that other or different tasks be performed when circumstance changes (e.g. emergencies, changes in personnel, workload, rush jobs, or technological developments.)
- Undertakes special projects as assigned by manager(s)
QUALIFICATIONS
- Bachelor’s degree in Marine Biology, Aquatic Science, Zoology, or related field
- Minimum of (5) years of experience in aquatic animal care and exhibit management in a public zoological facility. The ideal candidate will have at Least (2) years in a supervisory role. And has amassed the required knowledge, skills, and abilities associated with positions such as aquarist, exhibits technician, biologist, animal keeper, senior and/or supervisor.
- Minimum of (4) years of full-time equivalent advanced husbandry experience with multitude of species and taxa, both land based and aquatic. Special preference to those with working knowledge of piscine and reptilian anatomy as well as advanced husbandry management experience with these taxa.
- Ideal candidate would have a minimum of (4) experience supervising staff. Having moderate experience with coaching, mentoring, and corrective or disciplinary action and has conducted performance evaluations and set objectives for staff.
REQUIRED KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES
- Must possess and maintain current SCUBA certification of Open Water Diver or higher from a nationally recognized certifying agency.
- Must have, or obtain, a current and valid driver's license.
- Must be available to work evenings, weekends, holidays, and extended days when required to meet operational needs.
- Proven experience organizing, coordinating, and leading animal procedures
- Proven experience with exhibit maintenance and husbandry diving experience performed in a public aquarium or similar facility
- Experience with animal acquisitions, translocation, and dispositions including collecting, planning animal shipments, and quarantine.
- Experience researching and procuring maintenance and animal care products.
- Operating/working knowledge of Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) and/or Alliance of Marine Mammal Parks and Aquariums (AMMPA) current standards, guidelines, and programs.
- Operating/working knowledge of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services, and Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services’ current guidelines and standards.
- This job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice.
TEAM REQUIREMENTS
- Safety & Security - All Team Members are required to adhere to all Mississippi Aquarium safety and security standards.
- Attendance & Appearance - To maximize the guest’s experience, all Team Members are required to adhere to Mississippi Aquarium standard operating procedures regarding attendance and dress code policies as it relates to individual job functionality. Tattoos and piercings must be appropriate and in keeping with a professional image. Depending on the work area, management reserves the right to determine that tattoos will need to be covered during your shift.
- Sales & Guest Services - Our forward-thinking business model requires listening and understanding the needs of our guests both internal and external. To that end, we must always be focused on the guest experience which is the key driver for return guest visitation and increased sales.
- Team Partnership - All Team Members are focused on supporting each other to complete the guest experience. Therefore, supporting, facilitating, and participating in activities that promote team effectiveness is vital to our organization.
PHYSICAL DEMANDS & WORK ENVIRONMENT
The physical demands and work environment described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is occasionally required to stand; walk; sit; use hands to finger, handle, or feel objects, tools or controls; reach with hands and arms; climb stairs; balance; stoop, kneel, crouch or crawl; talk or hear; taste or smell. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 60 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by the job include close vision, distance vision, color and peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is exposed to weather conditions prevalent at the time. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.
