Head Animal Keeper

An exciting opportunity has arisen at Capel Manor College and we are now seeking to appoint a Head Keeper to join our Animal Management team.

The successful candidate will coordinate operations in a local animal collection. They will lead a team of Animal Keepers and coordinate rotas with Volunteers or seasonal Animal Keepers and Casual Workers to ensure exemplary husbandry and welfare for our animals throughout the year. They will model best practice to their teams, as well as our learners, by carrying out husbandry tasks themselves, and keeping records. Head Keepers will work with the academic Team Leaders to ensure the right plans are present to service teaching and learning in their local collection. At times, they will coordinate or carry out encounters for learners, the public, and during the College’s commercial and recruitment events.

The ideal candidate will be experienced in animal keeping or zoo keeping, with a very good understanding of animal welfare and husbandry across multiple species, as well as the legal obligations of running an animal collection. Importantly, they will be experts in their area and animals they care for, modelling best practice and ambitious animal welfare standards, while sharing their knowledge with the learning teams, to strengthen our provision.