Overview

Job Purpose:

Develop and manage a nonhuman primate psychological well-being program that meets the highest standards of animal welfare and excellence and supports a diverse and dynamic non-human primate population in Alice, Texas with a smaller satellite facility in Denver, PA.

This job contributes to organizational success by:

Environmental Enhancement Program:

• Develop a nonhuman primate environmental enhancement plan that encompasses the variety of housing conditions, ages, gender and species housed at each site.
• Create a standard process for behavioral assessment and monitoring.
• Develop and implement intervention strategies to encourage healthy animal behaviors
• Create and incorporate Positive Reinforcement Techniques (PRT) for husbandry and handling procedures.
• Develop shaping/training plans for acclimation and desensitization to activities and new environments.
• Utilize a data driven approach based on the most current data for all programs created.
• Create and nurture a culture of behavioral care on site by regular training of staff at all levels on the basic principles of behavior assessment and recognition of behavioral well-being.
• Create training material on nonhuman primate behavior, positive reinforcement training, habituation and desensitization techniques, temperament assessments and animal welfare regulations to support the culture of behavioral care.
• Create standard behavior socialization policies for all housing and grouping types (Corn cribs, field cages, indoor/outdoor housing, quarantine, shipping, and hospital).
• Manage, in coordination with site behaviorists, introductions of pair or group-housed animals in holding and breeding colonies.
• Coordinate with site behaviorists to ensure regularly scheduled observations and monitoring of social pairs and groups.
• Maintain detailed socialization records.
• Create and lead a nonhuman primate welfare committee to regularly discuss socialization of group, pair or singly housed animals with particular focus on their housing conditions.
• Develop a program for any new nonhuman primate breeding initiatives per current data and breeding needs (forecasting) in consultation with the breeding manager.
• Support the nursery team to ensure socialization needs are met for nursery infants, including introductions to dams or fosters as applicable.
• Collaborate with company international suppliers to understand breeding and process environments and to enhance environmental enrichment programs as needed.

Enrichment Plan:

• In collaboration with the Enrichment Supervisor, create and implement an enrichment plan for all NHPs at each site.
• Identify the enrichment needs in each functional area and develop a strategy for implementing novel toys and/or devices to encourage natural species-specific behavior under different housing conditions.
• Develop a method for evaluating enrichment items for safety and efficacy.
• Review enrichment records, collate data and provide metrics as needed.

Staff Training & Development

• Train husbandry and enrichment teams on normal and abnormal nonhuman primate behavior.
• Train behavior and enrichment teams on conducting behavioral assessments and monitoring of behavioural well-being.
• Train husbandry, enrichment, and behavior teams on operant conditioning positive reinforcement training techniques.
• Keep detailed training records to document processes and provide metrics.
• Document personnel training sessions and proficiency for record keeping purposes.
• Monitor the effectiveness of the training program using proficiency data and adjust accordingly.
• Collaborate with the Behavioral and Enrichment staff and other subject matter experts on behavioral research projects for presentation.

Individual Training & Development

• Conduct research pertaining to behavior, enrichment, and animal welfare.
• Consult literature, discuss research design, collect scientific data, and contribute to manuscripts/abstracts for publication.
• Apply scientific literature to solve technical problems, advise on inquiries, provide scientific guidance/expertise and effectively manage projects relating to animal behavior.
• Maintain current job knowledge in nonhuman primate behavior and applicable regulations by participating in educational opportunities; reading professional publications; maintaining personal networks; participating in professional organizations.
• Maintain awareness of competitive initiatives and related industry news.

External, Client and Customer Expectations

• Interact with and accompany site visitors as needed, to explain the Behavior program.
• Develop and present scientific training material to internal and external personnel as necessary.
• Receive customer inquiries relating to animal behaviour and provide verbal and/or written responses as needed.
• Provide support to develop client facing materials, technical communications and presentations as part of marketing campaigns.
• Coordinate and/or give presentations at seminars, laboratory meetings or educational functions.
• Travel regularly between Alice, TX sites and to Denver, PA site for audits, training, scientific meetings and customer support.

Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications:

Minimum

• BS degree or equivalent in Biosciences with expertise in animal behavior.
• 5 years of related industry experience in NHP behavior.

Preferred

• MS Behavioral Sciences

Standards of Performance:

• Proven results in a cross functional team environment.
• Ability to prioritize and align activities with corporate strategy.
• Detail-oriented and proficient in work production, with minimal supervision; timeline driven.
• Independent decision making.
• Ability to communicate appropriate technical information to individuals at all levels.
• Literate computer skills, to include word processing, spreadsheet, and database management. Experience with Microsoft Office and PowerPoint is a must.
• Strong communication skills, both written and oral.
• Ability to make decisions when there is no clear right or wrong answer.
• Self-starter; takes initiative.
• Strong organization and an ability to multi-task; able to handle multiple projects at different phases of development at the same time. Prioritize tasks and maintain project momentum/progress.
• Maintain pleasant and professional manner with colleagues and customers alike.
• Quality, animal welfare and customer-focused mindset.