1 Curator of Marine Mammals Job in Gulfport, MS

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Curator of Marine Mammals

Mississippi Aquarium

Gulfport, MS | Full Time

$81k-115k (estimate)

6 Months Ago

Curator of Marine Mammals

$81k-115k (estimate)

Full Time | Arts & Culture 6 Months Ago

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Mississippi Aquarium is Hiring a Curator of Marine Mammals Near Gulfport, MS

Position Title: Curator of Marine Mammals

Department: Animal Care

Classification: Permanent, Full – Time, Non-Exempt

Direct Report: Senior Vice President of Property Operations

POSITION SUMMARY:

The Curator of Marine Mammals is primarily responsible for the marine mammal department (bottlenose dolphins and North American river otters) and its daily operations. Directly responsible for the care and welfare of the Aquarium’s marine mammals and for developing, managing, and maintaining the Aquarium’s marine mammal department operations, staff, protocols, and procedures. Sets and directs long term goals (1-5 years) of the department in conjunction with Senior Vice President of Property Operations.

QUALIFICATIONS:

Bachelor’s degree in Zoology, Biology, Psychology or equivalent.
Must be fluent in English (Verbal and written).
Minimum of 7 years hands-on training and husbandry experience with marine mammals.
Minimum of 3 years supervisory experience
Experience coaching, training and/or mentoring others.
Required - Current dive certification. Must pass dive medical and swim test.
Required - valid driver’s license.
Excellent leadership and management skills
Excellent communication skills (media training an asset).
Excellent interpersonal skills.
Ability to crouch, bend and stand for periods of time.
Excellent project and time management skills
Strong customer service skills
Preferred - First Aid certification.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

Marine Mammal Health and Welfare:
Implements health-plan as directed by attending veterinarian that meets or exceeds Alliance of Marine Mammal Parks and Aquariums (AMMPA) and United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) guidelines for marine mammal collection.
Monitors daily health and welfare of marine mammal collection.
Reports health concerns to veterinary staff immediately.
Monitors habitats to ensure they are safe and in working order. Reports issues to facilities team.
Responsible for coordinating, at a minimum, annual animal welfare assessments on each individual animal in the department.
Maintains regular communication with direct reports and other animal care specialists to stay informed of the state of health of all the marine mammals in the collection.
Establishes and monitors diets for each animal in the collection with the veterinarian.
Maintain a routine and regular communication pathway with the veterinarian(s).
Ensures implementation of preventative health and treatment procedures.
Ensures the development and implementation of behavioral enrichment programs for the wellbeing of marine mammals in the collection.
Engages in regional communication as communication liaison to ensure Marine Mammal collection has a strong, up to date emergency disaster plan.
Marine Mammal Training:
Ensures that training methods that meet or exceed the requirements of the following professional bodies: The International Marine Animal Trainers Association (IMATA), Alliance of Marine Mammal Parks and Aquariums (AMMPA) and Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) are employed at all times
Ensures that a current and comprehensive written manual is maintained describing policies on animal training, animal management and behavioral development. This manual must be compliant with the standards and guidelines of the Alliance of Marine Mammal Parks and Aquariums.
Marine Mammal Staff Development:
Responsible for ensuring a sufficient number of properly trained staff are available to care for the animals, to assure good animal welfare, to maintain high quality operations, and to ensure ongoing modernization of the institution.
Responsible for the professional development of staff.
Ensures development and implementation of a program for animal trainer development that meets the guidelines of the International Marine Animal Trainers’ Association (IMATA) that includes: a written staff training manual; a process for teaching learning and conditioning theory (course); educational materials; staff and course evaluation; criteria for advancement.
Evaluates marine mammal staff on an annual basis.
Marine Mammal Public Displays, Presentations and Programs:
Develops annual goals for marine mammal public displays, presentations, and programs in collaboration with direct reports, animal care specialists, educators and others as required.
Ensures that all displays, presentations, and programs are applied in a manner that is consistent with the overall philosophy and mission of the Mississippi Aquarium.
Proactively investigates opportunities for new or improved displays, presentations, programs, and collection.
Participates in displays and presentations including giving talks.
Supports internal and external research projects as approved by the VP of Veterinary Services and Research
Marine Mammal Collection Management:
Participates in the development of a marine mammal management plan that clearly defines the sustainability of the collections through managed breeding programs; loans, exchanges or purchases from other zoological institutions; or programs providing non-releasable orphaned/injured and rehabilitated individuals from the wild.
Participate in studbook analysis for the long-term propagation of species to ensure their genetic viability.
Responsible for ensuring a plan is in place for animal compatibility evaluation prior to introductions.
Responsible for ensuring marine mammals are transported between facilities, or habitats, in a manner that is safe, efficient, and humane and that is compliant with the standards and guidelines of the Alliance of Marine Mammal Parks and Aquariums (AMMPA) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Works with upper management to ensure development and implementation of capital projects with respect to animal care.
Marine Mammal Facility Operations:
Establishes and monitors compliance with best practices for housekeeping, general maintenance, and cleanliness of all marine mammal facilities. This must be comprehensive and include public and behind the scenes areas such as food rooms, holding areas, staff facilities etc.
Orders frozen food and ensures stock rotation is within industry standards.
Develops, plans and organizes larger scale maintenance/refurbishment of habitats
Liaises with dive safety officer to ensure regular cleaning of habitats is conducted safely and as required.
Establishes a routine and regular communication pathway with the life support operators and water quality team. Routinely monitors environmental parameters and sets expectations and levels in collaboration with the attending veterinarian.
Responsible for the development and implementation of a safety review that covers areas of potential concern in marine mammal areas. These should cover animal, staff, and public risks. Foreign object retrieval; drowning; animal aggression; fire; flood; animal escape etc.
Liaises with Vice President of Safety and Security Responsible to ensure regular safety drills are conducted in the marine mammal areas meeting drill requirements of professional accreditations as a minimum.

Communications:

Represents Mississippi Aquarium at conferences and with media as requested by the Senior Vice President of Property Operations.
Works proactively and cooperatively with media and marketing departments in promotion of the Mississippi Aquarium, the marine mammal department, its activities, and staff.
Works closely with Marketing team to develop and maintain consistent messaging in respect to marine mammals.
Is the chief communicator about marine mammal issues related to animal care, welfare, and management.

Departmental Management and Administration:

Responsible for ensuring standardized, comprehensive, accurate records are maintained for all marine mammals in the collection.
Must participate as a member of the Animal Care Committee as required.
Maintain familiarization with permits, approvals, laws, by-laws etc. that impact the holding, management, and maintenance of marine mammals.
Media spokesperson as required related to marine mammal management issues.
Expectation to participate in professional marine mammal management activities with professional organizations.
Assist with the concept development and design of new animal exhibits; working with contractors during the construction process to ensure the health and safety of the animal collection.
Regular meetings and communication with the animal collections executive.
Aids in budget generation, both operational and capital, for marine mammal area needs.

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.

Note: Position will involve exposure to inclement weather, dust, potentially dangerous and unpredictable animal species, exposure to animal bites, potential pathogens, potential water hazards, exposure to slippery and uneven surfaces, potentially dangerous machinery, restraint devices and toxic chemicals and/or drugs. Occasional use of protective clothing or equipment is required e.g., goggles, mask, gloves, and gowns.