Living Specimen Coordinator/Maintenance Techn

The Company

At Unity, sustainability isn’t a buzzword. It’s the foundation of our entire approach and has been for more than 50 years.

We apply sustainability principles to everything we do, from our properties around the State of Maine, to our online degrees offered to students everywhere, to our enrichment experiences and entrepreneurial endeavors at locations from northern Maine to Arizona to Brazil.

Engage with Unity College and you’ll start to ask tough questions, challenge the status quo, and envision new possibilities. If taking the lead in creating a more sustainable future sounds like the future you want, we can make it happen.

The Living Specimen Coordinator/Maintenance Technician is responsible for the complete care and feeding of the College’s living specimens including the animal room animals, barn animals, and fresh water and marine specimens, plus coordinates the efforts of support staff as applicable. This role oversees all aspects of on-site animal husbandry and associated record keeping including animal health procedures, pickups and deliveries, rotational grazing, and general barn maintenance. The position supports student learning outcomes related to animal husbandry, and assisting with other animal, wildlife, and sustainable agriculture projects when applicable.  The Living Specimen Coordinator/Maintenance Technician also assists with maintaining cleanliness, safety, orderliness, appearance and repair of campus grounds, roads, walks and buildings.  

• Involved in all aspects of care for living collections including, but not limited to:        feeding, watering, cleaning, regular animal handling for health and socialization, animal training, enrichment, preventative health care, veterinary emergencies, monitoring and record keeping, cage maintenance, tracking supplies, setting up and taking down fencing, moving animals through pastures, and general upkeep.
• Schedules, trains, and supervises barn staff, work-study students and interns as available, 
• Assists Director of Facilities Management with budget planning and purchasing related to living specimens.
• Supports the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee protocol and processes.
• Responsible for covering all basic caretaking duties during breaks and other times when work-study or interning students are not available.
• Facilitates class/lab use of the animal room/its occupants, including special arrangement of the room, set-up of tanks or enclosures there or elsewhere, safe transport of animals to another location, monitoring and assisting with class/student observations of animals, and occasionally speaking to groups about the animals, their care etc.
• Maintains an animal collection that supports curricular needs.
• Identifies remodeling, repair and construction needs of the animal room and barn.
• Collaborates with additional staff for the management of facility, waste management, and on-campus food system when feasible.
• Stocks and administers medical equipment and treatments.
• Facilitates tours and on-campus activities involving the barn and or livestock, and animal room when necessary.
• Manages all aspects of animal barn husbandry work including, but not limited to:  grooming, lambing/kidding/brooding, medicating and vaccinating, cleaning and sanitation, safety and security, veterinary emergencies, and record keeping.
• Coordinates barn and pasture usage with multiple campus users, with consideration to safety, animal wellness, sustainability, education, and aesthetics.
• Schedules supply pick-ups and deliveries.
• In collaboration with academic leadership, advises and executes decisions about animal acquisition. distribution, and deaccession.
• Cares for animals in a manner that aligns with the school’s sustainable mission.
• Creates, maintains and manages animal care and breeding records.
• Supports student learning outcomes related to animal husbandry.
• Manages and updates the UC Heritage Livestock Barn Facebook page.
• Performs routine duties generally associated with grounds work, including, but not limited to, mowing, edging, watering, planting and trimming foliage, preparing and maintaining beds for shrubs and ground cover and cleanup of Unity College owned grounds.
• Assists in the removal of snow, ice, and other debris from walkways, roads and parking areas.
• Completes all tasks with strict regard for safety procedures and wears appropriate PPE.
• Participates in routine safety audits.
• Assists with the management of minor projects on campus as assigned.
• Assists with summer programs as needed.

• Supports special events as required.
• Pro-actively communicate challenges, successes, and failures with leadership.
• Enthusiastic support of the Enterprise Model.

Required:

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent, relevant work experience.
• Experience with animal husbandry and handling.
• Demonstrated interest sustainable agriculture, animal health, or related work.
• Comfort with professional, community, and educational settings.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills in dealing with a variety of internal and external customers such as faculty, staff, students, Board of Trustees, and other guests.
• Ability to conduct duties in a pleasant, discreet, professional and confidential manner.
• Knowledge of office operations and clerical support.
• Ability to apply common sense to carry out instructions furnished in written, oral, or diagram form.
• Ability to look for ways to improve efficiencies.
• Ability to work as part of a team or independently as needed.
• Ability to multi-task and establish priorities for meeting deadlines, using time efficiently.
• Valid driver’s license with good driving record.

The Location 

This position will be located at 90 Quaker Hill Rd. Unity, ME.

Benefits

Unity College offers a generous benefits package which includes medical, dental, vision, short term disability, long term disability, life insurance, PTO, and a company match on our 403b retirement plan. Waiting periods will apply.

To Apply

Interested and qualified candidates should click on the “Apply Now” button and submit a resume and cover letter.

At Unity College, we don’t just accept difference — we celebrate it, we support it, and we thrive on it for the benefit of our employees, our students, and our community. Unity College is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and is an affirmative action employer.