General Description:

The ZooMontana Seasonal Caretaker and Educator position is designed to provide emerging individuals with hands-on experience and valuable knowledge related to the zoological and conservation fields. The Seasonal Caretaker and Educator is designed to be a hybrid position between ZooMontana’s Education Department and Animal Care Department. Activities include but are not limited to the implementation of educational ambassador programs, summer camp instruction, and ambassador animal care, training, and handling. Ambassador animals include small mammals, insects, reptiles, amphibians, and birds. This is a career-strengthening step for those considering employment in an AZA-accredited zoological or conservation-oriented facility. Although housing is not provided, ZooMontana can aid in finding affordable housing options.

Essential Functions:

• Deliver off-site educational programs for schools, private businesses, and/or special events.
• Deliver on-site programs such as school group tours, preschool, amphitheater programs, and/or conservation holiday events.
• Aids in summer camp instruction and operation.
• Prepare diets and provide daily care to the ambassador animals of ZooMontana.
• Provide outreach-oriented training to applicable ambassador animals as assigned.
• Must complete a brief, approved project by the end of the employment period. Examples of projects include a literature review of a species, an educational program, or a project to enhance the welfare of an individual animal.
• Handle animals under appropriate policies and protocols including mammals, birds, invertebrates, amphibians, and reptiles.
• Engage in conservation focused interpretation with guests of ZooMontana.
• Help maintain a clean and safe work environment within ZooMontana.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Requirements:

• Must be a student or recent graduate of a college or university pursuing a career in natural, biological, or animal sciences.
• Must have a desire to learn professional animal care techniques.
• Must be able to work on weekends, holidays, and flexible hours as well as various evening hours.
• Must be willing to utilize technology within educational programming including, but not limited to, Microsoft Office programs, video editing technology, video conferencing technology, and more.
• Must want to develop interpretation skills, be comfortable with public speaking, and be able to improvise when needed.
• Must be responsible, prompt, adaptable, and detail oriented.
• Must have excellent communication skills and ability to work in a team environment.
• Must be willing to handle animals of all species and backgrounds.
• Must be able to work with adults and children of various backgrounds.
• Must be able to stand for extended periods of time.
• Must be able to withstand typical Montana climate.

Experience:
Interest in zoological education or animal care is priority. Any experience in animal handling, educational program development/delivery, or public speaking is a plus. Applicant must possess both strong team and individual work skills. Experience using Microsoft Office programs, Canva, and Adobe Suite is also preferred.