Job Title:  Animal Care Specialist

Department:  Animal Care/ Aquarist (Animal Care Team – ACT)

Job Type:  Full time Salaried Position (Includes holidays and weekends)

Reports To:  Animal Care Director

Primary Responsibility:  Reports to the Animal Care Director about daily care and maintenance of animals, aquariums and daily operations.  Includes daily charting, husbandry, maintenance of facility cleanliness, record keeping,water quality.  Must be able to work as an integral part of the Navarre Beach Sea Turtle Conservation Center (NBSTCC) team and communicate effectively with co-workers, supervisors, volunteers, students and guests.  Other duties as necessary to meet the needs of the NBSTCC. 

Key Areas of Responsibility:

• Provides daily care, feeding, cleaning, training and enrichment activities for all animals aquatic and terrestrial according to the established protocols.
• Perform daily inspections and maintenance of animal exhibits, ensuring optimal water quality, habitat conditions, and environmental enrichment.
• Performs daily, weekly, and monthly maintenance on all LSS equipment. 
• Monitor animal health and behavior, reporting any concerns to the Animal Care Team Director.
• Maintain detailed animal/exhibit records
• Assist with quarantine procedures, habitat maintenance, and water quality testing on quarantine systems according to the established safety protocols.
• Assists with vet staff for all animal health related issues, treatments, procedures, and restraints.
• Treats animals humanely, with compassion and concern and transmits these values and the NBSTCC’s mission to other volunteers and visitors.
• Routine daily cleaning of animal habitats, aquariums, food prep area.
• Preparation of all animal diets, aquatic and terrestrial.
• Assists with development of animal enrichment projects.
• Provides daily enrichment to all animals and logs information into the enrichment program.
• Provides education chats on the NBSTCC’s resident animals and coastal and marine ecosystems for visitors in a fast-paced work environment, which, at times, may be stressful or emotionally charged.
•  Leads & participates in center programs and events. Including offsite educational opportunities
•  Assists with opening and closing procedures.

Additional Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in biology, zoology, or related area of study
• Must be detail oriented and self-motivated.
• Excellent communication, interpersonal and creative skills are necessary.
• Must be able to work weekends, evenings, and holidays
• Ability to work well in a team environment
• Strong computer literacy and data entry skills. Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel) and Google Workspace (Docs, Sheets, Gmail).
• Must be able to conduct and/or learn required information and techniques associated with animal care.
• Must be physically fit; able to lift, carry, and push objects weighing at least 50 lbs.
• Includes exposure to sounds and noise levels that may be distracting or uncomfortable.
• Requires working outdoors, exposed to extreme temperatures and harsh weather conditions.
• Physical exertion will include repetitive standing, walking, stooping, bending, pushing, twisting and lifting.
• Must be able to feed live fish, shrimp, worms, mealworms, crickets and other food sources to animals that require live feedings.

Consults With:

• Animal Care Director and Supervisors 

Important Information

The NBSTCC reserves the right to revise or change this job description as necessary or as business requires.  This job description does not constitute a written or implied contract of employment.

There is a 90-day probationary period for all Animal Care Team staff and volunteers.  Florida is an “at-will” employment state, the NBSTCC may hire, promote, or terminate employment at any time.