Job Description

Purpose of the role

An exciting opportunity has arisen for the role of a Assistant Zookeeper within the Predator section at Whipsnade Zoo, comprising of a wide range of predatory mammals including Amur Tiger, African Wild Dogs, European Brown Bears, North African Lions, Wolverine, Northern Cheetah and more. The section has an array of exciting species to work with.


As an Assistant Zookeeper, you will work alongside our animal teams to help deliver exceptional animal husbandry and welfare, following industry leading best practice. You will be hands-on in caring for a wide range of incredible species while also contributing to meaningful visitor engagement that inspires a love for wildlife. You will follow department specific protocols and procedures to ensure the highest standards of animal care across our zoos. This is a great opportunity to support ZSL's mission and make a real difference every day.



ZSL's zoos operate 7 days a week. This position is offered at 37.5 hours per week, worked on a rota that includes weekends and bank holidays.

Key responsibilities:

Animal Care

:

Support keepers with daily husbandry tasks such as cleaning enclosures, sourcing and preparing browse, feeding animals, and monitoring and reporting their health and behaviour.

Training & Enrichment

: Assist in the development and delivery of animal training and enrichment programmes to promote natural behaviours and welfare.

Record Keeping

: Help maintain accurate animal records, including data entry into ZIMS and regular communication with keeping staff to ensure information is shared effectively.

Visitor Engagement

: Enhance visitor experiences by answering questions in a friendly and helpful manner, and act as a point of contact in walk-through exhibits.

Health & Safety

: Follow all relevant safe systems of work, risk assessments, and emergency procedures, while promoting ZSL's commitment to equality, diversity, and inclusion.

About You

Practical experience of working with animals. An ability to work as part of a team, as well as autonomously to complete section tasks. Sound judgment and professionalism when relaying information and answering visitor questions. Strong commitment to creating a culture that lives ZSL values and commitment to safeguarding, equality and diversity (collaborative, inspiring, inclusive, innovative, impactful and ethical). A full manual driving license. This role is physically demanding and may involve extended periods of standing, walking, lifting, carrying, and other manual tasks. It also requires working in a variety of environments, including outdoors in all weather conditions and indoors in areas with artificially high temperatures and close proximity to animals.
This role is subject to standard pre-employment checks, including the candidate's right to work in the UK.



We strongly encourage applications from all backgrounds and celebrate the value of having a team of employees with diverse skills, experiences, and heritage. We are committed to ensuring our teams can bring their authentic selves to work without fear of discrimination. ZSL has active equality networks for our staff with lived experience and those who provide active allyship in Race and Culture, Team Pride, Disability Network, and Menopause Network, complemented by our strategic EDI Steering Group.

About Us

We're ZSL, an international conservation charity. Through our unrivalled animal experts in our two zoos (London Zoo and Whipsnade Zoo), the work of our pioneering scientists, our dedicated conservationists, our purpose is to inspire, inform and empower people to stop wild animals going extinct. Our vision is a world where wildlife thrives and we're working every day to achieve this. From investigating the health threats facing animals, to helping people and wildlife live alongside each other, we are committed to bringing wildlife back from the brink of extinction.

What do we offer?

At ZSL, we are proud of our approach to employee benefits. Our benefits include:


Our vision and purpose - you'll work alongside colleagues who are passionate about science-led conservation, knowing that you will help us to inspire, inform and empower people to stop wildlife going extinct Pension scheme - we offer a generous pension scheme with up to 12% contributory pension Flexible working - talk to us about your flexible working requirements and we will do everything we can to make sure you work in a way that suits you Holidays - 25 days annual leave allowance, plus UK bank holidays Wellbeing - access to a blended programme of wellbeing initiatives, including confidential access to our 24/7 Employee Assistance Programme Life assurance - eligible employees will be enrolled in ZSL's life assurance scheme from their first day Complimentary tickets - annual allocation of Whipsnade Zoo and London Zoo tickets, with a 30% discount in online and retail shops Cycle2Work - our cycle to work scheme enables you to lease a bicycle Season ticket loan - we offer an interest free loan for eligibly London-based employees to buy a season ticket for travel between home and work Family friendly policies - we offer enhanced maternity, paternity, and adoption packages
NB: We reserve the right to close our advertisement early or extend the advertising date until a suitable candidate has been found.

It's important to personalise your application to highlight your unique skills, experience, and knowledge. Over-reliance on AI-generated content may miss key criteria outlined in the job description and reduce the effectiveness of your application.