Animal Care Professional, Elephants

About the role

The Animal Care Professional is responsible for performing daily animal husbandry and supporting animal health and wellbeing, including monitoring behavior, maintaining habitats, preparing diets, providing enrichment, maintaining accurate records, and engaging with guests through informal and formal interactions. This role contributes to safe, consistent, and high-quality animal care operations across the assigned department. This position works with the Birmingham Zoo’s bachelor herd of African elephants, offering the opportunity to be part of a specialized team caring for one of the Zoo’s most iconic and complex species. The role requires strong teamwork, keen observational skills, consistency, and a commitment to maintaining high standards of elephant care and safety. All employees serve as ambassadors of the Zoo and are expected to act in a professional manner consistent with the Zoo’s mission and its core values of Passion, Excellence, Teamwork, Stewardship, and Inclusion. This expectation applies when interacting with the public or when reasonably perceived as representing the organization.

Responsibilities

• Performs daily animal husbandry and supports animal health and wellbeing, including maintaining habitats, preparing diets, monitoring behavior, providing enrichment and training, and adapting care practices based on environmental and operational needs.
• Observes, documents, and communicates animal behavior, health, and wellbeing concerns; maintains accurate records; and supports safe animal handling, restraint, and transport using approved techniques.
• Collaborates with team members, including assisting training new staff and volunteers, and supports a respectful, safe, and welcoming work environment while engaging with guests and contributing to consistent, safe, and high-quality animal care practices in alignment with organizational policies and procedures.
• Adheres to all organizational policies and procedures as outlined in the Employee Handbook and applicable departmental guidelines.
• This job description reflects the general nature of the work and is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all duties. This position may be assigned additional duties reasonably related to the employee’s primary responsibilities and organizational needs, provided such duties are within the employee’s training, experience, and safety requirements and do not materially change the nature of the position.

Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree in biology, zoology, or a related field is preferred, or an equivalent combination of education and relevant experience. Experience in animal care is preferred, which may include volunteer, internship, or paid roles in a zoo, aquarium, or similar setting.

Skills

• Demonstrates strong organizational, time management, and critical thinking skills, with the ability to prioritize tasks, meet deadlines, and