A zoo might seem like a place of entertainment or education to most but its management and working is a complex issue which has to be dealt with the help of several staff members, each dedicated to handling a certain section of work. A zoo follows a hierarchical structure which starts from the position of the topmost worker down to the workers of basic jobs. There are many different kinds of zoo jobs and to know more about them, you can go through the following given information:
Zoo Director
The zoo director holds the topmost positions in a zoo and is the person who executes the policies which are made by the governing authority of the zoo management. Basically, a zoo director is responsible for the operational functions of a zoo and for planning of future development of the zoo.
General Curator
General curator heads the management staff of each animal and helps the animal curator in planning of the animal collection. The general curator supervises tasks of other curators, whose hierarchy is given as follows:
1. Curator of Exhibits
This curator creates the exhibits and helps in the designing of graphics
2. Curator of Education
Every zoo has an education program which is run by the curator of education.
3. Curator of Horticulture
Takes care of the botanical collection of a zoo and maintains the grounds of the zoo.
4. Animal Curator
The animal curator forms an important part of the management of a zoo and is responsible for the animal collection
Assistant Director
The assistant director assists the zoo director in daily to day administration tasks and other matters.
Finance Director
A zoo needs a finance director who looks after the accounting and finance of the institution and takes care of payment of bills, investments, purchasing and also financial statements.
Veterinarian
Manages the health of the animals and maintains the health records of each of the animals and birds
Zoologist
Helps in the technical and scientific management of collection of animals and helps in conservation projects.
Keeper/aquarist
Takes care of diet preparation, recordkeeping of animals and cleaning of exhibits
Marketing Director
Any zoo needs publicity and marketing to attract more visitors and this is the responsibility of a marketing director. He creates effective advertising programs and campaigns to improve public awareness.
Visitor Service Manager
This is that executive or official of a zoo who supervises the entire staff and caters to the needs of the visitors. He designs, develops and looks after public conveniences such as restrooms, eating points and in-zoo transport facilities.
Director of Conservation
This is that official who takes care of the conservation related activities of the zoo and heads the field projects.
Operations Director
The daily management of the zoo is the responsibility of an operations manager or director who takes care of the equipments and physical plants of the zoo.
Volunteer Coordinator
This is that official of a zoo’s management department who is responsible for recruiting staff and volunteers. He/she conducts interviews, observes performance and holds the right to dismiss staff if required.
Know more about Hierarchy of Animals in the Animal Kingdom click here