Keeper Veterinary Nurse

• Located at Sydney’s Iconic - Taronga Zoo
• 12 month, full time position (with possibility of extension or ongoing position)
• TCSA Salaried Employees Award, annual base salary starting from $66,063 to $85,881 + 11.5% superannuation + allowances and penalty rates where applicable (salary depending on experience)

Taronga Zoo is looking for an experienced, driven, and motivated Keeper Veterinary Nurse who is interested in joining a leading organisation in conservation, education and animal management.

As a Keeper Veterinary Nurse you will be working with an experienced wildlife health team, based at the wildlife hospital located in the zoo grounds at Taronga Zoo, Sydney

This role delivers high quality veterinary nursing and husbandry care to the animals in Taronga’s population, as well as injured, orphaned and rehabilitating wildlife.

The nurses here are part of a collaborative team who are highly involved in projects, conservation field work, data management, transactions, and many more exciting tasks that aren’t solely clinical in nature.

Staff in our wildlife hospital are expected to be involved in educational, promotional and engagement activities for the work done by Taronga Zoo, such as media opportunities, VIP tours, mentoring trainees and visitor experience.

• Provide highest quality care to animals for wildlife, hospital and quarantine patients, including preventative and routine health and husbandry, as well as responding to injuries and illnesses as they arise.
• Sound knowledge and competency in animal husbandry techniques in a hospital environment for a wide variety of zoo and wildlife species, including enclosure cleaning regimes, enclosure set up, animal enrichment, diet preparation, and capture and restraint.
• Monitoring of anaesthetics and assisting in surgical and non-surgical medical procedures; both in the hospital and in field contexts
• Assisting with sample collection and processing with the support of our experienced laboratory team

• Provide compassionate, pragmatic care and rehabilitation to wildlife presented by members of the community, including but not limited to admissions, communications with carers, coordinating rehabilitation programmes and releases.
• Liaise with keepers and vets utilising strong interpersonal skills, contributing to a positive workplace.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Maintain accurate records, input in data management systems
• Involvement in educational and visitor experience activities such as mentoring, media, tours and talks
• Safely provide high quality animal husbandry and management techniques in line with Taronga policies and procedures to assist Taronga in meeting WHS and animal care and welfare targets and in complying with all relevant legislation.
• Work effectively as a member of a high performing team including peers, volunteers, and students to assist Taronga in its achievement of strategic outcomes.
• Comply with sustainability practices in the workplace to help achieve Taronga's sustainability targets and reduce environmental impact.
• Assist in emergency response situations.

We are looking for candidates that have:

• Certificate III in Captive Animals or equivalent certification with minimum 3 years’ paid experience caring for a range of zoo and wildlife species (required)
• Certificate IV in Veterinary Nursing or equivalent certification with 2 years’ paid experience working as a veterinary nurse (highly desirable)
• Experience working in a zoo or wildlife veterinary hospital or similar
• Skills and experience in animal capture and restraint on a wide variety of species
• Sound knowledge and competency in all aspects of veterinary nursing including but not limited to anaesthesia monitoring, triage and first aid, radiography, sampling techniques, drug calculations, and administration techniques.

• Exemplary hygiene and compliance with quarantine policies and relevant legislation, safely work around zoonotic and notifiable diseases
• A commitment to wildlife conservation and animal welfare
• A high level of physical fitness
• Demonstrated ability to follow Work Health & Safety protocols
• A proactive, positive outlook with strong problem-solving skills
• An ability to multi-task and maintain high standards in a complex, busy and extremely varied workplace.
• NSW C Class Drivers Licence (or the ability to transfer current unrestricted licence)
• Vaccinations against Zoonotic disease (in accordance with Taronga's Zoonotic disease vaccination matrix)
• A current paid NSW Working with Children Check at own expense.

Our employees enjoy generous employment conditions including some of the following:

• Complimentary family and friend’s passes across both Taronga’s Sydney & Dubbo Zoo’s
• Free onsite zoo car parking
• A wide range of discounts on our award-winning accommodation across both sites
• Discounted food and beverage purchases across the sites
• Discounted Fitness Passport
• We’re a social team; there’s always lots going on around the zoo that we get involved with
• + more

Taronga is an equal opportunity employer, where we recognise the diversity of our workforce and community – be it based on gender, age, culture, religion, language or personal circumstances.

Taronga is also committed to building on the perspectives, experience, knowledge and skills that this diversity brings to our organisation.

Please submit your resume and a cover letter of one page. You are also required to complete the target questions as part of your application.

1. How do you manage competing priorities in a busy hospital veterinary environment? Provide examples.
2. What is your motivation for applying for this role?

Applications Close: 11:59pm Monday 4 November 2024