Description
Animal facility managers coordinate and plan all activities of a zoo. They formulate policies, manage daily operations, and plan the use of materials and human resources. They are the driving force and public face of their institution. This often involves representing their institution on a national, regional and global scale and taking part in coordinated zoo activities.
Excludes people working in animal research facilities.
Other titles
The following job titles also refer to animal facility manager:
aquarium CEO
zoo chief executive officer
zoo CEO
aquarium managing director
aquarium chief operating officer
zoo managing director
zoo chief operating officer
zoo COO
aquarium COO
aquarium chief executive officer
Minimum qualifications
Bachelor’s degree is generally required to work as animal facility manager. However, this requirement may differ in some countries.
ISCO skill level
ISCO skill level is defined as a function of the complexity and range of tasks and duties to be performed in an occupation. It is measured on a scale from 1 to 4, with 1 the lowest level and 4 the highest, by considering:
- the nature of the work performed in an occupation in relation to the characteristic tasks and duties
- the level of formal education required for competent performance of the tasks and duties involved and
- the amount of informal on-the-job training and/or previous experience in a related occupation required for competent performance of these tasks and duties.
Animal facility manager is a Skill level 4 occupation.
Animal facility manager career path
Similar occupations
These occupations, although different, require a lot of knowledge and skills similar to animal facility manager.
secretary general
programme funding manager
secretary of state
research manager
museum scientist
Long term prospects
These occupations require some skills and knowledge of animal facility manager. They also require other skills and knowledge, but at a higher ISCO skill level, meaning these occupations are accessible from a position of animal facility manager with a significant experience and/or extensive training.
Essential knowledge and skills
Essential knowledge
This knowledge should be acquired through learning to fulfill the role of animal facility manager.
Zoo regulations: National, regional and international regulations related to zoos.
Zoo community: Zoo and aquarium community on a local, regional and global scale. Zoo membership associations, their guiding principles and how this might affect management of individual institutions within the wider community.
Environmental legislation: The environmental policies and legislation applicable in a certain domain.
Customer relationship management: The customer-oriented management approach and basic principles of successful customer relations that focus on interactions with customers such as technical support, customer services, after-sales support and direct communication with the customer.
Zoo exhibit design: Understand the various factors that influence effective zoo exhibit design as well as the steps towards realising that design.
Essential skills and competences
These skills are necessary for the role of animal facility manager.
Respond to visitor complaints: Respond to visitors complaints, in a correct and polite manner, offering a solution when possible and taking action when necessary.
Organise zoological exhibitions: Organise zoological exhibitions and the display of live animals and zoological collections.
Manage budgets: Plan, monitor and report on the budget.
Speak different languages: Master foreign languages to be able to communicate in one or more foreign languages.
Develop visitor engagement strategies: Working with others, develop visitor engagement strategies to ensure stability, or growth, in visitor numbers and encourage visitor satisfaction.
Read zoo reports: Read and process the reports of zookeepers and other zoological professionals, and compile the information for zoo records.
Manage operational budgets: Prepare, monitor and adjust operational budgets together with the economical/administrative manager/professionals in the arts institute/unit/project.
Manage work: Supervise, instruct and plan work for teams or individual members of the team. Set up time schedules and make sure they are followed.
Apply strategic thinking: Apply generation and effective application of business insights and possible opportunities, in order to achieve competitive business advantage on a long-term basis.
Oversee animal management: Oversee all aspects of animal management.
Implement strategic management: Implement a strategy for the development and transformation of the company. Strategic management involves the formulation and implementation of the major objectives and initiatives of a company by senior management on behalf of the owners, based on consideration of available resources and an assessment of the internal and external environments in which the organisation operates.
Delegate activities: Delegate activities and tasks to others according to the ability, level of preparation, competence and legal scope of practice. Make sure that people understand what they should do and when they should do it.
Perform project management: Manage and plan various resources, such as human resources, budget, deadline, results, and quality necessary for a specific project, and monitor the project’s progress in order to achieve a specific goal within a set time and budget.
Speak about your work in public: Speak about your work to different kinds of audiences. Illustrate aspects depending on the audience and the occasion.
Work effectively with other animal-related organisations: Develop and sustain relationships with other organisations such as charities, government agencies, Non-Governmental Organisations and representative bodies, in relation to furthering animal health and welfare. Communicate veterinary principles and operate within multidisciplinary teams comprised of persons with varying degrees of scientific and administrative knowledge.’
Manage zoo staff: Manage zoo staff, including zoo keeping staff at all levels and/or veterinarians and/or educators and/or horticulturalists.
Optional knowledge and skills
Optional knowledge
This knowledge is sometimes, but not always, required for the role of animal facility manager. However, mastering this knowledge allows you to have more opportunities for career development.
Optional skills and competences
These skills and competences are sometimes, but not always, required for the role of animal facility manager. However, mastering these skills and competences allows you to have more opportunities for career development.
Study a collection: Research and trace the origins and the historical significance of collections and archive content.
Communicate in english in a competent way: Competent use of English; R351refers to level C1 in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR).
ISCO group and title
1120 – Managing directors and chief executives
References
- Animal facility manager – ESCO