Job opportunities

Behaviour and Welfare Scientist

Dublin Zoo holds the prestigious position of being ‘Ireland’s Number One Fee Paying Family Attraction’ having welcomed in excess of one million visitors each year.

 

Our purpose is to save wildlife and inspire a passion for nature – one person, one family at a time.

 

Dublin Zoo is currently seeking a permanent, full-time Behaviour and Welfare Scientist to join Dublin Zoo’s growing Conservation & Science Team.

 

The successful candidate will support the development, implementation, interpretation, and reporting of advanced zoo-wide animal behaviour research and welfare programmes, promoting an evidence-based approach to animal care and management.

 

The Behaviour and Welfare Scientist will be responsible for coordinating, and participating in, multiple animal behaviour and welfare research projects, and will also support the training of organisational staff, interns, and volunteers that may assist with research efforts. They will work closely with Curators, veterinarians and the Animal Care teams to manage Dublin Zoo’s animal welfare assessment process.

 

The ideal candidate will have excellent attention to detail, strong critical thinking skills and strong skills in project management, planning and implementation. They will also have experience in scientific writing and the peer-reviewed process, as well as experience using behavioural data collection tools such as ZooMonitor© and statistical analysis and data visualisation programmes (e.g., SPSS, R). Experience using standardised zoo records keeping software (e.g. ZIMS) is desired but not required.

 

The successful candidate must have a minimum Masters level degree in a related field e.g., animal behaviour, welfare, animal science, zoology.

 

In addition to this they must have 2+ years of relevant work experience in the areas of animal behaviour and/or welfare research, including all aspects of the research process (i.e. study design, data collection, data analysis, and reporting).

 

They must demonstrate experience and a good understanding of the practical aspects of animal behaviour research and welfare assessments in the zoo and aquarium field, including current BIAZA and EAZA standards and best practices.