Animal Care Special Events Keeper

Nashville Zoo is dedicated to inspiring a culture of understanding and discovery of our natural world through conservation, innovation, and leadership. With a diverse collection of animals and a commitment to wildlife preservation, we provide engaging experiences for visitors of all ages.

The Nashville Zoo is currently seeking a highly motivated individual to bring their experience, creativity and passion to our Animal Care Events Team (ACE). This individual will be joining a team of dedicated keepers in caring for a variety animals who will be out for late events, while also providing other animal care teams with help and support. The ideal candidate will possess a balanced combination of animal experience, strong work ethic, internal motivation, good presentation skills, and a desire to collaborate with different teams to achieve goals.

• →Maintain professional conduct at all times and consistently model the organization’s values in all interactions with colleagues, guests, and stakeholders.
• →Maintain regular and reliable attendance
• →Husbandry of assigned species (this may change daily) as well as maintaining and cleaning animal exhibits, yards, night enclosures, and contiguous areas.
• →Staffing for late night events
• →Assist with training for husbandry behaviors, providing enrichment, and other husbandry related tasks.
• →Performing light exhibit construction, operating zoo vehicles, and maintaining integrity of the existing landscape.
• →Responsible for educating the public through keeper talks, animal encounters, meet and greets, and other impromptu educational programs as well as providing a clean and safe atmosphere for families to enjoy the Nashville Zoo.
• →The keeper in this area will need to have a wide variety of animal experience working with birds, primates, carnivores, hoofstock, domestics, ectotherms, and ambassador animals.
• →This keeper will need to be flexible, working week days, weekends, early mornings, and late night shifts. Schedules often change due to the summer or winter seasons, special events, and late-night events.

• Ability to self-direct work tasks while ensuring safety and productivity.

• Enhancement of guest experience
• Advanced operant conditioning
• Capture and restraint
• Observing animal behavior
• Understanding animal behavior and group dynamics in diverse species

• Applicants must have a minimum of 1 year of full-time, paid experience with either birds, ectotherms, carnivores, primates, hoofstock, domestic species, and/or ambassador animals.
• Applicants are preferred to have a college degree (Associate’s or Bachelor’s) in an applicable field: Animal Science, Biology, Zoology, etc…
• Applicants must possess a valid driver’s license.

• The role requires frequently standing and walking for most of an 8–10‑hour shift and regularly bend, kneel, reach, and perform repetitive motions while cleaning habitats, preparing diets, and providing enrichment.
• The role requires frequently lifting, carrying, pushing, and pulling up to 50 lbs and occasionally up to 75 lbs with assistance, as well as navigating ladders, stairs, uneven terrain, and wet or slippery surfaces.
• Strong hand dexterity, clear verbal communication, and adequate vision and hearing are essential to safely observe animals, operate tools and gates, and use radios.
• Work occurs indoors and outdoors year‑round in all weather, with routine exposure to animal dander, hay, dust, insects, loud noises, strong odors, and cleaning agents.
• Employees may encounter biological hazards, zoonotic diseases, and potentially dangerous animals and must follow established protocols for shifting, feeding, and emergency response.
• The role may require wearing PPE such as gloves, protective footwear, eye and hearing protection, and respirators as assigned.
• Schedules often include early mornings, weekends, holidays, and occasional overtime based on animal needs.
• Depending on assignments, a valid driver’s license and ability to operate facility vehicles may be required.
• Vaccinations, TB testing, or respirator fit testing may be necessary per policy.
• The role must learn new tasks, remember processes, maintain focus, complete task independently, and make timely decisions in the context of a workflow.

Reasonable accommodations will be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform essential job functions.

Nashville Zoo is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) employer and maintains a drug-free work environment. All employment is at-will.

• All candidates are required to successfully complete a criminal background check and drug screening prior to hire.
• Pre-employment and annual tuberculosis (TB) screenings are a condition of continued employment.