Who We Are

The Oakland Zoo (managed by The Conservation Society of California) is an award-winning facility stretching 100 acres and overlooking the city of Oakland atop the hills of beautiful Knowland Park. Our mission is to inspire respect for and stewardship of the natural world, while providing a quality visitor experience. As an accredited member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), The Zoo is part of the largest conservation organization in the nation. Our employees take PRIDE in our values of being Positive, Respectful, Inquisitive, Driven and Effective members of a team who places the care of our animals, stewardship of the natural environment, and the experience of our guests at the forefront of all that we do.

Oakland Zoo’s Commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Access

We believe that all people should have safe access to the Zoo and culturally relevant and responsive experiences with our staff, programs, and curriculum. The Oakland Zoo is also striving to create an equitable and inclusive internal culture where all staff members feel represented and valued for their identities and lived experiences. We examine how power, bias, race, and other aspects of identity impact our organization. We work to build a culture of continuous learning and improvement toward a vision of equity and belonging for all staff. We are looking for team members who can actively join us in this process. We are committed to reflecting the diverse community in which we exist and strongly encourage people of color, LGBTQ+ identifying folks, and women to apply.

Essential Job Duties

• Prepare and deliver formal and informal Education programming and facilitate guest engagement in an informative, safe, engaging and high-quality manner.

• Follow animal protocols and obtain/maintain animal handling certifications as needed.

• Maintain positive attitude and collaborative working relationships with volunteers, co-workers, program participants, Zoo staff and external customers.

• Performs other related duties as required and assigned.

Who You Are

• Have completed some college coursework in biology or a related field.

• Demonstrated superior customer service with vendors, visitors, students, parents, etc.

• The Oakland Zoo requires vaccination*

Knowledge, Skills, and Qualities– May be representative, but not all-inclusive, of those knowledge, skills and abilities commonly associated with this position.

• Collaboration – builds trusting relationships with both internal and external stakeholders across our organization and community-wide and approaches differences of opinion with curiosity and humility.

• Communication – communicates respectfully and effectively with stakeholders across identities, both verbally and in writing

• Dependability – demonstrates trustworthiness and reliability, including while working with little or no direct supervision

• Solution-oriented – utilizes an open-minded and strengths-based approach to finding solutions for complex challenges

• Inclusive Culture - fosters a culture of mutual respect, transparency, collaboration and belonging which allows all employees to feel appreciated, included, and valued.

• Sustainability – oriented toward the mission and values of the Oakland Zoo and able to put those into practice by finding creative and resourceful ways to develop sustainable practices within your role and department

• Passion – wholeheartedly believes in, represents, and models Oakland Zoo’s mission and PRIDE values at all times

• Wildlife Aware - understands mission to support the conservation and welfare of animals at The Zoo, locally and globally. This is demonstrated by a willingness/passion

to reflect this mission in all actions and to continue to learn how to take action for wildlife

Education

• Some college or better in Biology or related field