Aquarist

**Job Title**:Aquarist

**Location**:Deep Sea World - Fife

**Contract Type**:Full Time, 40 hours per week

**Working Hours**: 5 / 7 days on a rota basis

**Salary**:£19,760 + Excellent Benefits

This is an exciting opportunity for an enthusiastic, hardworking Aquarist with a passion for aquatic animal husbandry, education, and animal conservation to join our Zoological team at Deep Sea world.

Join the team at Scotland’s National Aquarium where we offer visitors the chance to experience the UK’s longest underwater viewing tunnel, mysterious coral reefs, majestic sharks, and our amazing seal harbour. Over 40 displays, including the 4.5-million-litre Underwater Safari with its walkthrough tunnel, are home to hundreds of fascinating creatures, ranging from seals and seahorses to stingrays and giant sand tiger sharks. Located beneath the world-famous Forth Rail Bridge, Deep Sea World is the place for you

**Duties/ Responsibilities**

**Animal Husbandry & WELFARE**
- Ensure the upkeep of all exhibits to the highest standard
- Ensure the future development and improvement of all assigned exhibits
- Responsible for record keeping of livestock in all exhibits
- Consideration for the animal welfare of all animals in our care
- Assisting in keeping all records of the movement of fish, mortalities, feeding regimes and physical parameters
- Ensure the routine maintenance of all life support systems
- Administration of appropriate treatment for sick or injured livestock after advice from the Curator/Company Vet
- On call cover for emergency life support systems, on a rota basis

**DISPLAY MAINTENANCE**
- Ensure displays and exhibits are maintained to a high standard
- Active and productive input into department meetings
- Responsible for minor maintenance of Life Support Systems and reporting major faults to the Curator/Displays Supervisor
- Maintain, track, and manage water quality of exhibit systems and quarantine systems
- To ensure that repairs are carried out on a timely and safe basis
- Ensure the highest possible standards of cleanliness are maintained throughout the attraction, inside and out.
- Maintain clean, tidy, and safe standards of all plant rooms, tool rooms, food preparation areas and quarantine facilities

**CUSTOMER SERVICE**
- To be courteous, pleasant, and approachable when dealing with the public in order to establish a lasting positive image of the aquarium
- Responsible for promoting and participating in public presentations/ feeds / talks and education sessions, as well as conversing with our visitors whilst carrying out your daily duties around the aquarium
- Responsible for always delivering world class customer service.

**FINANCE MANAGEMENT**
- Ensure that all purchases are authorized by the Curator in accordance with financial control procedures.
- To manage resources, be aware of costs and to always look for better value for money
- Awareness and promotion of the Conservation Strategy throughout the activities of the Zoological department

**OTHER DUTIES**
- To attend training courses as required by the business and be available to assist at other sites if required.
- To impart knowledge to the rest of the DSW team if deemed necessary and to assist in the training of work experience and work-based students
- Responsible for representing DSW within the Zoological Community in a positive light
- To do any other reasonable duty as required by the Curator and the General Manager in accordance with the needs of the business.
- From time to time the company or General Manager may make reasonable requests for you to undertake duties not necessarily covered in the above
- Ensure the Health and Safety policy is read, understood, and adhered to.

This post is full time, including weekend shifts and rota on call cover for emergency life support systems.

**Key Skills**

**Required**
- Experience in animal husbandry is essential including a main focus on aquatic animals - fish/sharks/reptiles/amphibians/Seals also experience working with marine invertebrates including corals
- A degree or equivalent in a relevant biological science is advantageous as is previous relevant experience in public aquaria.
- Practical knowledge of water quality management including testing parameters and how to review and act on results.
- This is a hands-on role and skills in pipework and maintenance of life support systems and pumps are beneficial
- Ability to design, construct and maintain aquaria, basic joinery skills, plumbing and maintenance of life support system equipment including pumps.

**Why work for us**

Aspro Parks is a multinational company which operates more than 85 leisure attractions in Europe.

Here at Aspro, we make sure our employees are well taken care of. We recognise that their hard work and dedication are the driving force behind our success. Our work environment is built on mutual respect and professionalism.

We’re looking for individuals who want to join the Aspro team and live our va