Animal Care

**Job Role**:Animal Care & Maintenance Technician

**Your Introduction to Farmer Palmer’s Team and History**

23 years ago, Farmer Palmer’s was born. From the beginning, we have been driven by a passion for creating a family-friendly environment where children can learn, play, and get close to the countryside animals.

**Start Date**:Within 6 weeks of interview

**Purpose of the role**:
You will assist the Animal Department Manager to oversee the maintenance of the animal department, maintaining the upkeep of the farm including animal enclosures, fencing, public pathways, and executing high standards of animal care in a customer focused and child-friendly environment.

This is a multifaceted role whereby as well as assisting with animal husbandry and welfare, you will also be responsible for customer interactions, public safety and have a proactive approach to ensure that the animal department maintenance develops and runs smoothly and safely.

We are seeking a self-motivated person with a keen eye for detail and possess impeccable working standards, both practically and with animals and public. Experience and a good working knowledge of carpentry and construction is essential, as well as tractor driving and tele-handler ticket. A solid understanding of plumbing, building and electrical work is also desirable, alongside a varied range of trade skills.

**Personal Specification**
- Be polite, helpful, presentable, and confident with a can-do attitude.
- Be responsible and punctual.
- Ability to work both as a team and alone working on your own initiative.
- Ability to see the next job that needs doing.
- Good time management

**Essential Skills**:

- Customer service is as key as meticulous animal care in this position.
- You must be confident in talking to both our young and adult visitors with a bubbly, cheery and happy disposition.
- This position will suit a person with good attention to detail who will not leave until the job is done properly.
- Hands on experience of a maintenance/ technical role with excellent attention to detail
- Teamwork is essential
- Good communication skills, the ability to supervise, work productively with team members and contractors
- Previous experience working in a similar environment. You will also require a good level of physical fitness as there is manual handling involved and you will be on your feet all day.

**Qualifications**:

- Current practical experience/minimum of Animal Care Qualification Animal Care - Level 2 Diploma or agricultural qualifications
- GCSE Maths and English

**Desirable Experience**:

- Previous experience working in a similar environment is desirable for this position, you will also require a good level of physical fitness as there is manual handling involved. Tractor Driving experience.
- Farmhand experience would be advantageous.
- Qualifications and experience in farm machinery and grounds maintenance such as tractor work, telehandler, trailer license, mower/strimmer, chainsaw.
- Experience of assisting with the design and delivery of small-scale projects
- Some experience with trade skills including carpentry, decorating would also be an advantage.

**Duties & Responsibilities**:
**Maintenance Technician duties will include, but not be limited to**:

- Installation and maintenance of fence lines
- Construction and maintenance of both new and existing enclosures and animal houses

**Customer Service Skills**
- Exciting opportunity to deliver a magical customer experience, in line with our mission statement, vision and company goals. Giving real hands-on experiences to brand new, and loyal customers alike. Helping to educate children and visitors who are making lifetime family memories.
- You must be confident in talking to both our young and adult visitors with a bubbly, cheery, and happy disposition.
- You will be a key member of the Animal Barn Team caring for our animals and assisting with our public demonstrations.
- Work from and completing checklists to timescales set out in our daily timetables.

**Animal Care**
- You will need to be confident to deliver practical animal care, high standards of welfare and husbandry with both small and larger animals across a wide range of species.
- Duties will include essential and routine husbandry/cleaning out/feeding duties and interactive demonstrations for a variety of animals including customer focussed guinea pigs handling sessions.
- Maintaining functional operations of the animal department
- Delivering interactive demonstrations for a variety of livestock including customer-focused guinea pig handling sessions, goat feedings, pony patting, trotter time with pigs.

**Health & Safety**

Supporting the Supervisor in maintaining exceptional levels of Health and Safety including cleanliness, maintenance, and management of systems, in keeping with legislation and the NFAN code of practice

**Hours**:30 - 40 hours across a 7-day rota including a weekend day and bank holidays.

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