A zoo is a place where animals are given shelter, protection and are kept in enclosures so that people can come see them and learn about them. Zoos are places of entertainment for most but often we ignore the manpower that goes behind running of these entities smoothly. A zoo has a detailed hierarchical structure of job positions, each of which is divided on the basis of duties and responsibilities. Starting from the zoo owner or director down to the maintenance staff, there are multiple Jobs Hierarchy that make a zoo functional. The following is the zoo job hierarchy:
Zoo Director
The topmost position in a zoo is that of a zoo director who makes policies, supervises all other positions and is responsible for the profits and losses incurred by the zoo.
A) General Curator
General curator is the head of the Zoo management department and is the one who supervises the animal curator as far as animal collection is concerned. There are several other curators who report to the general curator and they are as follows:
1. Animal Curator
The animal curator takes responsibility of animal collection in a zoo.
2. Curator of Education
A zoo is an educational entity and the responsibility of education is taken by the curator of education.
3. Curator of Exhibits
This curator designs, creates and manages the exhibits in which animals are kept.
4. Curator of Horticulture
The responsibility of the grounds and the botanical garden of the zoo falls upon the shoulders of the curator of horticulture.
B) Assistant Director
The responsibility of an assistant director of a zoo is to administer the entire zoo premises and see to it that everything runs smoothly. He/she reports to the director.
C) Finance Director
A finance director takes care of finances and financial statements of a zoo and may head the finance department consisting of accountants and financial experts.
D) Veterinarian
To take care of the health of the animals, birds and other species, a veterinarian must be present in a zoo at all times.
E) Zoologist
A zoologist handles the technical and scientific aspect of animal collections and supervises the conservation projects.
F) Keeper/aquarist
A keeper is in charge of the diet as well as the recordkeeping of animals. He/she is also responsible for cleanliness of the exhibits or enclosures.
G) Marketing Director
The marketing director is responsible for marketing the zoo well in the city or country.
H) Visitor Service Manager
A visitor service manager is responsible for the development and care of the public conveniences like restrooms and eating points. Customer service is the main duty of these managers.
I) Director of Conservation
The director of conversation tries his best to look after zoo conversation.
J) Operations Director
Operations director is responsible for ensuring that all operations in the zoo are being carried out smoothly and takes care of the equipments and physical plants present in the premises.
K) Volunteer Coordinator
Many volunteers too work at zoos and are responsible for helping out the zoo employees in their tasks. These volunteers may be hired for temporary period of time or for special zoo projects like conversation or education programs etc.