Assistant Curator

**Assistant Curator**

Sealife Trust - Beluga Building Company ehf, Ægisgata 2, 900
Vestmannaeyjar, 900
Iceland

Join the SEA LIFE Trust team and Beluga Whale residents, Little White and Little Grey as an Assistant Curator at the World’s first Beluga Whale Sanctuary in Iceland

If you haven’t heard the story, Little White and Little Grey, two beluga whales previously living in an aquarium in China, arrived in Iceland as the first residents of the SEA LIFE Trust Beluga Whale Sanctuary - the world’s first such open water sanctuary. We may be the world’s first, but our goal is to encourage captive facilities to consider a different future for the cetaceans in their care.

**What we are looking for**
- A minimum of five years paid experience in animal husbandry and animal management
- Previous supervisory and team leadership experience (preferred)
- A strong background in animal training, with a preference for experience with cetaceans
- Advanced knowledge and practice with operant conditioning and environmental enrichment
- Strong understanding of animal husbandry and welfare principles
- Previous experience working with aquatic birds is highly desirable
- Advanced knowledge of Life Support Systems (LSS) (preferred)
- Strong SCUBA diving skills. Rescue SCUBA certification (preferred)
- Small boat operation experience (preferred)

In this unique role, the Assistant Curator will play a crucial role in leading and motivating our animal care team, ensuring the well-being of our animal collection, and assisting the curator with various operational tasks.

You’ll be responsible for ensuring excellent daily care and welfare of an animal collection which includes belugas, puffins, and a variety of local aquarium species. With the support of the Curator, the Assistant Curator is responsible for the management and implementation of a behavioural management plan that ensures a high level of welfare for all animals in the collection.

A key focus will be training and developing the animal care team to have consistently high standards of animal care. Plus, ensuring high standards of cleanliness and professionalism throughout all areas of the site.

This role is full-time and includes working a regular, fair share of weekends and bank holidays as required as well as providing emergency call out cover on a roster basis.

**What’s in it for you**

Alongside becoming part of the SEA LIFE Trust, you’ll also receive a competitive salary, plus benefits

Merlin Entertainments provides HR services for the SEA LIFE Trust and as part of this, all employees adhere to all Merlin Entertainments policies. Please be aware that you may receive correspondence from Merlin Entertainments regarding SEA LIFE Trust vacancies.

At the SEA LIFE Trust, we welcome the world to our attraction every day, and we want to reflect that same multicultural mix inside our business too. We strive to create an inclusive and diverse workplace where people can be themselves, have the same opportunities and thrive together.

Together, we work to create a workplace where everyone feels valued, no matter their age, race, gender, disability, or sexual orientation. Although we understand that we'll always be learning and growing, we aim to be the most inclusive and flexible employer in our industry.