General Curator - Onondaga County Aquarium

ZOOCEANARIUM GROUP LLC•Syracuse, NY

13d•$70,000 - $80,000

About The Position

The General Curator provides strategic and operational leadership for all animal care and welfare programs. This position oversees the husbandry, behavioral training, and animal ambassador teams, ensuring exemplary standards of animal welfare, safety, and regulatory compliance. During the pre-opening phase, the General Curator will lead the animal acquisition and introduction process, coordinate the commissioning of all animal habitats and holding systems, and build the Life Sciences team that will support daily operations and long-term institutional growth.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in zoology, marine biology, animal behavior, or a related field required; Master’s degree preferred.
Minimum 8–10 years of progressive experience in professional animal care, with at least 5 years in a supervisory or curatorial capacity.
Proven success managing mixed aquatic and terrestrial collections, including ambassador programs.
PADI Open Water or equivalent (or able to obtain within 90 days of employment) required.
Must hold and maintain First Aid, CPR, Emergency O2, and AED certification; training will be provided.
Exceptional leadership skills and proven experience.
Demonstrated experience commissioning new exhibits or facilities and integrating animal collections into newly constructed habitats.
Strong understanding of animal health, behavioral training, enrichment, and welfare assessment.
Familiarity with AZA accreditation standards, animal acquisition and disposition policies, and relevant permitting processes.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
Experience managing departmental budgets.
Strong listening, presentation and decision-making skills.
Creative problem solver who thrives when presented with a challenge.
Energetic and eager to tackle new projects and ideas.
Ability to stand for long periods of time.
Ability to read, listen and communicate effectively in English, both verbally and in writing.
Ability to access and accurately input information using a moderately complex computer system.
Hearing and visual ability to observe and detect signs of emergency situations.
Requires the ability to perform the physical, visual and hearing requirements in the working conditions below
Must be available for evenings, weekends, and holidays.
Upon employment all team members are required to comply with the standards, rules and regulations, which may be established by the Company and updated from time-to-time. Team members who violate property rules or have irregular attendance will be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment.
The leisure business functions seven days a week. Due to the seasonal nature of the industry, team members may be required to work varying schedules, weekends, holidays and overtime to reflect the business needs of the property. Team members may also be required to attend group and/or department meetings in addition to the work shift as necessary.
This job description is not an exclusive or exhaustive list of all job functions that a team member in this position may be asked to perform.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree preferred.
Experience overseeing an institutional dive program and familiarity with dive safety standards is preferred.

Responsibilities

Lead planning and implementation of all animal introductions, acclimations, and exhibit commissioning.
Collaborate with design, operations, and facilities teams to ensure all habitats meet species-specific welfare, life support, and behavioral needs.
Develop and implement standard operating procedures (SOPs) for animal care, recordkeeping, safety, public interaction programming, and emergency response.
Oversee animal transfers, permitting, and quarantine processes in coordination with veterinary and regulatory partners.
Recruit, train, and onboard animal care and training staff prior to opening.
Assist in final AZA-related documentation, welfare assessments, and regulatory inspections related to animal areas.
Provide leadership and direction to the Life Sciences team.
Directly supervise Assistant Curator and Life Sciences supervisors, providing leadership in hiring, coaching, performance evaluations, corrective action, and staff development.
Ensure all animal care, enrichment, and behavioral training programs meet or exceed AZA, USDA, FWC, and other applicable standards.
Establish and support professional development pathways for Life Sciences staff, including training, cross-training, conference participation, and ongoing skill-building.
Develop and maintain an institutional animal collection plan in alignment with conservation, education, and guest experience goals.
Participate as a member of the senior leadership team in institutional strategic planning, operational goal setting, capital project development, and cross-departmental initiatives to ensure animal welfare and guest experience priorities are represented in all major decisions.
Coordinate with the veterinary team on health management, nutrition, quarantine, and welfare monitoring programs.
Ensure accurate and timely animal records (husbandry, medical, regulatory, and collection data), to maintain compliance with AZA, USDA, and other reporting standards.
Oversee all animal acquisitions and dispositions in accordance with the AZA Acquisition/Disposition Policy, institutional ethics, and all applicable federal, state, and international regulations, including coordination with USFWS, FWC, NYS DEC, and global exporting authorities.
Support guest-facing initiatives through ambassador animal programs, educational encounters, and media/PR appearances.
Oversee departmental budgets, staffing schedules, and purchasing in collaboration with the Executive Director and Finance.
Ensure that all Life Sciences team members uphold the institution’s guest service standards
Serve as institutional liaison to AZA programs (TAGs, SSPs) and participate in professional conferences and committees.
Ensure compliance with all applicable animal welfare, environmental, and operational regulations, including AZA Accreditation Standards, USDA (as applicable), U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS), Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYS DEC), OSHA, EPA, and state/local health and building codes.
Serve as the primary contact for after-hours animal care emergencies.
Other duties as assigned.