Jobs for People with MS: National MS Society

Animal Excellence Research Coordinator Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden (CZBG) is a leader in animal care, wildlife conservation, sustainability, education, and community engagement. Our Mission is to create adventure, convey knowledge, conserve nature, and serve our community. We accomplish this by inspiring every visitor with wildlife every day by providing opportunities to be close enough to care. We are passionate about our commitment to Animal Excellence and succeed at this by pursuing our Core Values of: Collaborative Relationship; Positivity & Energy; Accountability, Mutual Trust & Respect; Progressive Thinking; Pride, Passion & a Sense of Ownership. Summary: This position will support the building and advancement of a foundational zoo-wide animal behavior research program to promote an evidence-based approach to animal care and management. This position will assist in the implementation, maintenance, interpretation, and reporting of multiple animal behavior and welfare research projects, and they will share responsibility in training and guiding interns and volunteers that may be assisting with research efforts. Exceptional skills in independent critical thinking, data organization, communication, and collaboration are paramount for this role. The Animal Excellence Research Coordinator will work closely with the Animal Excellence Scientist to strengthen the Zoo's advancement towards Animal Excellence and continue raising the bar for both animal and visitor experience. EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS Successful candidates are likely to have at least 2 years' experience conducting all aspects of the research process (i.e., study design, data collection, data analysis, and reporting) particularly within the field of animal behavior. Knowledge and experience with Windows operating systems and the Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, Power Point, Outlook) is required, and experience using Microsoft 365 applications (particularly data visualization tools such as Power BI), ZooMonitor, and statistical programs (e.g., SPSS, R) is desired. Familiarity with animal care and welfare practices in the zoo and aquarium field are preferred, but not essential. ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS Behavior Research Coordination Lead project study design and development by participating in discussions on animal well-being related research, compiling and reviewing scientific literature, writing animal behavior research plans, and assisting in technology coordination and setup, in conjunction with the Animal Excellence Scientist and team. Execute the interpretation, analysis, and reporting of behavioral data, using Microsoft and statistical programs. Coordinate scheduling and execution of simultaneous research projects and communicate projects' status and updates to Animal Excellence Scientist and other stakeholders. Maintain existing data streams on established animal care data dashboards. Oversee and advance the standardization processes of animal behavioral monitoring, including conducting behavioral observations, updating inter-observer reliability resources, and conducting reliability tests using the ZooMonitor program. Coordinate onboarding and inter-observer reliability training of Animal Excellence Research Interns and volunteers, including supporting and guiding intern independent research projects. Provide support as needed to the Animal Excellence Research team and larger Animal Department. Additional Responsibilities Participate in as-needed research efforts. This may include behavior and space use of animals with some environmental monitoring (i.e., sound, light, temperature/humidity) and significant life event evaluation (i.e., construction, unusual weather, noise intrusion, changes in housing, changes in an animal's role, social introductions, etc.). Maintain general familiarity with Animal Department staff, operations, and happenings.