Aquarist

What you'll bring to the team:

Fancy working with magnificent sharks, cheeky otters, or perhaps the only cow nose rays in Scotland? SEA LIFE Loch Lomond are on the lookout for an experienced Aquarist to join their team.

We have a structured progression plan for our display teams in place across the UK, which means we can now offer a role between levels 1 and 5 and will be compensated accordingly. Successful performance can lead to you becoming a Displays Supervisor and with so many sites across the world, the opportunities are endless.

We are home to a real variety of animals here at and therefore you'll find that no two days are ever the same. Your work routine (if you can call it that) will be assigned daily by area and as we have 43 displays there's a lot to keep you busy. During a typical day you may be creating enrichment for our Asian small-clawed otters (Aonyx cinereus). You could also get close to our largest collection of sharks in Scotland and enter a 250,000-litre ocean tank display for siphoning.

Preparing the feeds for our animals is a big part of the job (so is the washing up). You could be preparing the food for our large nurse sharks or our Giant Spider Crabs from the depths of Japan. Our displays are split into areas including, Lochs of Scotland, Seahorses, Shark nursery, bay of Rays, predators of the reef and our beautiful ocean tank.

It goes without saying therefore, that you will need to ensure the highest of standards are met as you will be responsible for the cleaning, maintenance, and refurbishment of our displays. This includes back washing main filters, water changes, water quality checks, water parameters, health checks, training, and enrichment.

You will also be interacting with guests during feeding sessions whilst providing information about the animals, entertaining and educating our visitors and making their journey into the deep a memorable one!

This is a full-time permanent role 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.

Qualifications & Experience:

• Experience within public aquariums involving maintenance, plumbing and operation of large life support systems
• Shown experience in animal husbandry with freshwater, marine animals, and invertebrates
• An understanding of the fundamentals of water chemistry as applied to an aquarium environment
• A practical ability to build ‘wow’ displays with a solid understanding of the accurate use of theming, lighting, and water movement
• A degree level qualification in animal care, marine biology or equivalent

Benefits:

Alongside becoming an expert in washing up, you’ll also receive:

• 28 days holiday including bank holidays (growing to 33 days with service)
• 40% off LEGO online
• 25% discount in our retail shops and restaurants
• Merlin Magic Pass - giving you free tickets to all our attractions worldwide for you, your family, and friends every year
• Enjoy the Ride Pass – giving you and 5 others a Merlin Annual Pass (Gold edition)
• Discounted rates at Merlin hotels all over the world
• Cycle to work scheme
• Employee pricing up to 55% off cinema tickets

If you have any questions or if you require any assistance, because of a disability or medical condition, please contact us by email at [email protected] and one of the team will get back to you as soon as possible.

Pay Range: Compensation between GBP £24,489.00/Yr.-GBP £26,889.00/Yr.