Are you interested in a career at Colchester Zoo?

It’s not just about working with the animals, being a Zoo Keeper is just one of many roles being played within our massive team!

We are a hugely diverse organisation to work for; from building to face painting,
we have it all!

We always look for cheerful, positive and friendly people who enjoy working with others, and are keen to give our visitors a top class service; regardless of their disability, age, race, sex or religion.

Click here for current vacancies

Click here for volunteering opportunities

Departments

Construction Team
a complete building team, consisting of carpenters, labourers, digger drivers, plumbers and electricians – all responsible for the construction of new animal enclosures and buildings around the park, together with the maintenance of all of our existing buildings.

Catering Team
From washer uppers and cooks, to General Catering Assistants and cashiers our Catering team are responsible for running our many Catering Outlets around the Zoo, and providing our customers an excellent level of service.

Retail Team
This is our visitors’ first point of call when entering the Zoo, as our Retail team run Admissions, as well the very busy Ark and Acacia Gift Shops and several smaller outlets within the Zoo grounds selling
everything from bouncy balls and cuddly toys, to
ornaments and furniture.

Play Area Team
The Play Area department are our main entertainment team and look after our smaller visitors! Supervising the soft play area, and the Crazy Sand Shop and painting hundreds of little faces as well as dressing up for themed events and manning the grotto whether it be Easter or Christmas!

Grounds Team
This is an extremely busy team who ensure the 60 acres of Zoo grounds are kept to the highest standards of cleanliness, making sure the bins are emptied regularly, the paths are kept clean and clear, and the toilet blocks are all kept to a high standard. This department is also responsible for giving our visitors a trip to remember by driving our two Road Trains, Tanganyika and Umphafa!

Gardening Team
The gardening team might only be small, but they have a massive job on their hands maintaining and planting not just the visitor areas, but the animal enclosures too!

Guest Services & Administration Team
In this department, there is never a dull moment, from taking school and group bookings, making Birthday Party arrangements, and the various “Keeper for the Day” products on offer, to selling our Zoo passes. Being the central meeting point within the Zoo they also deal with any lost children and lost property!

Education Team
This team includes our learning coordinators who run public engagement events and coordinate school visits and school sessions.  The team also includes our volunteer coordinator who organises all the volunteers and student work placements. 

Development Team
This small team deals with all of the PR and promotions and maintains and develops the zoo’s online presence on the website, Facebook and Twitter working with an in house designer. Whether its designing posters, arranging filming for programmes like Zoo Days or publishing our Zoo Matters Newsletters its a busy department!

Accounts & Human Resources
A vital part of Colchester Zoo, dealing with job applications, ensuring that all of our staff get paid on time; making sure invoices are sent, and suppliers are paid!

Animal Team
Last but by no means least, the Animal Keepers are one of the largest teams at Colchester Zoo, ranging from our Curators to our Trainee Keepers, they look after all of the daily needs of the 270 + animal species to the highest standards possible. They provide presentations to visitors about some of the animals in their care. They also develop training techniques which are being used by conservationists to protect animals in the wild!

Current Vacancies

All our current vacancies are advertised on this website, with some of our Zoo Keeper vacancies also being placed on the BIAZA and Zoo Biology websites.

All you have to do to apply is find the vacancy you are interested in; complete the online application form, and e-mail it to us with your CV and a covering note.

Your application will then be passed to the relevant Department Manager for consideration.

Hopefully, you will be lucky enough to receive a telephone call, arranging for you to attend an interview and then it is all up to you.

If you have attended an interview, we will contact you to let you know whether your application has been successful or not.

Unfortunately, due to the high volume of applications received, we are unable to contact all of those not reaching the interview stage.

Important Information for Applicants:

Under the immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006 we are required to check that anyone taking up employment with us has the legal right to work in the UK.

All applicants invited to attend an interview will be asked to provide documentary evidence of this, and we will need to take a copy of these documents before work commences.

Please note that if you are a non EU citizen and you do not have the relevant Visa to work in the UK, we would only be able to apply for a Certificate of Sponsorship from the UK Border Agency if we can prove that we have met the Resident Labour Market Test, and that you meet the required points needed under the new points based system. For more information please see the UK Border Agency website www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk.