Conservation Breeding and Reintroduction Programme

This position is based at ZSL Whipsnade Zoo

The Zoological Society of London is seeking an intern to provide support to the Conservation Breeding and Reintroduction Programme. The successful candidate will be part of a small team focussing on the development of this exciting and innovative programme and will have the opportunity to gain experience at a globally respected conservation organisation.

The intern will support the Programme Manager in the selection and development of new projects through literature search and the preparation of proposal documents about species, their distribution, status of threat and potential for conservation breeding. There will be a need to prepare regular reports for the programme, to compile data on other projects and to enter data onto the ZSL project database as well as some general office duties. There will be the opportunity to work with studbooks and to get an understanding of the management of small populations, husbandry practices for endangered species in conservation breeding centres and collection planning. There may also be an opportunity to gain some practical experience in these areas.

Although based at ZSL Whipsnade Zoo, the intern will be required to spend some time at ZSL London Zoo both to use the library and to liaise with colleagues based there.

There may be an opportunity for the intern to undertake a project during the time with ZSL.

A successful candidate would ideally have an undergraduate and preferably a master’s level degree in Zoology, Conservation or a related subject. They must be self-motivated and, ideally, have some experience in zoos with an understanding of the role of zoos in conservation. He or she will be fully computer literate with a good working knowledge of Microsoft Office.

It is essential that candidates have either a full UK manual driving licence, or equivalent, and be confident of driving through London.

The internship is for ideally six months, starting in May 2013 and running until November 2013. The role is for up to 5 days per week with normal office hours and is based at ZSL Whipsnade Zoo, near Dunstable, Bedfordshire. Some flexible working may be required as is usual when working with animals. All applicants must be able to show that they have permission to complete an internship in the UK. 

Please visit our website to view more information including the Terms of Reference for this internship.  http://www.zsl.org/about-us/jobs/

Please note that this is a voluntary position and there should be no expectation that any paid position will arise out of this
internship. However, ZSL will reimburse travel costs (to be agreed prior to the start of the project) and lunches (max £5 a day).

This is an excellent opportunity for the successful candidate to further their knowledge of species conservation in zoos and their links to the field and to gain essential conservation experience. To apply, please send a covering letter outlining your interest and suitability for this role, your CV and details of two referees to Nick Lindsay via e-mail to: nick.lindsay@zsl.org

Closing date for applications: April 22^nd 2013

We regret that we will only be able to contact applicants who have been selected for interview.