Animal facility manager to zoo curator
An animal facility manager already meets 24% of what the zoo curator role asks for. The move turns on 34 required skills not yet in the profile.
82.6/ 100
1 How much of what a zoo curator is expected to do is already part of an animal facility manager’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the zoo curator role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A zoo curator role treats 11 of its required skills as things an animal facility manager already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- environmental legislation
- manage budgets
- manage teamwork
- manage zoo staff
- organise zoological exhibitions
- oversee animal management
What stands in the way is 34 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 14 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A zoo curator role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of an animal facility manager background worth leading with.
- already held read zoo reports information skills
- already held zoo regulations business, administration and law
- already held zoo exhibit design arts and humanities
- already held manage zoo staff management skills
- already held organise zoological exhibitions management skills
- already held oversee animal management management skills
All 14 carried skills, including the 11 the zoo curator role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 43 missing skills fall into 10 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn assess the compatibility of individuals and animals to work together required
- still to learn develop recreation programmes required
- still to learn manage recreational facility required
- still to learn schedule recreation facilities required
- still to learn coordinate events required
- still to learn develop zoonotic disease control policies required
- still to learn establish daily priorities required
- still to learn fix meetings required
- still to learn manage logistics required
- still to learn manage staff required
- still to learn manage supplies required
- still to learn set organisational policies required
- still to learn supervise daily information operations required
- optional, not held coordinate export transportation activities optional
- optional, not held coordinate import transportation activities optional
- optional, not held create safe working protocols optional
- optional, not held prepare transportation routes optional
- still to learn advise on animal purchase required
- still to learn promote recreation activities required
- still to learn chair a meeting required
- still to learn liaise with local authorities required
- still to learn represent the organisation required
- optional, not held solve operational transport problems optional
- optional, not held liaise with transportation companies optional
- still to learn budgetary principles required
- still to learn corporate social responsibility required
- still to learn animal welfare legislation required
- optional, not held animal transport regulations optional
- still to learn animal acquisition required
- still to learn animal breeding programmes required
- still to learn physiology of animals required
- still to learn ensure health and safety of staff required
- still to learn ensure health and safety of visitors required
- still to learn follow company standards required
- still to learn maintain catalogue collection required
- still to learn maintain professional records required
- optional, not held analyse transportation costs optional
4 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a zoo curator role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 animal acquisition study this
- 02 animal breeding programmes study this
- 03 administer treatment to animals practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 14 skills that carry over
- already held environmental legislation knowledge
- already held manage budgets skill
- already held manage teamwork skill
- already held manage zoo staff skill
- already held organise zoological exhibitions skill
- already held oversee animal management skill
- already held perform project management skill
- already held read zoo reports skill
- already held speak different languages skill
- already held work effectively with animal-related organisations skill
- already held zoo regulations knowledge
- already held speak about your work in public skill
- already held study a collection skill
- already held zoo exhibit design knowledge
The 4 learning areas not shown above
- still to learn anatomy of animals required
- still to learn applied zoology required
- still to learn administer treatment to animals required
- optional, not held breed reptiles optional
- still to learn animal evolution required
- still to learn recreation activities required
9 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held animal transport regulations optional
- optional, not held breed reptiles optional
- optional, not held coordinate export transportation activities optional
- optional, not held coordinate import transportation activities optional
- optional, not held solve operational transport problems optional
- optional, not held analyse transportation costs optional
- optional, not held create safe working protocols optional
- optional, not held liaise with transportation companies optional
- optional, not held prepare transportation routes optional
6 held skills the zoo curator role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role apply strategic thinking skill
- not needed by the target role customer relationship management knowledge
- not needed by the target role develop visitor engagement strategies skill
- not needed by the target role implement strategic management skill
- not needed by the target role respond to visitor complaints skill
- not needed by the target role zoo community knowledge
11 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn animal acquisition required
- still to learn animal breeding programmes required
- still to learn anatomy of animals required
- still to learn animal evolution required
- still to learn applied zoology required
- still to learn budgetary principles required
- still to learn corporate social responsibility required
- still to learn physiology of animals required
- still to learn animal welfare legislation required
- still to learn recreation activities required
- optional, not held animal transport regulations optional
Other moves recorded from animal facility manager
Common questions about this move
Can an animal facility manager become a zoo curator?
Yes, and it is a career change move. An animal facility manager already covers 24% of what a zoo curator is expected to do: 14 skills carry over, 11 of which the zoo curator role treats as required.
What skills does an animal facility manager need to become a zoo curator?
34 required skills are missing, plus 9 optional ones. They fall into 10 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by management skills. The single most important is animal acquisition.
How hard is the move from animal facility manager to zoo curator?
Its learning distance is 82.6 out of 100, which is the career change band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.