Big Joel's Safari Petting Zoo & Educational Park

Will begin hiring for 2026 Season in February.

For 2026 we will be mostly hiring team members that can work weekends (not negotiable), have a valid drivers license, and due to the nature of the tasks needed to be completed, must be at least 18 years old.

We do have opportunities for those that do not meet the age requirement, however they are limited.

 

A few quick things to ask yourself before applying

• Do you have reliable means of transportation & communication?

• Our animals and visitors depend on you. Are you able to arrive to work consistently and on time?

• Do you have good customer service skills and communicate well with others?

• Are you self-motivated, outgoing, and positive?

• Do you have a great work ethic?

• Are you able to follow instructions and have attention to detail?

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Join our team and enjoy these perks while employed!

• Free admission to the park

• Anytime you visit one friend or family member gets free admission.

• 20% of Gift Shop Merchandise

• 5 free day passes to give to family & friends (after 30 days of employment)

 

Safari Team Member (Seasonal, Full, and Part Time)  

Responsibilities:-vary daily/seasonally (if only interested in a portion of this job description, such as gift shop attendant or maintenance portions only, please specify during application, we want to make sure we are placing employees within the right fit as well as we are looking for a competent gift shop attendant especially for weekends and persons with maintenance skills)

• Assist with all aspects of day-to-day operations.  

  • Actively engage with guests, encourage enjoyment while making sure guests are following rules and protocols during park open hours with a calm and friendly demeanor.

  • Ensuring safety and wellbeing of animals and customers. Rule enforcement is a vital part in keeping our animals, staff, and visitors safe.  Being able to maintain a calm and friendly demeanor is key.

  • Cleaning/sanitation duties may include but are not limited to:

    • Cleaning/sanitizing animal enclosures/areas and animal bowls/supplies

    • Cleaning/sanitizing public areas including restrooms/hand wash stations, gift shop, party room, picnic areas etc. 

    • Cleaning/sanitizing non-public areas, storage areas, and employee breakroom

    • Taking out trash to dumpster-must be 18+ years old

  • Entry level animal care which may include:

    • Feeding-basic feeding with possibility to work up to advanced diets including prepping and feeding specialized diets and hay/grain

    • Watering

    • Ensuring and promoting overall animal health and high quality of care

    • Enclosure maintenance

  • Assisting with lawn and park ground maintenance

  • Assisting with gift shop/admission operations

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Qualifications & Requirements:

• Must be at least 16 years old to apply, no exceptions.  Must be 18+ with a valid license to drive machinery.

• Full-Time Candidates: Work schedules include weekdays, weekends, and holidays throughout entire season. (must work weekends)

• Part-Time Candidates (which includes High School & College Student Applicants): Applicants attending school need be able to work weekends and holidays. Part-Time candidates are expected to be available during open hours on days agreed upon to work.

• All successful candidates for this position may be required to submit to a criminal background check and drug test.

• Must have reliable transportation and communication

• Working experience with animals and/or prior customer service experience is preferred, but not required.  

• Excellent communication skills-with each other and customers!

• Must be able to work outside in all environments throughout the season (cold, heat, rain, and various air quality conditions).

• Must be able to fully follow directions/instructions and have an attention to detail.

• Physical requirements:

  •  Job requires you to be on your feet and moving for long periods of time throughout most of the day.

  • Able to lift 50 lbs and perform tasks such as pushing and dumping loaded wheelbarrows.

• If you have any experience in maintenance, lawn care, or cash register use, please let us know on your application.  If working within maintenance or lawn care you will need to be able to safely operate tools and machinery and be respectful of the equipment supplied.  If working in the gift shop, you will need to be able to handle money, safely handle credit cards, utilize booking system, credit card machines and register, clean within gift shop, complete gift cards/season passes/birthday parties, answer messages, stock and price gift shop items, stock gift shop supplies, make bird feeding sticks, set-up and clean up gift shop daily.  There is always something to do within the gift shop area, you will be on your feet and moving all day.

• For full time Safari Team Members there are possibilities of career advancement within Big Joel’s Safari. Opportunities to work in specialized aspects of the park (for example animal care) and year-round employment will be based on job performance and work ethic after an extended period of employment.

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​​How to apply for a position?

First:       Click on the Microsoft Word document to the right to download our job application.

               Please fill out the application form completely

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Second: Send us an e-mail to bigjoelsafari@bigjoelsafari.com with "Big Joel Safari Hire"

               in the subject line. Please attach your Big Joel's Safari Job Application, Resume,

               and a cover letter to this email as an attachment.

Please use Microsoft Word for job applications, resume, and cover letters or we will have more difficulty viewing them.

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Third:     You will get "Application Received" email back within 24 hours of sending us your application. Be aware that you may get an email back saying your e-mail was rejected or our email is full.  We are having a problem with our system, but do not worry we are still receiving emails and are working to fix the problem.

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Please follow our application process correctly, if not we will not accept or follow up on your application.

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We will not respond to applications sent via social media such as Facebook.

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