Associate Veterinarian

Associate Veterinarian

The Associate Veterinarian (AV) assists in overseeing the development, implementation, and daily operation of the Animal Health Department through clinical animal care, husbandry, and research for a wide variety of taxa. This individual works interdependently with other animal health staff, zoological operations staff, facilities operations and veterinarians and staff from the University of Georgia, College of Veterinary Medicine (UGA- CVM) to ultimately yield the highest standard of aquatic animal veterinary care. This individual works directly with collection animals performing diagnostic procedures and administering treatments in addition to assisting with the management of clinical records, case rounds and a program of preventative medicine. The Associate Veterinarian serves as the primary clinical veterinarian in the absence of the Sr. Associate Vet, the Senior Vet or the Director of Animal Health (DAH).

Responsibilities include providing an exceptional level of daily primary clinical care of all animals maintained by GAI, being on-call for emergency duty 24 hrs./day, 7 days/week once every 3 weeks or as cases necessitate, working seamlessly with all GAI staff and volunteers, reviewing voluntary medical behaviors, animal transactions, welfare assessments, quarantine plans, and preventive medicine protocols, working effectively with the commissary operations and nutrition team to review animal diets and implement recommended adjustments, contributing to post-mortem examinations and assessments to identify areas for improvement of animal care, maintaining GAI veterinary medical records at the highest standards, attending daily morning rounds and helping organize clinical rounds, journal reviews as well as grand/specialty rounds as needed, assisting the DAH in ensuring federal, state, and local regulatory compliance, working within GAI's Hospital and Diagnostic Laboratory participating in a program of Quality Control, assisting the DAH and department veterinary technicians in maintaining the GAI veterinary pharmacy, assisting with on-going research projects, helping to develop and strengthen ties with supporting institutions, assisting DAH in implementing training, development, and review processes for staff development and enrichment, serving as a strong leader in the department, assisting with the organization and direction of veterinary student preceptors, providing guidance and mentorship to veterinary residents and interns, interacting on behalf of the Georgia Aquarium with guests, media, general public, etc., and performing other duties as workload necessitates.

Qualifications include holding a DVM or VMD degree from an accredited college or school of veterinary medicine with a Georgia veterinary license or the ability to obtain one within three months, USDA/APHIS accreditation type II required, minimum of three years of experience in zoo/aquatic animal medicine and/or board certification from the American College of Zoological Medicine with a specialization in aquatic animal medicine, minimum of three years of work experience in an AZA accredited institution working with zoo/aquatic animals and associated husbandry, clinical care, and regulatory issues, above average leadership skills, effective problem analysis and resolution skills, superior verbal and written communication skills, ability to maintain a high level of professionalism, integrity and confidentiality, proficiency with Microsoft Office Products and standard PC operating systems, valid passport or the ability to obtain one, and SCUBA certification or the ability to become certified is ideal.

The physical demands and work environment described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is occasionally required to stand; walk; sit; use hands to finger, handle, or feel objects, tools, or controls; reach with hands and arms; climb stairs; balance; stoop, kneel, crouch or crawl; talk or hear; taste or smell. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by the job include close vision, distance vision, color and peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is exposed to weather conditions prevalent at the time. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.

I commit to Georgia Aquarium, Inc. to be a part of the following: Mission: Georgia Aquarium is a nonprofit committed to inspiring awareness and preservation of our ocean and Aquatic animals worldwide. Vision: To be the Premier Aquarium in the World for Science, Entertainment, Education and Conservation. Values: Respect, Teamwork, Integrity, Innovation, Leadership, Excellence, Appreciation & Inclusion

Equal Opportunity Employer This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws. For further information, please review the Know Your Rights notice from the Department of Labor.