Associate & Primary Giraffe Center Veterinarian

We are still looking for the right person who is creatively innovative when it comes to giraffe!

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo (CMZoo) is in Colorado’s 2nd-largest city, Colorado Springs; which offers all of the resources & culture of a much larger city, but with a competitive cost of living. Outdoor adventure--375 miles of trails, 150+ parks & typically 300 days of sunshine per year. U.S. News and World Report named Colorado Springs the #2 Most Desirable & the #9 Best Place to Live in the U.S. for 2023-24. CMZoo consistently ranks in the top 10 zoos in North America--#3 Best Zoo in 2023 USA TODAY 10 Best Readers’ Choice Awards.

Giraffe Center Component --3/5 th time commitment

• Innovate & implement preventative & medical care, quality-of-life & end-of-life assessments, nutrition, & giraffe welfare for CMZoo giraffe & the greater giraffe community

• Cultivate & grow effective relationships in the greater giraffe community (zoos & private)

• Innovate & collaborate on giraffe medical research & peer-reviewed publications

• Play a primary role in giraffe-centric workshops at CMZoo & teaching internally as well

• Consult on giraffe medical cases for AZA, ZAA, & private facilities, when requested

• Participate in innovating design processes for CMZoo giraffe facility projects

• Travel nationally & internationally to advance giraffe veterinary medicine & care as needed

Associate Veterinarian Component--2/5th time commitment

• Provide medical care for the collection; including maintaining preventative medicine & managing illness, senior care, contraception, emergency medicine, zoonotic & nutritional concerns, & humane euthanasia

• Collaborate with veterinary & human medicine specialists on complicated medical/surgical cases to provide excellent medical care and to help build community support for the zoo

• Provide hands-on clinical experience and mentorship to students with oral evaluations

QUALIFICATIONS:

• A graduate degree in veterinary medicine, an active Colorado Veterinary License, AND be NAVLE certified

• A valid, unrestricted USA driver’s license

• MINIMUM 5 years 100% zoo AND 3 years significant exotic hoofstock (giraffe preferred) veterinary experience

• Excellent written, public-speaking, teaching & storytelling skills

• Must pass a pre-employment drug/alcohol screening & criminal background check

• Must be able to provide proof that they can legally work in the United States

• Must have computer proficiency in Word, Excel, ZIMS, internet & email

• Needs to be available for on-call/quick response & an unpredictable travel schedule at times

This is a fulltime, 40 hour/week salaried position that pays $92,000-95,000/year--dependent upon experience level; competitive benefits--including generous accrued vacation/holiday/sick time; opportunities for prorated summer end & year-end bonuses totaling up to 11% (based upon Zoo performance); group medical, dental, vision, life, & disability insurance; among many other benefits!