Address:  5000 West Carefree Highway, Phoenix, AZ 85086

Salary: $56,098 - $100,989 

Grade: 24

Closing Date: 09/27/2026

PROGRAM ADMINISTRATOR 2
“Wildlife Education Curator”
INFORMATION, EDUCATION AND WILDLIFE RECREATION DIVISION / EDUCATION BRANCH
PHOENIX, ARIZONA BASED
FLSA – Exempt / SALARY GRADE 24 ($56,098 - $100,989)
CLOSING DATE: 09/27/2026

The Arizona Game and Fish Department is currently seeking a Wildlife Education Curator to join our dynamic wildlife conservation education team! This role plays an integral part in ensuring our facility, husbandry and animal behavior management practices are upheld to the highest standards while managing our wildlife education and outreach programs. The ideal candidate will be an experienced, driven and engaging curator who thrives in a role with broad responsibilities, rapid shifts in priorities and excels at facility based project management, problem solving, program development and evaluation. The preferred candidate must be a collaborative team player that understands the intricacies of providing a world class customer experience while ensuring the health and safety of the wildlife in our care. The position will require occasional in-state travel.

Major responsibilities will include:

- Facility & Center Operations: Responsible for Wildlife Center operations to include serving as the subject matter expert in managing enclosure and facility design, fabrication, construction and maintenance of animal displays and enclosures, facility improvements and repairs.

- Animal Collection Management: Manages the Department’s non-releasable live wildlife collection and the Desert Tortoise Adoption Program, assuring that all operations comply with established procedures, professional standards and governmental regulations.

- Compliance & Safety: Responsible for oversight of best practices through audits and inspections, drills, curation of SOP’s, compliance with safety protocols, emergency action plans and adherence to Department, state and federal policies and standards.

- Education & Outreach: Manages wildlife education and outreach programs by creating and implementing community programs including, but not limited to, classes, educator professional development, training, outreach programs and events.

- Team Leadership: Directs, motivates, trains and evaluates the performance of animal care and outreach/education staff, interns and volunteers to achieve the programmatic goals and objectives.

- Budget Management: Manages assigned budget, monitoring expenses for supplies, projects and services throughout the year. Reviews and analyzes activities, costs, operations and forecasts data to determine progress toward goals and objectives.

- May serve as the Education Branch Chief when necessary and performs other duties as assigned.

The candidate will have knowledge of/in: wildlife conservation, familiarity with native wildlife of Arizona, basic knowledge of wildlife, ecology, biology and other sciences required for the preparation and presentation of educational programs, captivity standards, animal husbandry techniques, federal, state and all other applicable statutes and laws governing the captive care and use of live wildlife in educational programs, live wildlife exhibit and enclosure design, interpretive display design and development that incorporates multiple learning styles, supervision and leadership, and event planning, coordination and management. Knowledge of facility management including maintenance and repair.

The candidate must have skill in: written and verbal communication, strong interpersonal skills, with the ability to constructively manage differences of opinion among diverse internal and external customers, strong presentation skills, expertise in project management, live wildlife handling, time management, report preparation, budget management, computer skills with a strong, understanding of Google suite of applications and excellent organizational and problems solving skills.

The candidate must be able to repair and maintain animal enclosures and facilities, enter animal areas and perform physical work, coordinate animal transportation using airlines and other vehicles, design, develop and implement wildlife education programming for formal and informal audiences, maintain the highest level of quality as it relates to the Center’s public and professional image pertaining to animal health, training and husbandry, interpret and follow department operating policies, procedures and directives, multi-task across diverse program areas with changing priorities while managing multiple budgets, facilitate and lead internal and external meetings, use critical thinking to solve complex problems and supervise staff in all aspects of their job.

The preferred candidate will have at least five (5) years of experience serving in a supervisory role as an assistant curator or curator level or above, experience managing a collection of live wildlife, supervising and mentoring animal care and education staff, live wildlife facility operations and maintenance experience, live wildlife exhibit and enclosure design experience, handling live wildlife used in educational programs, experience developing, implementing, and managing an education program and a Bachelor’s degree in Wildlife, Zoology or related field.

Position requires possession of and the ability to retain a current, valid state-issued driver’s license appropriate to the assignment.

If this position requires driving or the use of a vehicle as an essential function of the job to conduct State business, then the following requirements apply: Driver’s License Requirements.

All newly hired State employees are subject to and must successfully complete the Electronic Employment Eligibility Verification Program (E-Verify).

The State of Arizona offers an outstanding comprehensive benefits package including:
13 days’ of vacation
12 sick days
10 paid holidays
Tuition Reimbursement Program
Participation in the nationally recognized Arizona State Retirement System
Superior health care options
Vision care, dental care, pharmacy benefits, and flexible spending account (options available)
Life, long-term disability, and short-term disability insurance options are available
Many more benefit programs are available

Learn more about the Paid Parental Leave program here. For a complete list of benefits provided by The State of Arizona, please visit our benefits page

Positions in this classification participate in the Arizona State Retirement System (ASRS). Please note, enrollment eligibility will become effective after 27 weeks of employment.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact Milani Barron at mbarron@azgfd.gov for assistance. The Arizona Game and Fish Department is an Equal Employment Opportunity agency.