Jungle Friends runs on the energy and dedication of very special people whose commitment to the health and happiness of our monkey residents unites them for a common cause. If you have a love for animals and you aren't afraid of hard work, please take a look at our employment opportunities.
You do not need to have experience working with primates, although it helps. You simply need a strong desire to make a difference in the lives of these special creatures who are living out their lives in captivity, entirely dependent on humans for their every need.
Resources for Prospective Staff How to Apply Learn About Us
We accept employment applications throughout the year. Job opportunities may vary through the year, but we do our best to keep the list below limited only to positions that are currently open. If you have questions, please Contact Us.
Jungle Friends Primate Sanctuary -- Sanctuary Director Position
The Jungle Friends Primate Sanctuary (JFPS) Sanctuary Director (SD) will oversee the sanctuary staff, volunteers, interns and sanctuary animals. The SD is a professional employee of JFPS with supervisory responsibility for the Sanctuary Managers and Veterinary Technicians. The SD reports directly to the Executive Director (ED) and works directly with the Sanctuary Managers, veterinarians, and veterinary technicians. In the absence of the ED, the SD assumes responsibility for decisions concerning sanctuary operations, animal care concerns, and emergency procedures during an animal escape, as well as relations with sanctuary visitors. The SD serves as the primary trainer to the carestaff on all policies and procedures related to diet preparation, administration of medication, enrichment programs, monkey moves from habitat to habitat, catching and transporting monkeys and animal husbandry. The SD understands and promotes JFPS’s mission, goals and position statements.
Duties and responsibilities:
Serve as the liaison between the care staff and Executive D and reports all disciplinary matters and resolves employee conflict and performance issues through guidance, reports, corrective action, and termination if necessary. Maintain current job descriptions for all sanctuary positions.
Promote teamwork to effectively and efficiently care for the animals. Additionally, the SD creates schedules and monitors the daily work assignments of the managers, vet techs, care staff, volunteers and interns to effectively carry out the operation of the sanctuary, animal care and enrichment, as well as the volunteer program.
Promote positive public relations and promote JFPS’s mission and goals. Provide leadership and give tours to visitors and donors at the sanctuary and presentations to the public about JFPS’s mission and services.
Serve as the Sanctuary administrator, maintaining records and documents. Entering appropriate data into the records / database, including new arrivals; oversee daily logs, veterinary and medical records, enrichment, and record monkey introductions and socializations and prepare reports, as directed. Order medical supplies and animal food, as well as supplies for maintaining and building the habitats and enclosures and reconciling orders on delivery.
Maintain Sanctuary facilities , public areas, food prep and storage areas, animal habitats and enclosures, and grounds to ensure cleanliness and safety. Create and maintain a safe and positive working environment for all sanctuary staff and volunteers. Regularly review staff and volunteer training and safety protocols to ensure human and animal safety. Provide for staff training on a variety of topics including safe animal handling and capture and behavior recognition.
Perform or oversee grounds keeping and landscaping including, planting, trimming, weed control, and mowing.
How to Apply
The Sanctuary Managers are expected to manage the care of the animals at the sanctuary, as well as the care staff, interns and volunteers. She/he will work directly with the Executive Director, Veterinary Technician and Sanctuary Director.
Duties include
General husbandry for nearly 300 New World monkeys:
The work is labor intensive and the Florida climate is very hot and humid in the summer. In the winter, temperatures can drop to the 20s, and duties include heater checks throughout the night during freezing temperatures. The work is difficult and can be stressful, but the rewards are great!
For the safety of the monkeys and co-workers, we do not accept applicants who smoke. Communal meals are vegan. You cannot store, cook or consume animals at Jungle Friends. We promote veganism.
Qualifications: You must have experience for this position and live on-site. We are looking for happy and healthy people to work with the monkeys. You must be friendly, even-tempered and have good communication skills, work well with others and have the ability to lead, as well as follow.
Salary: To be determined with the level of experience.
On-site Accommodations: Room and board with private bedroom and bathroom.
Application: Click here for Jungle Friends' Intern Packet (in .pdf format). Note: This packet was written for interns, but also serves as an employment application packet. Be sure to indicate on your application that you are applying for the long-term sanctuary manager position.
Part-time Social Media Coordinator
Jungle Friends Primate Sanctuary is home to 300 monkeys and a non-profit with a national support base. We are looking for the right person to translate our mission and core values into ideas and executable plans to engage online audiences in the social media space, and produce measurable results in expanding our community and support base.The ideal candidate would have...
Duties include General husbandry for nearly 300 New World monkeys: • Clean, repair and landscape outdoor habitats• Clean, repair and decorate indoor enclosures.• Prepare and serve diets.• Monitor the monkeys' physical and emotional well-being.• Participate in medical procedures and restraint and capture, when necessary.• Construct and furnish new habitats.• Plan and monitor socialization.• General grounds keeping and maintenance.• Clean and repair sanctuary buildings.• Direct and oversee interns, volunteers and groups.• Record keeping and scheduling.• Learn and communicate to visitors the monkey's species, back stories and natural origin.• Participate in fundraising campaigns, outreach and advocacy for captive primates. The work is labor intensive and the Florida climate is very hot and humid in the summer. In the winter, temperatures can drop to the 20s, and duties include heater checks throughout the night during freezing temperatures. The work is difficult and can be stressful, but the rewards are great!For the safety of the monkeys and co-workers, we do not accept applicants who smoke. Communal meals are vegan. You cannot store, cook or consume animals at Jungle Friends. We promote veganism. How to Apply
Position OfferingJungle Friends, Primate Sanctuary13915 North State Road 121Gainesville, FL 32653
The Jungle Friends Primate Sanctuary provides permanent, high-quality sanctuary care for abused, neglected, or unwanted New World monkeys who were ex-pets, used in research, or confiscated by authorities. Jungle Friends is also committed to advocacy and education on behalf of all captive non-human primates, and to providing assistance to improve the circumstances of captive primates wherever possible. We work cooperatively with a national network of other credible animal sanctuaries, government agencies, other primate and animal protection organizations, and qualified individuals to find placement for unwanted monkeys and to combat the exploitation and mistreatment of captive primates.
Jungle Friends Primate Sanctuary was incorporated in 1997 and is now home to 298 monkeys who live on 39 acres in Gainesville, Florida. The greatest demand for sanctuary care within the past 18 months is for monkeys being released from research laboratories, a trend that shows no signs of letting up. 76 of the monkeys rescued since 2014 have come from research laboratories and we are in active discussions with other universities who wish to retire their monkeys.
The sanctuary facility is as unique as the monkey residents who call it home. We have designed acres of "living habitats" where monkeys live in spacious natural habitats linked together by miles of elevated runways. We are home to the state-of-the-art Bob Barker Medical Clinic, a medical facility designed specifically for monkey healthcare. We proudly specialize in caring for monkeys with special-needs including those suffering from chronic diseases like diabetes and those with physical limitations such as blindness, amputations and paralysis.
The Director of Development will lead and manage all Jungle Friends fundraising programs. He or she will work closely with the Executive Director and other staff to create and execute the strategies needed to meet the organization’s annual budget and to significantly increase fundraising revenue.
The Jungle Friends Primate Sanctuary is seeking its first ever development professional to leverage the resources of loyal philanthropists and volunteers to support the growth and sustainability of this unique primate sanctuary. The non-public sanctuary (the grounds are not open to the general public) began in 1997 and has grown to become a well-established non-profit institution, and needs a skilled professional development director to manage this critical function. The Jungle Friends Primate Sanctuary has a current operating budget of $775,000 and has a resource-rich database including over 4 thousand donor records. This is a full-time, on-site position with some donor and prospect related travel expected.
The Director of Development is charged with the development, coordination, and implementation of a comprehensive and diversified resource development program. The Director of Development will sustain this program by establishing relationships with funding sources and individual donors as well as managing and enhancing successful grant funding work. Support for public relations and public events will also be part of the basic function of the position. The challenge of this opportunity is to build upon the current base of support, while significantly expanding the donor base to enhance fundraising efforts. The Director of Development will work very closely with the Executive Director to leverage her philanthropic activities and success.
The Director of Development is expected to develop and implement a broad-based, comprehensive fundraising program to include major individual gifts, planned giving, corporate and foundation relations (including grant writing), fundraising events, e-philanthropy, and direct marketing activities. In addition, some public relations functions will be the responsibility of this position, including all social media management. Ongoing capital expansion is planned to occur over the next several years, and fundraising activities to support such expansion will also be the responsibility of this position.
Specific responsibilities include:
CANDIDATE QUALIFICATIONS
We are looking for a rare individual, who possesses that wonderful combination of strong skills, passion for our cause, personal integrity, and who is intrigued by the uniqueness of this work environment--39 acres of serene sanctuary grounds located in Gainesville, Florida. Being hardworking, flexible, fun, and having a great sense of humor are key!
Specific qualifications include:
Applications will be reviewed with attention to specific experience, interest and fit, and overall engagement in the field as a professional or volunteer.EDUCATION
A Bachelor’s degree is preferred.
REPORTING STRUCTURE The Director of Development reports to the Executive Director and will work with the Board of Directors, Board of Advisors, and the board fundraising committee.
COMPENSATION Regionally competitive compensation package will be offered to the successful candidate and could include housing on the sanctuary property.
CONTACT Please send your letter of interest and a current résumé. Include in your letter a detailed explanation of your experience and qualification for the job, as well as your salary requirements.
applicant@junglefriends.org
Applications from outside Gainesville, FL are welcome.
Duties include:
Qualifications:
Ideal candidate:
We are looking for a very special, animal-loving person. You must be friendly, have good communication skills, work well with others, and have the ability to lead others as well as follow. You must be even-tempered and down to earth and be happy and healthy. You will be expected to embrace the communal, family-living style at the sanctuary if you plan to live on site (a negotiable option for the right person). The successful team member will come to Jungle Friends with an open mind and open heart, ready to work hard and become a part of the Jungle Friends team.
Qualifications :
The Veterinary Technician will be responsible for the physical and emotional well-being of the animals at Jungle Friends Primate Sanctuary. The duties include: • Medical procedures including (but not limited to) anesthetizing monkeys, blood draws, suturing, surgery prep and bandaging• Prepare and administer medications daily• Record-keeping and data entry• Design habitats with natural enrichments• Building habitats for a specific animal species• Prepare specially formulated diets• Inventory medications for the clinic• Lead interns and volunteers• Organize and observe primate socialization• Work closely with our local VeterinarianThe work is labor intensive and the hours can be long. Animals are unpredictable and can get injured any day or time of the week. You will be working indoors and outdoors. The climate is very hot and humid in the summer and can get very cold in the winter. The work can be demanding, but the rewards are great! Qualifications: You must have experience for this position - Certification/Licenses will be verified. We are looking for very special people; we need happy and healthy people to work with the monkeys. You must be friendly and have excellent communication skills, work well with others and have the ability to lead others as well as follow. You must be even-tempered and down to earth. Jungle Friends Primate Sanctuary has a no-complaint policy. We prefer some primate experience, but it is not necessary. Due to insurance and health considerations, we do not accept applicants who smoke. We are a vegan organization therefore you cannot store, cook or consume animal products at Jungle Friends. How to Apply
Take a Walk on the Wild Side! Jungle Friends Primate Sanctuary is looking for an assistant host for our Magical Monkey Experience.
Jungle Friends Primate Sanctuary is the largest New World primate sanctuary in the US. We are home to over 300 monkeys including capuchins, marmosets, tamarins, squirrel and spider monkeys. Most of the monkeys were released from laboratory research, others were former "pets”, some were in the entertainment industry and still others were confiscations by authorities. During the 2-hour tour given by Kari, the founder, and/or other hosts, your guests will meet the monkeys up-close and personal. They will learn about their past -- from rescue to recovery. First stop is a visit to "Munchkinland", home to our tamarins and marmosets, the smallest monkeys in the world. Next stop "Kansas" where your guests will meet many different species of capuchin and spider monkeys. Then on to "Emerald City" to meet our amazing squirrel monkeys...are you sensing a theme :-)?! We finish up with a trip around "Oz", our bachelor pad. On the way back, we will stop at Bob Barker's Magical Manor, our on-site veterinary clinic. During the tour, you may meet Bongo, who was in iron toxicity studies for two decades. He also suffered from paraplegia, but with the help of our "re-habitats" and the tender loving care of KC, Bongo's monkey friend, he can walk again! Puchi is another favorite, he was found running loose in Chicago and only has one eye, but will look deep into your soul. After the tour, you will serve a yummy vegan meal at the sanctuary to our guests. We will answer questions and give insights into the sanctuary world, the Jungle Friends culture and share amazing stories about the monkeys who call Jungle Friends home. Must be personable, energetic, fit, able to cook and drive a golf cart. Contact Kari at 386-462-7779 How to Apply
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