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Senior Aquarist

SEA LIFE London; County Hall, Westminster Bridge Rd
London, GREATER LONDON, SE1 7PB
United Kingdom

The UK’s largest SEA LIFE site has a new opportunity to come and work in this iconic London location. Sat facing the Houses of Parliament and slap bang next to the London Eye, we also work closely with The London Dungeon and Shrek’s Adventure, as well as the whole UK SEA LIFE aquariums.

We’re looking to recruit a new Senior Aquarist to join our team here and bring their experience from an already developing career. We have a wide variety in our collection of animals to work with from Sharks, Stingrays, Sea Turtles, the longest live coral reef exhibit in the UK, as well as the largest Jellyfish collection too, a diverse Rainforest as well as a colony of Gentoo Penguins!

NEW for 2023 - a structured progression plan for our display teams is now in place across the UK, which means we can now offer a senior role that will give you the opportunity to develop through two levels. You can join us between levels 1 and 2 and will be compensated accordingly, as you progress to the next tier.

What we are looking for

• Experience within public aquariums involving maintenance, plumbing and operation of large life support systems
• Strong demonstrable experience of animal husbandry with freshwater, marine animals, and reptiles
• An understanding of the fundamentals of water chemistry as applied to an aquarium environment
• A keen eye for detail and analytical approach in necessary record keeping in line with SSSMZP
• A practical ability to create ‘wow’ displays with a working knowledge of the correct use of theming, lighting, and water movement
• Skills in animal training and enrichment
• A qualification in animal care, marine biology or equivalent
• A dive qualification is also advantageous

In this full-time permanent role, working any 5 days out of 7, you’ll play a vital part in caring for our animals, ensuring consistently high levels of animal health and welfare as well as looking after and carrying out routine maintenance of the filtration and life support systems, crisis management equipment and environmental alarms. Other duties include back washing main filters, water changes, water quality checks, water parameters, health checks, plus training and enrichment.

You’ll prepare suitable diets and feed all livestock, as well as provide medication and treatment of animals under direction. You will also provide 24-hour alarm cover on a rota basis and maintain strict codes of practice for the use, storage and record keeping of all medications and chemicals according to HSE, COSHH and SSSMZP regulations.

What’s in it for you

Alongside becoming an expert in washing up, you’ll also receive:

• A salary of £28,500 (level 1) to £29,500 (level 2) per annum
• Non contractual bonus of 10% of salary
• Emergency call out fee paid, transport to and from site for call outs. Working rota pattern adjustment post call outs where needed
• 25% discount in our retail shops and restaurants and 40% off LEGO online
• Merlin Magic Pass - giving you free tickets to all our attractions worldwide for you, your family, and friends every year
• Employee pricing up to 55% off cinema tickets

Everyone Matters at Merlin.
At Merlin we welcome the world to our magical attractions and resorts every day and we want to reflect that same multicultural mix inside our business too. We strive to create an inclusive and diverse workplace where people can be themselves, have the same opportunities and thrive together. Because at Merlin, everyone matters! Together, we work to create a workplace where everyone feels valued, no matter their age, race, gender, disability or sexual orientation. Although we understand that we'll always be learning and growing, we aim to be the most inclusive and flexible employer in our industry.

If you have any questions or if you require any assistance, because of a disability or medical condition, please contact us by email at [email protected] and one of the team will get back to you as soon as possible.