Short answer? A whole lot.
I think that people automatically assume that if you work in an aquarium, you clean exhibits, look after penguins and feed the animals. But not all the jobs in the Aquarium involve getting wet or pooped on! We have a whole shoal of amazing people keeping the Two Oceans Aquarium going, from financial buffs to excellent educators and everything in between.
The Two Oceans Aquarium has 91 permanent staff members and 8 full-time contractors on board. Of these 31 work in the Curatorial and Technical departments, the two department that work directly with the animals and the technical operations of the Aquarium. That’s only a third of the entire staff complement! The rest of us keep the wheels turning, the bills paid, the youth of today educated and a million other things – all associated with the Aquarium.
The Aquarium has a stellar finance department. They work hard to ensure that all the bills are paid, our auditors are happy and our tickets are sold. Month-end is normally a madhouse, but they keep their cool and continue the good work. Our marketing department (comprising entirely of some awesome ladies) also incorporates our own in-house design studio. Next time when you visit the Aquarium, have a look at the design elements (banners, posters, etc.). All of these designs are done in-house and some are even printed right here at the Aquarium. The marketing team also incorporates the membership and tourism portfolios.
Our education team takes care of the approximately 52 000 school children who visit the Aquarium on an annual basis. From bookings and outreach, all the way to presenting hands-on lessons, special courses and training, this team plays a vital role in ensuring that today’s youth knows just how important our oceans are.\
Shoreline Café falls under Aquarium management and therefore all the Café staff are also Aquarium staff. Shoreline Café also incorporates the functions and birthday parties portfolios. Other departments that I haven’t even mentioned are Visitor Services (those awesome people you meet when come to the Aquarium), Communications and Sustainability, Human Recourses and Admin.
And then there are the volunteers. These amazing people give their time to work at the Aquarium, without pay. You will see our Front of House volunteers when you visit the Hi-Tec Microscope Exhibit and the Touch Pool. The Behind-the-Scenes volunteers help the Aquarists and take care of the animals. We also have volunteer divers and penguin volunteers.
So, next time when you walk through the Aquarium and you see someone cleaning an exhibit or feeding the animals, remember that there are about two other people somewhere in the Aquarium, supporting that person in the job they are doing. And support we do. Plainly said – this is an awesome place to work. And no, no one is paying me to say that!
