Chester Zoo is currently hiring someone to look after its lions, tigers, and bears, and you can get your applications in the for role now.
If you’re after a career change in 2024, then it surely can’t get much better than this?
The UK’s biggest charity zoo currently has a vacancy open for a Keeper to join the Carnivores department on a part-time permanent basis, and according to the job description on its website, this post offers animal lovers a “fantastic opportunity” to work with a wide variety of carnivore species – not just the famous ‘lions, and tigers, and bears’.
Chester Zoo is responsible for one of Europe’s largest and most-diverse Carnivore collections, and this is your chance to be a part of what makes it so special.
For this part-time role, the zoo is looking for a “dedicated and hardworking individual” with knowledge and a proven track-record in delivering high standards of modern zoo animal husbandry.
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Chester Zoo is hiring a new keeper to look after its lions, tigers, and bears / Credit: Chester Zoo
The role will require the successful applicant to maintain the health and welfare of a wide variety of species, all of which have specialised needs and requirements, and will involve responsibilities such as training, restraining, and capturing animals, and assisting veterinary staff with procedures and administering medication with relevant after-care.
You’ll also need to keep and update daily records of your teams’ animals, ensure and contribute to risk assessments, and make sure that safe operating procedures are adhered to when working with all animals.
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The ideal candidate will have “proven experience” in the care and management of a variety of carnivore species in a zoo or safari park setting, a HND or degree level qualification in a zoological related science, and must be competent in the use of computers and basic software packages.
The job description also emphasises the need for “outstanding observational skills” and “excellent attention to detail”.
The zoo needs a “dedicated and hardworking individual” for the role / Credit: Chester Zoo
The role of ‘Keeper – Carnivores’ is 24 hours per week, with the working week split over three days and including every other weekend, and the salary being £16,021.69 per annum pro rata.
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Working at Chester Zoo comes with an “excellent benefits package” and loads of perks too, including a generous pension scheme, 33 days paid holidays per year, a healthcare plan, pension scheme, a staff pass so that you can visit the zoo for free, and complimentary tickets for friends and family.
You’ll even get a load of discounts on gym memberships, cinema tickets, restaurants, high street shops, and so much more.
The closing date for applications is this Thursday (22 August 2024), and you can find out more and apply for the role here.
Featured Image – Chester Zoo
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Manchester’s popular board game festival returns this month with hundreds of games to play
Emily Sergeant
Manchester’s popular board came festival is set to return later this month, with hundreds of games free to play.
Manchester Board Game Festival is set to kick off 2026 in style, returning for the first festival of the year with a full weekend of board games, role-playing games, indie traders, and community-led fun in the heart of the city.
The festival features a huge board game library, giving fans access to hundreds of games to try out across the weekend – with ‘Library Bees’ on-hand to help people find games, learn the rules, or jump into sessions with other players.
There’ll also be bookable sessions, like RPGs and Blood on The Clocktower, and seminars to take part in over the three-day event.
Manchester’s popular board game festival returns this month with hundreds of games to play / Credit: MBGF (via Facebook)
As well as gaming, visitors can browse the festival’s popular Geek Fayre too, open on the Saturday and Sunday of the event, which showcases indie traders, artists, and tabletop creators from across the UK. From games and accessories, to artwork and geeky gifts, it’s a chance to support small businesses all while discovering something new.
Running from Friday 27 February through to Sunday 1 March, this opening weekend festival marks the start of five events planned throughout 2026.
Events are designed to bring together players of all experience levels for three days of tabletop gaming and social play.
“There’s something really special about the first festival of the year,” commented festival organiser, James Oxley.
“People are excited, they’re ready to play, and there’s a real buzz in the room. Manchester Board Game Festival has always been about bringing people together through games, and we can’t wait to see everyone back in the halls enjoying themselves.
“Whether attendees come for a single afternoon or the full weekend, the focus is on playing at your own pace, meeting new people, and enjoying games in a relaxed and friendly setting.”
Further festivals will follow throughout 2026, including themed Halloween and Christmas editions later in the year, so keep your eyes peeled, but until then, February’s event marks the first chance for players to roll some dice, discover new favourites, and start the year with a table full of games.
Manchester Board Game Festival takes place from Friday 27 February through to Sunday 1 March at Sachas Hotel in the Northern Quarter, with tickets starting from just £13.
Trailer released for new romcom Finding Emily set and filmed all across Manchester
Emily Sergeant
The first trailer for a new romcom that’s set and filmed all across Manchester has been released.
The film, titled Finding Emily, tells the story of a lovesick musician, played by Spike Fearn, who meets his dream girl on a night out, but ends up with the wrong phone number, and so teams up with a driven psychology student, played by Angourie Rice, in a bid to find her.
Together, the unlikely duo spark a hilarious campus-wide frenzy that tests their own hearts and ambitions along the way.
The film – which is directed by Alicia MacDonald, and based on a screenplay written by Rachel Hirons – is produced by Working Title Films, is set in the fictional Manchester City University, and is due to be distributed by Focus Features and Universal Pictures across the UK and internationally this spring.
The talented ensemble cast groups together big names like Minnie Driver with rising stars like Ella Maisy Purvis, Yali Topal Margalith, and Kat Ronney, as well as other established actors including Timothy Innes and Nadia Parkes.
Filming took place in Manchester between August and September 2024.
The two and a half-minute trailer has been shared with the world today, and when we say it’s a Manc film, we mean it… we quite literally lost count of how many of our city’s famous locations can be spotted in just the trailer alone.
The trailer has been released for new romcom Finding Emily set and filmed in Manchester / Credit: Universal Pictures & Focus Features (via YouTube)
There’s everything from Manchester Central Library and Piccadilly Records, to Canal Street and the Gay Village, the Northern Quarter, the Crown & Kettle pub in Ancoats, and even the Emmeline Pankhurst statue in St Peter’s Square featured for all to see, alongside what’ll, presumably, be dozens of other famous locations.
Oh, and not to mention, if you keep your eyes peeled when watching the trailer, you can even see a small clip of Stockport band Blossoms playing a gig in there too.
Emily Sergeant -
20th August 2024 
