Farm Worker/Groom

• Salary: €18,663.72 per annum
• Poscity Badajoz
• Poscountry Spain
• Area: Equine Operations
• Vacancy Type: Permanent
• Full or Part Time?: Full Time

The Donkey Sanctuary is an international animal welfare organisation, offering care and protection to donkeys worldwide. Our vision is a world where every donkey has a good quality of life, and our mission is to improve the lives of donkeys every day. We will achieve this by transforming the lives of donkeys in need worldwide by fostering greater understanding, collaboration and support, and by promoting lasting, mutually life-enhancing relationships.

We are seeking a person with a passion for Donkeys to join our dedicated team at El Refugio del Burrito – a subsidiary of The Donkey Sanctuary, established in 2003 to improve conditions for donkeys and mules in Spain. Possessing substantial equine and animal husbandry experience, you will provide care and rehabilitation for the resident donkeys, mules and hinnies, and support the Farm Manager in maintaining a safe working environment.

About you:

• Previous animal husbandry experience.
• Good communication skills.
• Excellent customer service skills.
• Willing to undertake work related training as required.
• Full current valid driving licence.
• Previous equine experience (desirable).

About the role:

Your principal duties and responsibilities will include –

• Providing care by routine checking, feeding, medicating, grooming, weighing, worming and training the resident donkeys, mules, ponies and hinnies and assisting the vet, farrier and dentist as required.
• Providing feedback on a daily basis to the Farm Manager on matters such as donkey health, feeding regimes and land management, and liaising with other staff to facilitate smooth running of the farm.
• Operating machinery, and/or manually, mucking out, feeding and bedding up of barns and stables and distributing hay, haylage and bagged feedstuffs.
• Maintaining the farm by sweeping, pressure washing, cleaning, field sweeping, haymaking, trimming, compost management, willow management and dirty water control.
• Maintaining up to date manual records for the donkeys and farming practices.

The contract:

This is a full-time permanent contract starting as soon as possible, working 40 hours a week on a rota basis, and is based at the El Refugio del Burrito site at Fuente De Piedra, near Málaga.

Closing date for completed applications: Monday 22 July 2024.

The Donkey Sanctuary is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of vulnerable people (children and adults), and expects all staff and volunteers to undertake this commitment. Applicants will be subject to safer recruitment processes, including an application for a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check where required for the post.

Please note: The Guaranteed interview scheme is only applicable to candidates who consider themselves to have a disability applying for roles based within the United Kingdom.