Tampa zoo uses vague ad to seek new CEO

Lowry Park Zoo has a $20 million annual budget, received national recognition for its quality experience and is held in high regard among community and business leaders.

But when the chance came to fill the zoo's top job, the advertisement sought an executive director for a "West Central Florida non-profit committed to education and species conservation." It never mentions Lowry Park Zoo or even that the facility is a zoo.

The ad, which ran in The Tampa Tribune and a national zoo association Web site, doesn't say anything about the zoo's reputation or offer any detail about the qualities sought in a new chief.

Candidates are directed to send their application to directorsearch2009@gmail.com or to a post office box in Tampa.

The zoo board had no ulterior motive in running the ad with so few specifics, said Sean Butler, a member of the Lowry Park Zoological Society board who is leading the search.

"Those who are interested in the job know about it," he said. "I know people are interested and I have told people to take a look at it."

On the Web site for the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, the ad does note that the organization is a member of the group. For those in the know, that limits the Bay area possibilities to Busch Gardens, the Florida Aquarium and Lowry Park Zoo.

The beginning of the nationwide search comes nine months after the board forced zoo president Lex Salisbury to resign from his $339,000 job. A Tampa Tribune investigation and city audit found Salisbury used zoo animals, money and supplies to help build his for-profit exotic animal attraction in Polk County, called Safari Wild.

The vague ad was not designed to deter external applicants, Butler said. No internal candidates have come forward.

Craig Pugh, who served as a deputy under Salisbury, is the interim director. Larry Killmar, who Salisbury hired away from the San Diego Zoo, remains the zoo's director of collections.

Tight finances were part of the reason the zoo opted for the brief job posting, Butler said. "In hindsight, we probably should have paid for a larger ad," he said.

The zoo board discussed hiring a search firm that specializes in recruiting for non-profit organizations, but board members decided they could handle the search on their own.

Lowry Park Zoo wasn't as coy when it placed an ad on the zoo association's Web site for a veterinary technician, which offers a salary up to $36,000.

The 500-word ad describes the duties of the position, the qualifications sought and physical requirements, like being able to lift 65 pounds.

Applicants are directed to careers@lowryparkzoo.com or to Angie Jones at the zoo.

Of the roughly 180 job postings on the zoological association's Web site, nearly all name the organization doing the hiring and include detailed descriptions of the position and duties.

David Edell, president of the non-profit management search firm DRG, offers two reasons an organization would choose to be so vague in a job posting.

Some organizations advertise a position anonymously if they don't want an internal candidate to know they are expanding the search, Edell said.

The other reason is because an organization might have been tarnished by a scandal that could cause strong candidates to immediately dismiss the position.

"That way you can develop some interest and begin a conversation," Edell said.

Butler plans to begin reviewing applications in a few weeks and whittle down a list of finalists.

The new zoo chief will likely make less than Salisbury, but Butler wouldn't commit to a salary range. "The salary was quite a bit high for that position."

He has no timeframe for filling the position.