Discover the Unique World of Conservation Careers at ZSL/London Zoo

Helen Downton, ZSL’s People Director, loves people and animals – it’s a good thing because she works with both, not always in equal measure. From zookeeper lifers to occasional volunteers, conservationists, and vets – the workforce is varied and geographically dispersed across London, Whipsnade Zoos and 80 other countries – this is a senior HR role that is complex as well as full of enormous privilege.

I meet Downton at Penguin Beach, London Zoo, it’s a blue sky day and the penguins happily bask in the attention of the public onlookers. You’d think that Downton would be expectedly nonchalant about all the animals she sees daily yet she oozes a genuine delight at watching them because working here is largely about passion for the animal kingdom and that love is the bond that ties all the workers together at this national icon, be they permanent or voluntary.

‘I fell for HR while studying at University’

I ask her how it is that we are sitting inside the walls of London Zoo - Downton as People Director for ZSL. She explains that it began with a business studies degree from De Montfort University in 1995. “I was always really interested in the HR side of it so for me it was a conscious decision quite early on to be in a people role.” That thirst for learning, resulted in a postgraduate diploma in personnel and development concluding in a graduate membership of the CIPD.

First roles were spent in an eclectic mix of industries from the health service, private sector, and education. That breadth of experience gave her a good grounding in HR, in a number of different sectors, what she hadn’t done was work in a visitor attraction that doubled up as a world leading conservation operation.

‘During covid, we had to get used to our zoos without visitors’

When the job advert arose on the cusp of Covid it brought a smile, little did she know that the doors would soon close on the London and Whipsnade Zoos and, HR would be faced with its biggest challenge yet.

“Working at a visitor attraction was new to me, but what really caught my eye was the Institute of Zoology and the science and education team – the Institute is aligned and partners with UCL.”

She beat the competition and duly landed the role. It was August 2019, and within a few months, the pandemic was on the verge of emerging. I ask Downton how she handled her new role at a time when the two zoos were closing their doors to visitors, of which in a good year there are two million.

“I had all these ideas but of course, we were dictated by Covid. ZSL is an international charity and one of our key income streams is through our two conservation Zoos – so when the doors closed and there were no visitors, we had to quickly pivot,” says Downton. Fresh in role she quickly turned her attention to looking after the wellbeing of the 1,000 strong workforce with similar numbers volunteering.

Over the next 18 months, she was focused upon looking after a team that was either remote working, where jobs allowed, or keeping staff safe onsite - those that were caring for the animals, which fell to two-thirds of positions.