PA profile: Joanne Quimby

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I realised from the start that this was no ordinary job – my first interview with Susie actually took place while she was treating a sick lion cub. I must have kept my cool and shown some initiative, as afterwards Susie offered me the job there and then.

‘We’re both quite strong characters and very outspoken, but somehow this works. You would think we might clash but we don’t, although we do have some pretty frank discussions. When I started, Susie had seen a number of PAs come and go in a relatively short period of time, mainly because this is such a demanding job and Susie has meticulously high standards. I knew I had to maintain my personality and stay strong so we could forge a good working relationship.

‘My office is in a beautiful old house which has been the zoo’s headquarters since 1963 when it was founded by two pet shop owners, Molly Badham and Nathalie Evans. Molly and Nathalie were devoted to their animals and helped fund the zoo by training chimps for the old PG Tips commercials. The ladies even reared baby chimps and gorillas in the house – that’s not something we would be allowed to do today, although we have had a hand-reared baby bonobo in the office (bonobos are endangered pygmy chimps from the Democratic Republic of Congo and Twycross Zoo has Britain’s only bonobo colony, so they’re a huge draw and a really important species).When our baby bonobo fell asleep in the office you’d hear contented little snoring noises just like a sleeping baby.

‘No two days here are the same. I arrive at Twycross around 9am with a schedule for the day, then something unexpected happens and all my plans can be out of the window by 10am. There are also huge changes underway at the zoo so we often have really busy, difficult days. Sometimes Susie will be in three meetings in quick succession, and then something else will happen so I end up shuffling everything around. I try to keep on top of time by giving Susie a five-minute warning before each meeting; it allows her to wrap up any major discussions.

‘I began my career as a receptionist and telephonist, which is a good starting point as you get an overview of the whole business and can hone your organisational skills. Since those early days, I’ve had a number of administration and secretarial roles before finally finding my niche as a PA over 10 years ago.

‘Working at Twycross is great for me as it’s close to my home at Ashby-de-la-Zouch, which means I can spend more time with my six-year-old daughter. She thinks it’s great that I work at the zoo – we even held her birthday party here in October.

‘And working here could never be described as dull as things are constantly changing. The building of the new visitor centre, Himalaya, is the biggest change I’ve seen. First, we had the planning stage, then on-site with Susie in a hard hat and wellies for the foundation-laying, seeing the building go up and finally organising the opening. The guest list included 400 of the great and good of the zoo world, plus local dignitaries, Nepalese dancers and our stunning new snow leopards, Irma and Suou, who were the real stars of the show. Visitors can now sit and eat in the restaurant overlooking their huge Himalayan-style enclosure, and during the December cold spell the pair loved playing together in the snow. As there are only a few thousand snow leopards left we’re really hoping for the patter of tiny paws sometime next year...

‘On top of my day to day duties as Susie’s PA, I also get involved with organising meetings, conferences and parties in our new function room, Windows on the Wild, which overlooks a pool of wading birds. It’s a unique setting and we’ve even got our first wedding reception scheduled for later this year. Exciting times!

‘Another highlight for me was when little Ganesh Vijay, our baby elephant, was born. He’s the first elephant calf at Tywcross Zoo to be conceived by artificial insemination. Now he’s over a year old and weighs 45 stone. He takes grapes and bananas very gently from your hands with his trunk – it’s amazing!

‘It’s not all about feeding the elephants though. As a senior PA, my job is sometimes quite isolating as Susie’s had to make some tough decisions which I’m often privy to in advance. My role has a lot of responsibility and can involve anything from researching and debating the conservation of the snub-nosed langur, to helping Susie choose her new outfit for the opening of Himalaya. I also run a PA network that includes members from both our own secretarial support staff and other zoos nationwide. We meet a couple of times a year and often have a guest speaker or visiting trainer. Our last session was entitled ‘Handling Difficult People’, which has come in very useful at times.

‘There’s something about working at a zoo that really gets under your skin. Fabulous people. Great surroundings – I can see orangutans from my office window. In fact, I’d never want to work anywhere else now.’

• Twycross Zoo is the World Primate Centre and a major tourist attraction in the Midlands with over half a million visitors a year. Last year, Joanne was runner-up in the prestigious Hays & The Times PA of the Year award for her dedication and coolness under pressure.