Job Description

Job Title: Lead Animal Care Technician

Department: Animal Care

Reports To: Animal Care & Behavior Manager

FLSA Status: Non-exempt

Pay Rate: $19.00 hourly

Summary

The Lead Animal Care Technician is a shift point person for Animal Care Technicians in animal care operations, ensuring protocol adherence, data entry completion, and daily animal movement. Assist Animal Care Supervisor in staff training and onboarding. Schedule, train, oversee, and support Animal Care Volunteers.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities include the following. Other duties may be assigned.

• Must be comfortable working with dogs and cats of all breeds, sizes and temperaments.
• Must be able to complete all duties and responsibilities of Animal Care Technician I and II and is expected to perform these duties on a daily basis:
• Provide compassionate care to all animals.
• Daily cleaning to provide a healthy climate in animal areas.
• Adhere to all department policies and procedures, including PPE use.
• Appropriate feeding and watering of animals.
• Provide exercise and enrichment to animals.
• Communicate with Medical Services staff about health and wellbeing of shelter animals.
• Administer heartworm and flea preventative, as directed.
• Assist with daily laundry tasks, waste disposal, and supply restocking.
• Maintain equipment utilized for daily cleaning and feeding of the animals.
• Assist in implementing basic training and behavior modification protocols.
• Provide feedback to supervisors to facilitate operational efficiency.
• Bathe and groom animals, as needed.
• Provide excellent customer service to internal and external constituents.
• Log behavior notes for specific animals, as needed.
• Ability to work well with others towards a common goal.
• Report maintenance and IT requests to Animal Care Supervisor timely.
• Maintain supply areas, report reorder needs to Animal Care Supervisor timely.
• Collaborate with Behavior and Enrichment Coordinators to provide feedback on individual behavior plan effectiveness/efficiency adjustments.
• Operate playgroups for all eligible canines in our care.
• Dog test to assess play styles of dogs for playgroup.
• Create and distribute animal movement lists daily.
• Ensure maintenance of laundry areas and laundry task completion daily.
• Ensure daily staff adherence to PPE protocols.
• Ensure daily completion of animal census inventory.
• Ensure accurate review and recording of daily feeding report.
• Ensure staff adherence to behavior training and modification plans.
• Recommend adjustments to Animal Care Team schedule to accommodate absent or late staff to Animal Care Supervisor, as needed.
• Audit assigned animal care areas for overall appearance, ensure end of shift forms are completed and submitted; report findings to Animal Care Supervisor.
• Provide hands-on shift support to Animal Care Technicians, report issues to Animal Care Supervisor.
• Provide on-shift support and information to other departments, as requested.
• Attend daily population rounds in the absence of the Animal Care Supervisor and Animal Care Manager, ensure adjustments are made and communicated timely.
• Ensure team compliance with updated or new protocols.
• Communicate regularly with Animal Care Supervisor to resolve observed issues.
• Schedule, train, oversee, and support Animal Care Volunteers.
• Review and report monthly Animal Care Volunteer attendance and training/retention issues to Animal Care & Behavior Manager.
• Represent the League at industry conferences or networking events.
• Assist with and/or perform humane euthanasia.
• Required to stay on site during disaster plan activation, as needed.

Qualifications

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required.

• Working knowledge of common behavior problems in companion animals and learning theory, preferred.
• Background and/or certification in animal care and/or husbandry, preferred.
• Experienced and comfortable handling dogs and cats of all breeds, sizes and temperaments.
• Ability to complete projects with no supervision.
• Excellent customer services skills.
• Strong oral and written communication skills, including the ability to write routine reports and correspondence; read, comprehend, and interpret documents such as safety rules, operating and maintenance instructions; and procedure manuals.
• Strong conflict resolution.
• Ability to effectively communicate with staff at all levels.
• Excellent interpersonal and analytical skills.
• Must be well organized, flexible, and work well under pressure.
• Ability to multitask and assist in other areas when needed.
• Working knowledge of shelter databases, ShelterLuv preferred.
• Ability to maintain personal boundaries and confidentiality in emotional situations.
• Prior experience with animal protection, handling and/or sheltering.
• Bilingual, a plus.
• CPDT-KA certification, preferred.
• Certification in Humane Euthanasia or obtain within one year of hire.

Education and Experience

• High School Diploma, GED, or higher
• At least one year experience in a shelter environment.

Materials and Equipment Used

• Hoses with and without pressure spray attachments
• Standard office equipment
• Scrubbers, squeegees, broom/dustpan, mop, bucket
• Cleaning and sanitizing chemicals
• Leashes, collars, harnesses, and other training tools
• Grooming tools
• Wheeled carts and wheeled tables
• Computer, printer, copier, scanner, phone

Physical Demands

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• The employee is consistently and frequently required to stand, sit, move, kneel, crouch, bend neck, bend back, and/or twist body.
• The employee is constantly required to talk, hear, and use hands for grasping, reaching, and other operative tasks.
• The employee will be required to consistently lift an animate or stationary object of up to 50 pounds.
• The employee is required to speak in front of people in large and small gatherings for possibly long periods of time.

Work Environment

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions:

• The employee will be required to hold animals for exams and other tasks as requested by the supervisors, which will expose the employee to biomaterial.
• The employee is frequently exposed to wet and/or humid conditions and moving mechanical parts.
• The employee is also frequently exposed to animal related odors, fumes and airborne particles, and moderate heat.
• The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate to loud.