Direct Care and Enrichment Specialist

Location: 1845 Pontius Avenue Los Angeles, CA 90025

Hiring Range: This position’s hiring range is anticipated to be $21.00 to $23.00 per hour, depending on experience, plus great benefits.

Position Summary: Direct Care & Enrichment Specialists are responsible for the daily animal care and enrichment needs for animals in our program locations. Specialists act with urgency to accomplish important tasks and play a direct role in achieving Best Friends Animal Society’s no-kill mission and organizational success. Specialists are responsible for the daily functions, and growth of lifesaving programs including adoption, foster care, transfer/transport, as well as providing basic animal care for animals in our program locations.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Demonstrate kindness and the Golden Rule in our everyday actions by practicing inclusion and respect for every person for the value they bring to the table. Be a role model for the spirit of authenticity, kindness and positive influence with each other, our visitors, and volunteers as well as to the animals every day. This includes listening, being present, being supportive of others and demonstrating compassion and curiosity in conflict.

• Promote, coordinate, and facilitate animal placements, this includes animals in foster, by matching potential adopters with animals looking for homes by providing superior customer service, counseling on pet history and needs and provide medical and behavior support and information to set up adopter for success; Support pet adoption opportunities through events, offsite adoption meets and identify pet retention opportunities to help expand Best Friends lifesaving capacity.

• Develop a general knowledge of the animals in the Best Friends’ care; deliver superior customer service, assist adopters, fosters and transfer partners by gathering information to match them with appropriate animals, arranging introductions, pet to pet meets; acquiring/providing medical records, health certificates (when necessary), follow-ups as needed or required.

• Create a welcoming and engaging environment to enhance overall visitor satisfaction and support Best Friends Animal Society’s mission; provide superior customer service to all Lifesaving Center visitors and use each interaction as opportunity to develop and engage individuals to support the organizational goals for constituent journey development.

• Provide basic care such as feeding, cleaning, walking, and medicating animals housed or transported within Best Friends’ vehicles, buildings, or facilities; follow all policies and local standard operating procedures when completing daily functions to ensure health and safety standards are upheld.

• Provide daily enrichment for animals in Best Friends’ care with goal to improve emotional wellbeing of all animals. Ensure low-stress housing, cleaning tactics, and handling for all animals. Provide opportunities for daily interactions with cats in care, ensure emotional wellbeing and individual cats’ needs are met with interactions to avoid causing more stress through handling or stimulation. Provide opportunities for cats in care to stretch and exercise appropriately when housed individually.

• Oversee and execute dog playgroups, maintaining safe handling practices & comprehensive understand of dog behavior to ensure successful dog interactions in playgroup.

• Responsible for maintaining clean workspaces and animal housing areas for optimum safety, stocking supplies as required; Support the process of maintaining master inventory of supplies.

• Work directly with and support volunteers on all aspects and protocols of lifesaving care and outcome programs, including but not limited to program protocols, cleaning protocols, specific animal behavior and care, animal handling, transportation requirements and procedures, data entry, and communications.

• Develop a detailed knowledge of Best Friends’ programs to speak knowledgably about and best match both the animal and client’s (adopters, fosters, transfer partners) needs; lead by example in providing superior customer service.

• Assist or oversee the creation of engaging content for social media platforms, to include creation and/or editing of written, video, and photo content. Work collaboratively with other departments and marketing teams to identify engagement opportunities with social media and PR to support lifesaving outcomes and programmatic needs at the center. Represent Best Friends in media relations when requested and ensure to maintain Best Friends’ voice across all communications.

• Work collaboratively with Best Friends’ team members in all areas of operations to achieve lifesaving goals; follow Best Friends policies, procedures, and task lists for daily lifesaving outcome assignments, including accurate and timely communications, work completion, data entry, and recordkeeping.

• Maintain a safe workplace, value, and model safe work practices, adhering to organizational safety practices and rules, and communicate to leadership about unsafe practices and conditions.

Skills and Experience:

• Ability to work in a fast-paced environment with well-developed organization skills to juggle multiple competing tasks and demands. 

• Strong interpersonal skills, a team player, personable, professional, and able to get along with people from different backgrounds, as well as the ability to handle sensitive and confidential situations.

• Experience working in customer service and public facing role is required.

• Prior experience handling and working with cats and dogs in a personal, volunteer, or professional capacity is required. Experience working in an animal shelter environment preferred but not required.

• Ability to work with and comfortably, leash, kennel, walk, and handle cats and dogs, including those with health and/or behavior conditions/concerns; basic ability to identify and speak to medical and behavioral characteristics of dogs and cats.

• Bilingual or multi-lingual skills are preferred but not required.

• Customer-centric, non-judgmental approach to engaging with adopters, partners, visitors, volunteers, and colleagues; familiarity and comfort with a conversational adoption process.

• Resourceful, get-it-done attitude; initiative to assist in any area or process; problem solving, seeking answers independently and enthusiastically; flexibility to persist until goals are achieved.

• Proficiency with Microsoft Office products; familiarity with shelter software/animal management software, or desire to learn.

Physical Requirements:

• Routinely lift 50 pounds and perform daily strenuous activity including, but not limited to lifting, carrying, reaching, stooping, squatting, cleaning, and bending.

• Perform repetitive tasks for extended periods of time including typing, sitting, walking, arm & hand motion, standing, going up and down stairs.

• Work indoors and outdoors in a variety of weather conditions including extreme heat and cold.

• Exposure to dogs and cats, including allergens, of all sizes, temperaments, and medical status.

• Travel up to 10%. Ability to travel in/out of state, including overnight stays, when needed.

• Daily hours and days of the week may vary according to the needs of the department schedule; position includes weekends, nights, and holiday work.

Thank you for your interest in pursuing a career at Best Friends Animal Society. Best Friends Animal Society is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to their race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, disability, marital status, or domestic partner status.

Applicants for employment in the U.S. must have valid work authorization that does not now and/or will not in the future require sponsorship of a visa for employment authorization in the U.S. by Best Friends Animal Society.