Full-Time

Senior Manager

Adoptions and Community Programs

Posted on 9/9/2025

Best Friends

Best Friends

Retail and online pet care products

Compensation Overview

$85k - $100k/yr

No H1B Sponsorship

Salt Lake City, UT, USA

In Person

Category
Business & Strategy (3)
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Required Skills
Management
Public Speaking
Social Media
Customer Service
Requirements
  • High School Diploma/GED or 3-5 years' experience working in animal welfare, animal care or veterinary practice.
  • A minimum of 3 or more years of management or leadership experience, including overseeing teams, budgets, and programs.
  • Prior experience and comfortability with performance management, coaching, and goal setting.
  • Strengths in utilizing statistical information to inform, develop and implement division and department level strategic plans, including change management strategies and program direction; proven attention to detail with advanced organizational and time management skills.
  • Excellent communications skills: comfort with public speaking and presentation experience; ability to professionally advocate Best Friends' position on issues.
  • Customer-centric, non-judgmental approach to engaging with adopters, partners, visitors, volunteers, and colleagues; familiarity and comfort with a conversational adoption process.
  • Ability to work with, 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.
  • 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 difficult and often sensitive and confidential situations.
  • Collaborative across departments and naturally open to and promotes forward thinking.
  • Ability to work in a fast-paced environment with well-developed organization skills to juggle multiple competing tasks and demands.
  • The ability to adapt to changing priorities and situations.
  • 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.
Responsibilities
  • Lead by example through direct and impactful personal and organizational contributions towards Best Friends' no-kill 2025 goal; act with urgency and efficiency on behalf of animals still at risk of being killed in shelters across the region and the country; develop and maintain a comprehensive knowledge of Best Friends' mission, programs and strategic direction to guide and support managers and teams throughout the year.
  • Following the divisional OGSPs, work with Director and/or Senior Director to develop annual lifesaving center goals and metrics integrating operational work to direct impact of shelter conversions. Review department progress to goals routinely and maintain ongoing review of operations as necessary providing feedback to department managers to ensure lifesaving center goals and metrics are achieved.
  • Oversee division and departmental budgets including managing expenses, revenues, and reporting on result; oversee the physical facilities, equipment procurement and management of supplies, inventory, and building upkeep; participate in capital improvement project planning.
  • Promote and oversee community-first strategies, engaging volunteers, community members, and other stakeholders at the highest level; purposefully and thoughtfully create an environment where Best Friends is the best place to work for a career in animal welfare, providing opportunities for growth, and for maximizing individuals' lifesaving impact.
  • Lead human resource matters in conjunction with the Human Resources and Employee Relations departments regarding staff selection, management, development, and retention; oversee headcount controls and position creation or realignment; build individual capabilities and capacity through performance measurement, goals setting, reporting and analysis.
  • Participate in the development of community program goals as well as any other quantitative and qualitative measures of success; lead the execution, strategies and programs to achieve those lifesaving goals through community support through general management of all community programs.
  • Partner with directors to communicate the status of the execution of those strategies to staff, supporters, and stakeholders; participate in meetings with donor prospects as arranged by development staff; co-lead the development and local execution of the Best Friends' brand and public relations strategies with communications teams; represent Best Friends with coalition partners, at events, conferences, and public speaking opportunities.
  • Lead teams and volunteers to oversee, coordinate and conduct daily lifesaving outcomes & care such as adoptions, foster placement, feeding, cleaning, walking, and medicating animals housed or transported within Best Friends' vehicles, buildings, or facilities with the goal of utilizing volunteers to the greatest extent possible to expand Best Friends lifesaving capacity.
  • Identify pet adoption opportunities and foster engagement opportunities through events, off site adoption meets and source pet retention resources to help expand Best Friends' lifesaving capacity utilizing volunteers when able; introduce, recruit, and engage with local organizations, individuals, and stakeholders to develop and maintain mutually beneficial relationships that expand adoption and foster placement outlets; implement Best Friends engagement and advocacy strategies; support strategies through communications, events/meetings, social media or other methods.
  • Work with Director and/or Senior Director to routinely evaluate onsite animal capacity and determine lifesaving needs for shelter conversions: develop and improve program efficiency to increase placement opportunities; routinely audit length of stay trends and reporting in Lifesaving Center animal population and work with all Lifesaving Program managers to expedite placement for long-stay animals.
  • Oversee department managers and supervisors ensuring priority focus on creating a welcoming and engaging environment at the Lifesaving Center and its offsite events and activities to enhance overall visitor satisfaction and support Best Friends Animal Society's mission; provide superior customer service to all visitors and use each interaction as opportunity to develop and engage individuals to support the organizational goals for constituent journey development.
  • Work with program managers in conjunction with the Community Programs teams develop strategies for recruitment and retention of volunteers, to include foster program volunteers; ensure volunteer opportunities augment daily operations and maximize lifesaving capacity, through each opportunity define and track goals for shift attendance; Ensure volunteer opportunities are aligned with organizational goals for constituent journey development and ongoing engagement with Best Friends' mission.
  • Oversee and assist when needed in 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.
  • Oversee department managers and ensure training of all Best Friends' team members in all areas of operations to develop, evolve, and implement efficient processes to achieve lifesaving goals; participate in the development of operating procedures; follow policies, procedures, and task lists, including accurate and timely communications, work completion, data entry, and recordkeeping.
  • Lead the maintenance of a safe workplace, value, and model safe work practices, adhering to organizational safety practices and rules, and addressing or communicating to leadership about unsafe practices and conditions.
Desired Qualifications
  • Leadership and management experience in animal shelters with a lifesaving focus is preferred, but not required.
  • 3+ years of experience working for or with a humane organization is preferred but not required.
  • Previous experience with community outreach and programming is preferred, but not required.
  • Bilingual or multi-lingual skills are preferred but not required.

Best Friends Pets operates in the pet care and pet supplies market in Australia, offering a range of products for dog and cat owners. Its lineup includes premium pet food, flea and tick treatments, grooming supplies, and pet accessories. The company sells through both physical retail locations and an online platform, providing convenience and broad reach for customers. Revenue comes from retail sales of pet care products and supplies, with partnerships with reputable brands and exclusive deals helping to stand out. Unlike purely online retailers or single-brand shops, Best Friends Pets blends in-store shopping with e-commerce and focuses on high-quality, well-known brands to attract pet owners. The company’s goal is to make it easy for customers to access high-quality pet care products in the Australian market and maintain a competitive edge through product quality, convenience, and strategic partnerships.

Company Size

N/A

Company Stage

N/A

Total Funding

N/A

Headquarters

Los Angeles, California

Founded

N/A

Simplify Jobs

Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • Reduced shelter euthanasia from 17M to 378K animals yearly.[4]
  • Goal to end shelter killing by 2025 gains momentum.[3][4]
  • Satellite adoption centers expand reach in major cities.[6]

What critics are saying

  • Petbarn expands stores undercutting Best Friends pricing.[negative trend]
  • Pet Circle captures 35% e-commerce with subscriptions.[negative trend]
  • ACCC fines shut 30% product lines by 2026.[negative trend]

What makes Best Friends unique

  • Best Friends operates largest U.S. no-kill sanctuary since 1984.[1]
  • Partners with 5,500+ shelters nationwide for adoptions.[2]
  • Provides spay/neuter clinics and wildlife rehabilitation.[1][2]

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Benefits

Relocation Assistance

Company News

The Growth Fund
Jul 24th, 2024
Best Friends - The Growth Fund

The Growth Fund acquired a substantial shareholding in July 2012 Best Friends Pets is a big box retailer of pet products and services located in Vic, Qld and NSW Focus is on rolling out additional stores The Best Friends Journey The Growth Fund identified the pet industry as an attractive sector which had traded resiliently through... Read more »

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