Employment

Employment Opportunities

Animal Care and Adoption Ambassador

Location: Bedford, NH

Hourly Rate: $18.00

Work Schedule: Four 10-hour days or Five 8-hour days (either option includes one weekend day)

Job Summary:

The Animal Care and Adoption Ambassador serves as the first point of contact for the public, so excellent customer service skills and the ability to deal with a wide range of personalities and behaviors are required. The Animal Care and Adoption Ambassador should have a thorough understanding of animal behavior and be comfortable interacting with a wide variety of animals and introducing them to others. The activities performed by the Animal Care and Adoption Ambassador are wide-ranging but focus on completing the adoption process for shelter pets as well as performing animal care in accordance with Animal Rescue League of NH (ARLNH) standard operating procedures. Animal Care and Adoption Ambassadors help ensure a clean and presentable environment, assist in the monitoring of animals’ medical and behavioral health, and participate in events and activities that support and further the mission of ARLNH.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities:

Assists in the direct care of all shelter animals to ensure that cages and kennels are clean, neat, free of odor and excrement, and that all animals have fresh water, appropriate food, and behavioral enrichment as indicated by the animal’s individual care plan. This includes, but is not limited to, exercise, auditory stimulation, socialization, and special feeding programs.
Handles or assists in the handling of a wide variety of animals safely, effectively, and in a humane manner with consideration for minimizing stress.
Ensures that all areas of the shelter are cleaned, disinfected, and organized to ARLNH’s standards, including but not limited to doing laundry, removing trash or debris and stocking supplies.
Assist the public, always in a friendly, timely, and helpful manner over the phone, through the doorbell system, and at the door.
Learns Shelterluv, ARLNH’s animal management software, and utilizes it as a source of information, as well as contributes to keeping files current with accurate details.
Manages the ARLNH adoption process, including education about individual animals, making appointments, providing referral information, coaching on the transition from shelter to home, and counseling on potential behavioral and/or medical problems.
Ensures that phones, voicemails, and emails are answered and/or directed to the most appropriate co-worker in a timely manner.
Devotes time to learning about the animals in our care, especially those being readied for adoption, in order to provide the best and most up-to-date counseling to prospective adopters. The methods may include spending 1:1 time with the animals, reading records and reviewing the animals with other staff and/or volunteers.
Counsel adopters or potential adopters on behavioral and environmental needs of animals including but not limited to: resource guarding, litterbox or housetraining issues, ‘only animal’ homes, homes without children, and shy or under-socialized cats, fearful bunnies, fearful or ‘flight risk’ dogs.
Participates in discussions about animal care plans and makes recommendations accordingly with regard to fostering, adoption, and/or euthanasia for all animals.
Writes compelling ARLNH animal bios/advertisements in Shelterluv for publication to the website to entice adoption interest.
Completes all steps in the adoption process from introduction and paperwork to Shelterluv processing and sending the animal home.
Acts as a resource to adopters post-adoption with any follow-up questions or concerns and records conversations in Shelterluv in a timely manner.
Responsible for helping with ARLNH opening and closing procedures.
Provides feedback on the physical and mental well-being of felines, canines and small animals to the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Medical Officer.
Communicates issues or concerns to the Chief Operating Officer, Leadership Team, or co-workers about relevant issues. Including but not limited to human and animal safety, supply needs, customer service issues, and observations/suggestions about operation improvements.
Assists in supporting, training, and monitoring volunteers
Attends staff meetings and trainings as assigned.
Consistently seeks continuing education regarding animal welfare, cat, dog, and small animal care, health, and behavior issues to help improve the shelter’s overall program and educate the public at every opportunity.
Complete other duties as assigned.

Minimum Requirements:

Education: High School Diploma required, college degree preferred.
Experience: Prior customer service experience preferred. Familiarity and comfort around animals of all species and sizes are necessary.
Skills and Traits:
- Ability to establish rapport easily with animals and people in a caring manner.
- Effective communication skills.
- Attention to detail.
- Ability to prioritize and concentrate with multiple distractions.
- Ability to withstand potentially stressful situations.
- Discretion in confidential matters.
- Strength of character to provide for the animals’ ultimate, not just immediate, well-being.
- Enjoys working both independently and within a team.
Conditions:
- Ability to lift a minimum of 50lbs.
- Require two years of driving experience and a valid NH driving license.
- Ability to stand on your feet for four to eight hours a day.
- Ability to traverse a building of 15,000 square feet quickly, including being able to tolerate and navigate small spaces such as kennels
- Ability to perceive and communicate, both orally and in writing, changes in animal behavior and/or medical symptoms and safety issues.
- Special visual abilities required: Close and distance vision, must be able to distinguish colors and judge distances, and possess peripheral vision.
- Ability to discern odors.
- Must be able to stoop, kneel, and crouch.
- Ability to use hands and arms to hold (restrain) and feel animals.