Canine Behavior Assessor

Canine Behavior Assessor

Schedule

The working schedule for this position is Tuesday - Saturday, 10 AM - 6:30 PM with Sunday and Monday off. 

Who We Are

ACC is one of the nation’s largest open-admission animal shelters, whose mission is to End Animal Homelessness in NYC. We touch the lives of nearly 20,000 animals each year. ACC is more than an animal shelter; we are a resource to the community, always seeking ways to keep the human-animal bond intact. With a 90% placement rate, our progressive, life-saving initiatives contribute to the successful placement of our animals. 

We strive to find loving homes for homeless and abandoned cats, dogs, guinea pigs and rabbits, both by adopting animals directly to the public and by partnering with more than 200 dedicated animal placement organizations (our New Hope partners). We also help keep NYC communities safe and rescue animals in need, responding to emergencies that involve animals as well as keeping our doors open 24/7 for people and animals in need.

Summary 

The Canine Behavior Assessor is a member of the Canine Behavior Team who focuses on performing handling assessments and completing behavior evaluations on all dogs in Animal Care Centers of NYC (ACC)’s care, and on providing in- and out-of-kennel enrichment to maintain a high quality of life and to meet each dog’s behavioral needs. 

The Canine Behavior Assessor position will work hands-on with dogs in our care to complete in-shelter handling assessments and to synthesize all known and observed behaviors to make final behavior determinations. You will be responsible for learning and performing ACC’s handling assessment, daily record keeping and reporting, thorough evaluation write ups, and identifying potential challenges and recommendations for rehoming. 

You will also participate in daily playgroup, in-kennel enrichment, socialization sessions, cue training, and behavior modification opportunities. Our ideal candidate is comfortable handling dogs showing a range of behaviors, including aggression and high levels of fear, while keeping yourself, your colleagues, and the dogs safe. You understand the concept of behavioral thresholds and trigger stacking, and you feel comfortable exploring behavioral repertoires to see what a dog will offer without pushing a dog into aggressing.

Required Qualifications:                                    

• High School Diploma or GED required.
• Minimum 1-year experience working with dogs in a shelter environment is required. 
• Must have excellent written and verbal communication skills. 
• Familiarity with and understanding of in-shelter behavior assessments. 
• A thorough understanding of positive reinforcement and a training methodology rooted in a scientific understanding of how canines learn. 
• Ability and understand canines are individuals and making sound educated assessments based on facts provided. 
• Comfortable making sound and reasonable judgments when weighing out risk and reward in a stressful environment. 
• Must be able to lift and move up to 50 lbs.

Benefits

ACC values work/life balance and offers a generous paid-time-off (PTO) package that includes vacation time, birthdays off, personal days and sick pay. We also value physical and mental health by offering a great open access Cigna medical, dental and vision insurance at a low premium to our employees as well as 401K and Pension, Life Insurance. We also have on-the-job training for 2-4 weeks, periodic all staff trainings to include safety, DEI, cross training, and other growth opportunities. 

Because ACC is a nonprofit, employees may be eligible for loan forgiveness, cancellation, and/or consolidation under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program (PSLF). Created under the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007, PSLF allows borrowers who work full time for nonprofits and government agencies to have their outstanding debt forgiven tax-free on Federal Direct Loans, after making 120 qualifying monthly payments under a qualifying repayment plan.

Please use this link for more details on our benefits package.

Essential Job Functions:

• Conduct multiple-item handling assessments and keep track of updating assessment as needed.
• Synthesize all known and observed behaviors to make final behavior determinations based on scientifically sound methods.
• Identify potential challenges and recommendations for rehoming.
• Accurately and thoroughly complete Behavior Assessment write ups in Shelter Buddy.

Other Responsibilities:

• Adhere to all safety guidelines to minimize incidents of aggression and fear.
• Participate in daily playgroup, in-kennel enrichment, socialization sessions, cue training, behavior modification, and any other in- and out-of-kennel enrichment requested.
• Run Shelter Buddy reports to determine which dogs are in the assessment window each day.
• Assist various other departments with additional tasks as directed.
• Fear Free certification within 30 days of hire.
• Complete other duties as assigned by supervisor.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree or comparable work experience preferred. 
• Ability to work independently in a fast-paced environment with demonstrated ability to juggle multiple competing tasks and demands. 
• Ability to foster a cooperative, encouraging, and positive work environment with staff as well as volunteers.
• Strong communication skills, both verbal and written. 
• The ability to remain pleasant, calm, and objective in all situations.

Work Environment

At ACC it's all hands-on deck. We work together as a team, which means you may be asked to help with tasks that involve working outside in all sorts of weather. As a busy animal shelter in one of the biggest cities in the world it can get noisy inside. Employees should have the ability to remain calm yet professional in stressful situations involving animals and/or members of the public. ACC houses hundreds of animals in its facilities at any given time and with that comes fur, odors and other airborne particles in abundance. 

ACC offers many low-cost services to pets and people in need. This includes compassionate end-of-life services for people who cannot afford to go to a private veterinary office but still want to provide a professional and peaceful transition for their beloved pet. 

Reports To: Behavior & Enrichment Supervisor

Overtime: This is a non-union position is eligible for overtime.