Animal Care Team Lead

POSITION DESCRIPTION

                                                                                                         

Position Title:   Animal Care Team Lead                                          Department:    Animal Care

Classification:  Hourly Non-exempt                                                 

REPORTING RELATIONSHIPS

 

Position Reports To:    Animal Care Supervisor

Positions Supervised: Animal Care Team and Volunteers on an as needed basis

 

 

POSITION PURPOSE

 

The major function of an Animal Care Team Lead is to provide safe, humane, and thorough care for animals housed at the Kansas Humane Society.  This includes sanitizing, cleaning, observing and recording health and behavior as well as assisting with the euthanasia process.

The Animal Care Team Lead is a working supervisory position that supports the department when the supervisor is not available, under direct guidance of the Animal Care Supervisor, which performs and supervises all aspects of shelter animal care, including shelter sanitation and disease control.  Ensures all health and behavior protocols are followed.  Perceives all who enter KHS as a potential donor and provides welcoming, high quality customer service to both internal and external regardless of the circumstances. 

 

 

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

 

Leadership: Assists the Animal Care Supervisor with the daily staff and volunteer performance management providing continuous leadership for the department. Under the direct supervision of the Shelter Manager, will orient, train, and supervise the Animal Care Technicians and Volunteers. Provide support for the Animal Care Supervisor when staffing challenges occur by helping to fill resource gaps. Communicates with the Animal Care Supervisor a daily status report including team morale along with performance and process improvements.

 

Customer Service:  Provide timely, polite, and respectful internal and external customer service regardless of the circumstances.  Must remain calm, flexible, and willing to see other perspectives.  Provide recognition and support to volunteers for their individual contributions to our agency.  Assure that every individual who enters our agency is recognized and treated as a potential donor.

Disease Control:  Implement infection prevention and shelter sanitation protocol to assure that all animal holding areas, supplies, and equipment are cleaned and sanitized on a regular basis in a thorough and timely manner.  Assure good disease control practices by following protocol for the timely removal of physically or behaviorally ill animals as well as maintaining foot baths, following hand washing protocol, and wearing appropriate protective clothing when handling ill animals.

 

Animal Handling:  Remain current in humane animal husbandry and handling.  Assure that animals in all holding areas are provided with the appropriate supplies and enrichment to enhance their lives while in the care of KHS.  Participate in training to assure the euthanasia process is carried out in a safe, humane, and as relaxing manner as possible.  Work collaboratively with other shelter departments to continuously improve the level of care provided to the animals in the care of KHS.

 

Safety: Enforce KHS safety policies and procedures, in particular, the use of Personal Protective Equipment in the Animal Care Department. Works diligently to provide a safe and ethical working environment by following safety policies and procedures and making recommendations as needed for the improvement of shelter safety.

 

Training:  Participates and assists in staff training and development opportunities as requested.  Participates in special events, projects, and cross training programs as needed.

 

KHS CORE VALUES
The Kansas Humane Society has HEART:

  HAVE COMPASSION

• We have empathy and understanding for the community and pets we serve, our teammates and our partners in animal welfare

EXEMPLIFY COMMITMENT

• We show our dedication in our work ethic and willingness to learn and grow.

ACT WITH INTEGRITY

• We prioritize integrity in all our actions.

RESPECT ALL

• We treat all animals and people with respect.

THRIVE THROUGH COLLABORATION

• We are better together, united in our service to pets and their people.

Qualifications:

Education/Certification: High School Diploma or Equivalent. Must obtain and maintain status as a KHS Certified Euthanasia Technician.

                                   

Required Knowledge: A background in a caregiving or customer service field. Should prefer and have the ability to cope with emotionally demanding work. Must have the ability to exercise good judgment and make independent decisions with limited supervision. 

      

Skills/Abilities: Customer Service, Flexibility, Conflict Resolution, Independent Decision Making. Respect for the human/animal bond. 

 

PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES AND REQUIREMENTS OF THIS POSITION

Talking: Ability to speak effectively and communicate clearly

 

Average Hearing: Able to hear average conversations

 

 

Finger Dexterity:  The employee is regularly required to use hands to type.

 

Average Vision: Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception and ability to adjust focus.

 

Physical Strength:           

• Repetitive motion above and below shoulder height (4- 8 hours daily)
• Repetitive hand scrubbing both at and above shoulder level (2 to 4 hours daily)
• Must be able to use both hands for repetitive actions, firm grasp and fine manipulation.  Hands exposed to water and cleaning chemicals on a repetitive basis (6-8 hours daily)
• Deck brushing movement (4-6 hours daily)
• Physical restraining of small and large animals 5lb to 100lb
• Pulled/jolted/jumped on by small and large animals 5lb to 100lb
• Lifting, carrying, pushing, pulling, throwing of 5lb to 100lb
• Repetitive climbing of step ladder
• Repetitive stooping to pick up items
• Standing, walking, kneeling on hands and knees, crouching, crawling

 

 

MENTAL ACTIVITIES AND REQUIREMENTS OF THIS POSITION

 

Reasoning Ability: Ability to deal with a variety of variables under only limited standardization.

 

Mathematics Ability: Ability to add, subtract, multiply and divide in all units of measure using whole numbers and common fractions.

 

Language Ability: Ability to read, analyze, and interpret documents. Ability to communicate clearly.

 

Emotional Ability:  Ability to cope with stress, loss/death/grief, emotional and physical fatigue, long hours, and a variety of different human personalities.

 

 

INTENT AND FUNCTION OF JOB DESCRIPTIONS

 

Job descriptions assist organizations in ensuring that the hiring process is fairly administered and that qualified employees are selected.  They are also essential to an effective appraisal system and related promotion, transfer, layoff, and termination decisions.  Well-constructed job descriptions are an integral part of any effective compensation system. 

 

All descriptions have been reviewed to ensure that only essential functions and basic duties have been included.  Peripheral tasks, only incidentally related to each position, have been excluded.  Requirements, skills, and abilities included have been determined to be the minimal standards required to successfully perform the positions.  In no instance, however, should the duties, responsibilities, and requirements delineated be interpreted as all-inclusive.  Additional functions and requirements may be assigned by supervisors as deemed appropriate. 

 

In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, it is possible that requirements may be modified to reasonably accommodate disabled individuals.  However, no accommodations will be made which may pose serious health or safety risks to the employee or others or which impose undue hardships on the organization.

 

Job descriptions are not intended as and do not create employment contracts.  The organization maintains its status as an at-will employer.  Employees can be terminated for any reason not prohibited by law.

Salary : $14