About Pets in Need
Our mission is to provide animals with loving care and lasting homes, to partner with communities striving to do the same, and to advance our no-kill legacy.
OVERVIEW
This is a dynamic role that supports many programs at PIN and is primarily responsible for getting animals into homes. You are the first person that visitors meet upon emailing, calling or arriving at the shelter. Depending on the day, this could be in a group setting or a minimally supervised setting. Our CSR Team is driven to provide quality customer service, multitaskers, adaptable, goal-oriented, creative and excited about bringing new ideas or programs to fruition to help save more lives
SCHEDULE
- 28 hours per week.
- The schedule is consistent week to week with opportunities to pick up additional shifts.
- Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday 11am-6pm
RESPONSIBILITIES
Client Services
- Greet all visitors, volunteers, staff or donors that enter the shelters.
- Treat all visitors with respect and courtesy, regardless of the reason they are seeking services. Respond to inquiries from clients in writing, over the phone, and in person in a professional manner. Provide support to clients in the community by answering inquiries with clear and accurate information about PIN programs, services, policies and municipal, county, or state animal ordinances.
- Collect fees for PIN provided services. Solicit donations to support PIN monthly and annual fundraising goals. *Create a comfortable and welcoming environment by keeping professional workspaces and lobbies free of clutter.
- Attend onsite or off-site events to advertise animals or the services PIN provides. Train staff and/or volunteers. *As needed - other duties will be assigned.
Adoption Counseling
- Clearly and concisely review an animal’s behavioral and medical history to accurately relay information to staff, potential adopters or volunteers.
- Facilitate adoptions by matchmaking animals with prospective adopters using a conversation-based approach with the goal of finding the best possible outcome for the person and the animal. Become familiar with adoptable animals in the shelter and in foster homes; work hands-on with animals and collaborate with matchmaker volunteers to conduct adoption meet-and-greets. Remove barriers to adoption and support inclusivity and equity in adoptions by following a progressive open adoptions model.
- Write appealing pet profiles to attract adopters, take photos or videos of animals and track animals that need photos to create a list for photography volunteers.
- Solicit post-adoption updates and provide support to help keep animals in homes.
Animal Intake Process
- The intake of stray animals, which includes gathering information from the client, behaviorally assessing, vaccinating, microchipping and setting up housing.
- Track down information from microchipped or tagged strays to reunite pets with owners. Process return-to-owner paperwork and fees, and microchip animals that are being reclaimed. Track lost and found reports submitted by clients and reunite lost pets when matches are found.
- Process the intake of a variety of injured, sick, or underage wildlife, which includes handling and assessing animals and setting up housing. Process the surrender of an animal in an empathetic and compassionate manner and gather behavioral and medical history from clients.
- Process disposal and cremation requests, which include handling deceased animals. Feed and care for underage, orphaned kittens. Report medical and behavior concerns to the appropriate department.
Community Outreach
- In collaboration with the Medical & Outreach Team, greet clients and collect fees for Community Outreach related programs such as Community Spay & Neuter, Community Vaccine Clinic, Community Veterinary Clinic, and Owner Requested Humane Euthanasia.
- Attend annual events such as Pet Care Assistance Day and Clear The Shelters.
Volunteer Engagement
- Act as a point-person for volunteers at the shelter and assist with answering questions or redirecting volunteers to the appropriate person or department. As needed, help with the onboarding process for new volunteers, which includes teaching hands-on animal handling classes, conducting orientations, and scheduling volunteers to shadow volunteer mentors.
- In collaboration with the Volunteer Team, support the Doggy Day Out program, which includes scheduling one-time volunteers, managing supplies, handing off dogs to volunteers and retrieving information from the adventure. If comfortable, regularly engage with and post on the PIN Volunteer Facebook group.
NECESSARY QUALIFICATIONS
- Excellent customer service record.
- Strong interpersonal skills.
- The ideal person for this position would be personable, outgoing, patient, professional, and able to get along well with a variety of people. Excellent written and oral communications skills. Strong organizational and project management skills.
- Creativity and ability to take initiative in starting new projects.
- Prior experience related to animal care, veterinary care and/or animal behavior.
- Comfortable working with a variety of domestic species (including dogs, cats, rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, rats, reptiles, etc.) and wild species (including squirrels, small birds, birds of prey, raccoons, etc.). Ability to work with minimal supervision and direction. Strong computer skills, familiarity with Microsoft applications, ability to quickly learn to use new programs.
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
- Prior work experience in a rescue or municipal animal service shelter setting.
- Understands and utilizes positive reinforcement.
- Fear Free Certified. Read, write and speak Spanish.
PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS
- Ability to spend the majority of shift completing desk-based computer tasks.
- Ability to complete physical tasks with long periods of standing or walking.
- Ability to stand, bend, twist, stoop, push and pull, climb stairs, reach, and lift up to 100 lbs.
- Ability to handle animals of all sizes, ages, and temperaments, including those with behavioral challenges.
- Ability to see, hear, and speak
WORKING CONDITIONS
- Must be available to consistently work weekends. Works on-site and outdoors in various settings and weather within the community. Must be able to travel between the Redwood City and Palo Alto shelter locations. Working with potentially dangerous and fractious animals; potential exposure to zoonotic diseases.