Community Care Specialist (Feline Focus)

APA! BACKGROUND: Austin Pets Alive! (APA!) is one of Austins most dynamic and beloved nonprofits. The organization leads the No Kill movement nationally and is considered a national thought leader in animal welfare. APA! locally rescues treats and adopts out 10000 homeless dogs and cats each year providing the safety net for Austins most at-risk shelter pets which helps Austin to be a No Kill city while also assisting other communities in saving homeless animals. The organization is distinguished by its large volunteer workforce and the scrappiness of its grassroots and its non-traditional community-based animal rescue work.

The organization continues to innovate best practices to save lives and spreads its impact by offering resources and mentorship related to its renowned lifesaving model through American Pets Alive! APA!s national 2020 American Pets Alive! began the Human Animal Support Services (HASS) - an innovative initiative aimed at rethinking the traditional model of animal sheltering. It focuses on supporting both people and pets in the community to reduce the number of animals entering shelters and improve outcomes for both. The project encourages collaboration between animal welfare organizations and community-based services with a goal of providing personalized proactive support that positions animal welfare as a social service.

BRIEF POSITION SUMMARY/OVERVIEW:

The Community Care Specialist (Feline Focus) plays a key role in advancing the goals of APA!s Neonatal Program with a focus on neonatal kittens. This position contributes directly to APA!s mission to increase the live release rate across Texas by supporting a sustainable inclusive and high-impact model for foster coordination.

The Community Care Specialist (Feline Focus) is responsible for managing their daily responsibilities maintaining clear priorities and delivering consistent high-quality work that aligns with APA!s values and goals. This includes staying organized using data or feedback to inform decisions and following through on key tasks and responsibilities with minimal oversight. This is a hands-on mission-driven role focused on results reliability and teamwork.

APA! is a volunteer-powered organization so every staff member is expected to work alongside and support volunteers. The Community Care Specialist (Feline Focus) collaborates closely with volunteers to complete day-to-day tasks helps create a positive and inclusive environment and actively contributes to a culture of shared effort and mutual respect.

This position may involve shift flexibility weekend hours and responsiveness during times of high need.

Every individual at APA! is responsible for working in collaboration with volunteers; making sure volunteers are recruited trained and feel impactful through their efforts at APA!. A core part of this role is creating a welcoming and empowering experience for volunteers including assisting with onboarding training and volunteer engagement as part of the day-to-day workflow.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:

• Actively contribute to a volunteer-powered culture by partnering with volunteers during every shift and helping create an inclusive welcoming environment
• Work alongside volunteers to complete daily tasks ensuring the work is shared and collaborativenot siloed
• Support the recruitment and onboarding process by welcoming new volunteers and helping them get oriented to the program
• Help retain volunteers by offering encouragement guidance and feedback during shared work
• Recommend strong volunteers for deeper involvement or specialized roles to your supervisor or volunteer manager
• Contribute to a positive culture by recognizing volunteer contributions through appreciation gratitude and shoutouts
• Help set volunteers up for success by clearly explaining tasks providing hands-on guidance and offering in-the-moment support
• Work with the Intake Team to prioritize outside-shelter kittens puppies and maternity cats and dogs for foster
• Vet potential fosters to determine overall program eligibility
• Guide fosters through the application training and foster matchmaking process
• Maintain up-to-date records of all neonatal foster parents using the database the ShelterLuv database and program-specific spreadsheets
• Maintain familiarity with the programs most experienced and medically advanced fosters including those able to take on emergency placements
• Maintain up-to-date records of all neonatal program animals in need of fosters as well as those already placed in foster using both the ShelterLuv database and program-specific spreadsheets
• Market Neonatal Program animals to fosters including writing urgent pleas photographing onsite animals and reaching out to fosters directly via email text or phone
• Match potential fosters to specific animals based on foster interests and skill level
• Repurpose fosters for different animals based on priority placement deadlines and care needs
• Hand off neonatal program animals to foster parents including arranging pick up & drop off timing fulfilling supply requests and explaining medications
• Work closely with other Placement Specialists to determine division of labor & delegation of tasks
• Maintain an onsite presence to handle onsite foster customer service experiences and assist in tasks relating to foster placements
• Provide excellent customer service to fosters via phone text email and in person
• Train fosters both virtually and in person on feeding puppies and kittens and administering medications
• Assist Neonatal Care team as needed with administering medication Neonatal Program animals completing intake exams and data entry
• Disinfect crates and carriers per nursery protocols and share in nursery upkeep
• Comply with the APA! Core Values.
• Job duties may include some or all of the above and other duties as assigned by manager

OTHER FUNCTIONS:

• Must demonstrate dependability accountability time management use of reasoning and good judgment skills
• Attend and participate in all required training sessions and meetings
• Maintain open and consistent communication with Program Manager or designee supervisor and other colleagues
• Partner with Volunteer Managers to learn about the volunteer programs and support volunteers interested in your department on an ongoing basis
• Able to react to change productively and perform other related duties as assigned
• Able to work evenings weekends and holidays as needed
• Able to work in a high-volume fast-paced high-stress environment
• Comfortable working autonomously when given goals and deadlines

QUALIFICATIONS SKILLS & EXPECTATIONS:

• Committed to embodying APA!s Core Values: Innovation Respect Drive Resourcefulness and Inclusion and cultural values: Humble Hungry Smart
• Commitment to APA!s customer experience expectations
• Passion for working well with staff volunteers and customershelping all individuals feel successful appreciated and connected to APA!s mission
• Strong commitment to volunteer engagement and support; dedicated to working well with volunteers across all roles
• Comfortable working cross-functionally and serving as a liaison between volunteers customers and team members
• Effective written and verbal communication skills; able to interpret rules procedures and instructional materials
• Self-starter with strong time management; able to work independently and collaboratively
• Excellent interpersonal skills; maintains a calm and professional presence in all situations
• Strong attention to detail and high standards for quality
• Adaptable to change and able to perform related duties as needed
• Dedicated to delivering an exceptional and inclusive customer experience

PHYSICAL JOB REQUIREMENTS

• Must be able to work around animals (including diseased injured and/or potentially aggressive animals) loud noises chlorine or other chemicals and inclement weather
• Must be able to comfortably interact with cats/dogs of various health levels including cats who may carry zoonotic diseases such as ringworm scabies intestinal parasites etc.
• Able to be on your feet for multiple hours of the day
• Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer
• Will sit stand walk talk hear stoop bend stretch squat kneel grasp grip put fingers together firmly and reach above and below shoulder level lift and/or carry up to 40 pounds and push and pull up to 50 pounds for situations of moving supplies and setting up for events; repetitively use hands to operate computers; flex the neck upward and downward; twist the neck and the waist.
• If reasonable accommodations are requested reasonable accommodations will be made to enable employees with disabilities to perform the essential functions of their job absent undue hardship to the organization.

WORK ENVIRONMENT

• Animal shelter office environment with exposure to environmental conditions that include working with and near animals
• Uses own transportation to travel and transport
• Work is normally performed inside; some outside work is required
• Exposure to unpleasant odors and noises.
• Exposure to bites scratches and animal waste
• Possible exposure to contagious diseases
• Rapid pace with exposure to potential hazards including animal waste disinfectants and high levels of noise
• Potential for animal bites and scratches and diseases that can be transmitted from animals to people
• Occasional after-hours weekend and holiday work may be required to support program needs

TIME COMMITMENT:

• This is a part-time nonexempt position with up to 29 hours per week based on business need
• This is a full-time nonexempt position with an average of 40 hours per week.
• Shift and schedule flexibility is required as weekly schedule is subject to change
• Able to work evenings weekends and holidays as needed

PAY:

This position starts at $17.00/hr. Eligible employees will be able to receive up to $2/hr stipend within approximately 6 months through successful completion of internal APATec certifications (applicable to shelter operations customer service and medical roles). *Certifications and stipends are discretionary and subject to change based on business need.

WORKING RELATIONSHIPS: This position reports directly to Senior Program Manager or another individual designated by APA!.

LOCATION(S):

• APA! Neonatal Nursery -3102 Windsor Rd Suite D Austin TX 78703

• May travel to offsite locations as needed

BENEFITS:

• PART-TIME: All employees are eligible for access to an Employee Assistance Program Discounted Perks Programs fully subsidized Pet Insurance and time off incentives.
• FULL-TIME BENEFITS:Austin Pets Alive! is proud to offer a competitive benefits package for full-time employees including subsidized employer-sponsored medical coverage subsidized and voluntary life insurance voluntary dental vision and short-term disability options all effective the first day of employment. We also offer voluntary wellness and emergency sick plans up to 2% match on 401(K) retirement plan supplemental benefits flexible spending accounts and additional life coverage. Full-time employees receive 10 paid holidays and accrue 10 days paid time off during the first year of employment with an additional 5 days of PTO accrual upon completion of 12 months of employment. Employees will also receive professional development opportunities through APA!s ongoing mission to advance our animal welfare professionals in our life-saving work.

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES AND ACCOMMODATIONS STATEMENT

Austin Pets Alive! is an equal employment opportunity employer and we value having staff who come from communities that are most impacted by the issues we engage on. We especially encourage people of color LGBTQ people women transgender and gender non-conforming people and people with disabilities to apply.

Austin Pets Alive! does not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment on the basis of race color religion sex national origin age disability veteran status marital status sexual orientation gender identity or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. Austin Pets Alive! is committed to creating a dynamic work environment that values diversity and inclusion respect and integrity community focus and innovation.

APA! is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities in the employment application process. To request an accommodation please contact Talent Acquisition at at least one week in advance of your interview.