PT Adoption Counselor
About The Position
The Adoption Counselor provides welcoming, high-quality customer service to everyone who enters the Kansas Humane Society and counsels prospective adopters through open-ended conversation to help them select a pet suited to their needs. The role assists with pre-adoption steps, animal visits, and adoption completion, and helps develop and implement special adoption events. The counselor stays current in humane animal husbandry, encourages adopters to discuss their needs and access resources for successful pet ownership, and monitors the physical and behavioral health of animals available for adoption. The counselor responds appropriately to pets showing signs of illness, fully informs adopters about minor medical or behavioral conditions and their potential implications, and provides enrichment for animals in the Adoptions Area. This is a part-time position in Wichita, Kansas, with late-afternoon, evening, and weekend hours. The work involves daily interaction with customers and animals, including dogs, cats, small mammals, and birds, in an environment with variable noise, animal waste, odors, and industrial cleaning supplies. The role requires calm and respectful handling of challenging customer situations and physical tasks such as standing, walking, kneeling, crouching, lifting, and occasionally restraining animals weighing 5 to 100 pounds.
Requirements
- High school diploma or equivalent.
- A background in caregiving or customer service.
- Respect for the human-animal bond.
- Ability to communicate clearly and provide frequent verbal communication.
- Ability to remain calm and respectful with challenging, emotional, or sometimes hostile customers; flexibility and conflict-resolution skills.
- Ability to make decisions independently and handle situations with limited standardization.
- Comfort handling dogs, cats, small mammals, and birds on a daily basis.
- Ability to perform the listed physical activities, including standing, walking, kneeling, crouching, crawling, repetitive hand use, lifting, and occasional animal restraint involving animals weighing 5 to 100 pounds.
- Ability to read, analyze, and interpret documents and perform basic arithmetic with whole numbers and common fractions.
Nice To Haves
- Previous animal handling experience with dogs and cats.
Responsibilities
- Provide timely, polite, respectful, and welcoming customer service to internal and external customers, remaining calm and flexible in challenging circumstances.
- Counsel prospective adopters through conversational, open-ended dialogue about pet selection and individual animal needs.
- Assist adopters with the pre-adoption process, animal visits, and completion of adoptions.
- Assist with and participate in developing and implementing special adoption events.
- Stay current in humane animal husbandry and promote open conversations that help adopters find resources for successful pet ownership.
- Continuously monitor the physical and behavioral health of pets available for adoption and respond appropriately to signs of illness.
- Fully inform adopters about minor medical or behavioral issues and potential future implications for the animal.
- Provide enrichment for pets housed in the Adoptions Area.
Benefits
- Generous paid time off.
- 10 paid holidays per year.
- Paid time when closed for inclement weather.
- Comprehensive low-deductible health, pharmacy, and dental plans.
- Vision insurance plan.
- SIMPLE IRA retirement plan with a generous company match.
- Pre-tax spending accounts for health care and childcare expenses.
- Discounted YMCA membership.
- Discounts on adoptions, retail store items, basic veterinary services and medicine, and pet food.
- Employee Assistance Program.
- Qualified employer for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Part-time
Education Level
High school or GED
