Animal Adoption Specialist
About The Position
This is professional shelter work responsible for delivering a positive, safe, and welcoming adoption experience for prospective adopters while ensuring the well-being of shelter animals for the Alachua County Animal Resources & Care Department. An employee assigned to this classification is responsible for providing accurate behavior and medical information, recordkeeping, assisting with behavior observations, animal promotion, matching animals with appropriate forever homes based on adopter experience, expectations, and home environment, and collaborating with all shelter staff to promote successful placements and responsible pet ownership. Work is performed under the direction of a higher-level supervisor and is reviewed through conferences, reports, and observation of results obtained.
Requirements
- Graduation from high school or equivalent and one year of work experience in an animal shelter, veterinary setting, rescue organization, or customer service, or any equivalent combination of related training and experience.
- Successful completion of a pre-employment drug screen and successful completion of all applicable background checks, pre-hire and ongoing, are required.
Nice To Haves
- CPR/First Aid certification
- Experience with shelter management software or adoption databases.
- Experience with social media platforms
Responsibilities
- Exudes a positive customer service focus.
- Advocates building organizational culture through aligning decisions with the County's core values.
- Greets and assists prospective adopters, offering guidance in selecting animals that align with their lifestyle, expectations, and experience.
- Facilitates meet and greet sessions between animals and individuals, families, or other household pets, ensuring safe handling and positive interactions.
- Safely handles dogs, cats, and small mammals during viewings, meet and greets, and enrichment activities.
- Monitors animal responses during adopter interactions and documents observations related to stress, sociability, play style, or behavior challenges.
- Explains adoption procedures, shelter policies, adoption counseling points, and post-adoption support resources.
- Provides accurate, compassionate, and unbiased information about each animal’s behavior, health status, and known history.
- Supports adopters through decision-making by answering questions, addressing concerns, and helping them understand animal needs and behavior patterns.
- Assists Outreach/Behavior teams with conducting behavior assessments, documenting findings, and ensuring notes are entered promptly and accurately.
- Participates in daily enrichment, socialization sessions, and positive reinforcement-based handling to support behavioral health.
- Promptly reports medical or behavioral concerns to veterinary or behavior staff.
- Maintains thorough, timely, and objective behavior and interaction notes in shelter software (e.g., adopter meet and greet summaries, concerns, positive behaviors observed).
- Updates animal profiles to reflect personality traits, behavior updates, photos, and adopter friendly descriptions.
- Monitors adoption trends, returns, and common adopter questions to support continuous service improvement.
- Assists with processing adoption applications, completing documentation, reviewing required forms, and collecting fees.
- Develops outreach strategies to expand the animal adoption network, including events, social media, and community partnerships.
- Supports Outreach staff with adoption events, mobile adoption units, and community education programs.
- Assists with preparing animal behavior summaries, bios, and talking points for public-facing events.
- Helps prepare animals for Outreach activities, including fit for public assessments, behavior observations, and safe transport handling.
- Represents the shelter in a professional, compassionate manner at all public functions.
- Maintains clean, safe, and organized adoption and interaction areas.
- Follows all safety protocols for zoonotic disease prevention, animal handling, PPE use, and incident reporting.
- Collaborates with all Shelter staff to support overall operations.
- Participates in staff meetings, animal rounds, and cross-departmental planning as requested.
- Performs the duties listed, as well as those assigned, with professionalism and a sense of urgency.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Entry Level
Education Level
High school or GED
