Animal Care Worker, Austin Animal Services
About The Position
This position performs all aspects of human animal care duties to ensure animal safety and well-being, and provides quality customer service by providing the public with assistance and accurate information regarding Animal Services' policies, programs, and procedures. The Animal Care Worker is responsible for the basic feeding and cleaning up of the animals at the Austin Animal Shelter. This includes dogs, cats, reptiles, livestock and more. This position works in the elements of summer heat and winter cold and will be on their feet for upwards of 9 hours a day. Austin Animal Services’ mission is to enhance the lives of pets and people by preventing animal homelessness, to help lost pets find their way home or find new homes, to provide education and resources to preserve the human-animal bond, and to administer animal-related ordinances to ensure public and animal safety, all while achieving a 95% live outcome rate for sheltered pets.
Requirements
- Graduation from an accredited high school or equivalent, plus six (6) months of work experience.
- Knowledge of applicable processes, techniques and principles.
- Knowledge of animal services and related programs
- Skill in safely handling animals, including those with unknown temperament.
- Ability to work with frequent interruptions and changes in priorities.
- Ability to adhere to disease management and safety protocols.
- Ability to establish and maintain effective communication and working relationships with City employees and the public.
Nice To Haves
- Demonstrated experience working in a fast paced, high stress environment with competing priorities.
- Demonstrated experience providing excellent customer service to both internal and external customers and de-escalating conflicts.
- Demonstrated attention to detail relating to cleaning, disinfecting, and reporting changes in dogs’ behavior or medical concerns.
- Demonstrated experience in an animal-related field, including animal husbandry, health, and basic care.
- Demonstrated experience with 50+lbs dogs with behavioral issues.
Responsibilities
- Cleans, disinfects and maintains shelter areas as assigned.
- Feeds, waters, bathes, dips and exercises animals.
- Provides humane sheltering services in compliance with State minimum standards and shelter policies.
- Safely and humanely handles animals, of unknown health and temperament.
- Assists in monitoring the medical/behavioral status of animals and performs related health care activities.
- Contributes to the programs and services that support the shelter’s live outcome goal.
- Loads dead animals onto trucks.
- Ensures the safety of animals and people in the shelter.
- Accurately maintains all required records in the shelter’s database.
- Provides information to the public.
- Assists in unloading trucks, stocking shelter areas and storing materials.
- Assists in preparation, transport and documentation of specimens for rabies testing.
- Maintains facility and grounds in a clean, neat and organized manner.
Benefits
- low-cost medical
- dental
- vision
- paid leave
- highly competitive retirement plan
- training opportunities
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Entry Level
Education Level
High school or GED
