Animal Services Supervisor

City of Leander, TX•Leander, TX

65d

About The Position

Supervises the animal services department. Protects residents from and educates the community about stray or vicious animals and related diseases, works with animal shelter partnership; captures, impounds, relocates, and when necessary performs sedation and euthanasia, disposes of animals; and maintains records.

Requirements

Associate's degree (A.A.) or equivalent from two-year college or technical school; or five years related experience and/or training; one to two years experience as a supervisor; or equivalent combination of education and experience.
Must have a Texas DSHS basic animal control certification or equivalent. If licensed with another state, must obtain the Texas DSHS basic animal control certification within 12 months of employment.
Completes continuing education as required by the DSHS; maintains certification in euthanasia and chemical capture; TX Class C driver license minimum.
Obtains basic instructor license within 2 years of starting position
Knowledge of departmental rules and regulations; applicable state; and local laws; city ordinances; and the use and care of vehicles, and specialized facilities and equipment.
Skill/Ability to supervise field operations, establish and maintain effective working relationships with other law enforcement agencies, judicial officials, and the general public; analyze situation and adopt a quick, effective, and reasonable course of action; communicate effectively, both orally and in writing; prepare reports, operate computer with standard word processing and data inquiry software; and maintain appropriate necessary certifications, Texas drivers license applicable to job responsibilities, and good driving record.
Normal speech, normal or corrected vision, and normal or corrected hearing.
Excellent communication skills needed to handle frequent citizen contact and communication with co-workers and subordinates. Must accurately articulate procedures, processes, and regulations to employees and patrons. Ability to handle irate or distressed patrons in a calming manner.
Frequently deals with the public; communicates in person and over the telephone; provides information; explains animals services ordinances; obtains information concerning bites; handles irate or distressed citizens in a calm and effective manner. Assists people in the community in a positive, friendly and helpful way regarding pets' at large, lost pets, complaint and about pet behaviors. Address the public in a professional, friendly and attentive manner.
Experience in using computer, typewriter, calculator, telephone, tape recorder, fax machine, copier, phones and postage machine.
Employee is required to work on call and overtime as the need arises, may have to answer subpoenaed appearances in court on employee's day off or before and/or after a regularly scheduled work shift

Nice To Haves

Bachelor's degree (B.A. or B.S.) or equivalent from four-year college or technical school; five years related experience and/or training; two to five years experience as a supervisor; or equivalent combination of education and experience.

Responsibilities

Supervise animal services officers, ACO I, ACO II and ACO III
Maintains animal services policy with current state law, Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) administrative law, city ordinances, current best practices and current procedures
Provides necessary information to the city council to maintain city ordinances in line with state law, DSHS administrative law and best practices
Coordinates frequent registration drives to improve animal registration
Maintains contact with current and previously registered animal owners to maintain current registration
Maintains accurate records of animal services activities and provides data to the administrative staff on animal services activity
Coordinates community education material, events and activities
Speaks to the public at education events, city council meetings and other community events
Patrol an assigned area for stray, vicious or injured animals and respond to citizen complaints regarding same.
Enforce laws and ordinances, and protect citizens and property.
Share information and work with other law enforcement agencies as directed and appropriate.
Provide field training relating to operational procedure ACO I, II and III's.
Serve as city's local Rabies Control Authority as assigned.
Maintain current knowledge of applicable laws and statutes, pending legislation, and conduct research to address new issues and their impact.
Generate work shift schedule for all subordinates and self
Maintain 24 hour on-call status as part of the assigned rotation
License all animals within city limits.
Maintain up to date registration of animals.
Issue warnings and citations.
Adopt pets to new owners.
Perform sedation and euthanasia when necessary as well as emergency field operations of this nature.
Investigate animal cruelty complaints.
Conduct animal bite investigations and place animal into quarantine.
Pick up live and dead animals to keep city free of road obstructions, health hazards, and stray animals.
Process and submit animals for rabies testing, including the decapitation of animals as necessary.
Attends meetings and works as liaison with regional animal shelter partnership.
Works in conjunction with the animal shelter to develop strategies to reduce animal intake at the shelter.
Will assist the police department support services supervisory staff in hiring, training and evaluation of animal services officer(s).
Administers animal services division vehicle maintenance and the purchasing of all supplies and equipment.
Proceeds with legal action against violators and testifies in court in animal related cases.
Intercedes and coordinates conflict resolutions between community members regarding animal issues.
Responds to and resolves animal related problems and crisis situations in person and when necessary by phone.
Assists police staff in preparing, submitting, and administering monies for the animal services budget.
Working with and mentoring animal services officers in reaching compliance goals for individual staff certifications and development.
Seek out grant opportunities where applicable for the development of the program.
Is responsible for the overall direction, coordination, and evaluation of a department or function. Carries out supervisory responsibilities in accordance with the organization's policies and applicable laws. Supervises one or more direct report, including interviewing, hiring, and training employees; planning, assigning, and directing work; appraising performance; rewarding and disciplining employees; addressing complaints and resolving problems.

Benefits

Your well-being and that of your family matters to you, and so it's important to us too. To support you and your loved ones through life's many challenges, we offer our full time employees access to a wide array of benefits including health, dental, vision, life, disability, accident, cancer, flexible spending accounts, health savings accounts, employee assistance, paid holidays, paid sick leave, paid emergency leave, longevity pay, golf course discounts as well as generous retirement and deferred compensation programs and social security participation.
Medical
We offer two types of medical plans (a traditional PPO plan and a high deductible health plan) so that you can choose the one that best fits your needs. The premium you pay is based on which plan you select and who you cover. Covering just yourself? The City currently pays the entire employee-only premium for either plan. Covering qualified dependents in your family? Currently, we'll pay your employee premium and split the remainder of the spouse/child/family premium with you - we pay 60%; you pay 40%. That generous cost share reflects our philosophy that our employees and their families should have the best health care we can afford to provide.
Dental
Dental plans include a DMO option (no cost for employee-only coverage) and two more traditional plans whose premiums are also affordable. You can choose to cover yourself or any qualified dependents and choose which plan best suits your dental needs. Currently, for the DHMO option, we pay the employee premium and split the remainder of the spouse/child/family premiums with you - we pay 50%; you pay 50%. Under the more traditional plans, although we don't pay the entire employee-only premium, we still split the incremental dependent premiums with you 50/50.
Vision
Access to $10 eye exam co-pays and up to $150 frame and contact lens allowances make vision insurance a popular benefit among employees. Cover yourself for just a few bucks a pay period or all of your qualified dependents for not much more.
Life/AD&D
Your basic employee $15,000 term life insurance policy is paid for by the city. Accidental Death & Dismemberment under the plan would pay an additional $15,000 to your beneficiary if you die in an accident. More life insurance coverage is paid for by the City and provided through our Texas Municipal Retirement System (TMRS) program. If that's still not enough coverage, you can purchase more life/AD&D coverage for yourself and your qualified dependents. Over the age of 65? These coverages are subject to an age reduction schedule.
Disability
Both short and long term disability plans which provide up to 60% income replacement are available to purchase at competitive rates.
Accident & Cancer
Need extra coverage for off-the-job medical injuries or a cancer diagnosis? Supplemental plans that pay cash for some of life's most unexpected events are available for purchase.
Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA)
Want to set aside some pre-tax dollars for health care expenses or dependent care expenses? If you select the traditional EPO medical coverage, you can set aside pre-tax money for medical expenses through the City's Section 125 medical FSA plan, which is managed by an outside carrier. You can do the same for dependent day care expenses, regardless of which medical plan you select.
Health Savings Accounts (HSA)
The high deductible health care plan has its own provisions for pre-tax health savings (HSA) so you can set aside money for your qualified health care expenses. The City will add $1000 to your health savings account to get you started each plan year.
Employee Assistance Program
We know that sometimes your needs are much different than a doctor visit or a prescription, so the City pays for a generous employee assistance program through Alliance to help you or any household member with counseling, legal referrals or simply a safe ride home.
Holidays
The City has thirteen designated holidays each year.
Vacation Leave
Most full time, regular employees (excluding firefighters on a 24 hour shift schedule and department heads) accrue 3.69 hours of vacation time each pay period and are eligible to use that time after just six months of employment. The longer you work for the city, the more vacation time you receive, with those accrual rates going up at 4, 9 and 14+ years of service. Never use your vacation time? Don't worry; you can bank up to two times your annual accrued hours before you stop accruing.
Sick Leave
As a full time regular employee (excluding firefighters on a 24 hour shift), you accrue 3.69 hours of sick leave each pay period, which you are eligible to use after your first pay period with the city. You can also continue to build your sick leave balance up to 480 hours for those unexpected emergencies.
Longevity Pay
Regular full-time employees after they've been employed for one year or more are eligible for an annual payout of $5 for every month of City service. So, while that first year $60 check might not seem like a ton of money, that $1500 check (minus taxes of course) for your 25 years of service which is paid around Thanksgiving will likely help you feel very thankful for a little extra cash for Christmas shopping.
Retirement
All regular full-time employees participate in our Texas Municipal Retirement System (TMRS). Your 7% investment each payroll period is matched 2 to 1 by the City and is vested at 5 years. You can retire at age 60 with 5 or more years of service or younger if you have at least 20 years of service. You can also receive service credit for certain types of military service. The City's TMRS plan is one of the most generous retirement plans around.
Deferred Compensation
If saving 7% with a 2 to 1 match through TMRS isn't enough to meet your financial goals, you can stash even more on a pre-tax basis through the City's 457 plan. Start or stop saving at any time - up to $18,000 annually if you're under 50, and up to $24,000 if you're older.
Social Security
City of Leander employees also participate in the social security system under FICA regulations.
Golf Course
We have a gorgeous golf course. Want to learn how to play? As a City employee you can play for 50% off. Check it out!