Cat Placement Specialist

CommonSpirit Health•Austin, TX

9d•$17 - $19•Onsite

About The Position

Austin Pets Alive! (APA!) is a nonprofit animal-welfare organization that rescues, treats, and adopts out homeless dogs and cats, supports at-risk shelter pets, and shares its lifesaving practices with other communities. Its Human Animal Support Services project brings together animal-welfare professionals and organizations to develop community-focused services that help keep people and pets together. The Cat Placement Specialist supports APA!’s cat placement team by matching clients with cats, advocating for cats who may be overlooked, and improving foster and adoption processes. The role focuses on reducing cats’ length of stay, especially for cats in lifesaving programs, and contributes to increasing live release rates across Texas. The specialist provides customer service and placement guidance, maintains accurate information about cats, supports volunteers, and develops initiatives to increase fostering and adoption of specialty-population cats. This is a full-time, nonexempt position averaging 40 hours per week. The schedule requires flexibility and may include evenings, weekends, holidays, and occasional after-hours work. The position reports to the Cat Program Manager or another individual designated by APA!. Work is based at one or more of APA!’s listed Austin locations, with travel to offsite locations as needed.

Requirements

Experience working with cats and ability to handle them safely and kindly.
Customer service experience.
Ability to recognize, understand, and address animal behaviors and illnesses.
Proficiency with email, word processing, and spreadsheets.
Effective written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to interpret rules, procedures, and instructional materials.
Strong time management, attention to detail, dependability, accountability, reasoning, and judgment.
Ability to work independently and collaboratively, maintain a calm and professional presence, and adapt to new procedures and changing needs.
Strong interpersonal skills and commitment to providing an inclusive, high-quality customer experience.
Commitment to volunteer engagement and effective cross-functional collaboration with volunteers, customers, and team members.
Ability to work in a high-volume, fast-paced, high-stress environment and autonomously when given goals and deadlines.
Ability to work a flexible schedule, including evenings, weekends, and holidays as needed.
Ability to stand for long periods, work outdoors in varied weather, routinely lift 40–50 pounds, and meet the listed physical demands of animal-care and shelter work.
Ability to work around animals, including sick, injured, diseased, or potentially aggressive animals; loud noises; chemicals; animal waste; and inclement weather.
Ability to travel and transport using own transportation.

Nice To Haves

Bilingual in English and Spanish.

Responsibilities

Partner with volunteers during shifts and help create a welcoming, inclusive, and collaborative environment.
Support volunteer recruitment, onboarding, training, engagement, retention, and recognition; provide guidance and recommend volunteers for specialized roles.
Greet clients and provide active customer service in person and through text, email, and phone.
Guide clients in choosing appropriate cats and provide clear, accessible information about behavior, health, medical needs, handling, medication, and introductions.
Keep current on cats onsite and in foster care; update documents, internal notes, and online profiles accurately.
Complete required adopter and foster paperwork accurately and respond to client inquiries professionally and promptly.
Monitor animals’ physical condition and inform veterinarians or appropriate staff when needed.
Receive, medicate, handle, and kennel cats and kittens, including animals with unknown temperament, illness, injury, or zoonotic disease.
Follow APA cat-handling methods and demonstrate safe handling and medication techniques to clients.
Develop and sustain placement initiatives to increase adoption and fostering rates for specialty-population cats.
Build positive working relationships with staff and volunteers, recruit and train Cat Placement volunteers, and meet with advocates and program volunteers about cat marketing notes.
Conduct proactive outreach to potential adopters and fosters and assist with tracking appointments and initiatives.
Provide basic animal care, feeding, medication, and cleaning as needed, following sanitation protocols.
Attend required training sessions and meetings, communicate consistently with colleagues and managers, and support volunteers in coordination with Volunteer Managers.
Manage time and priorities, work independently toward goals and deadlines, adapt to changing needs, and perform other duties as assigned.

Benefits

Subsidized employer-sponsored medical coverage.
Subsidized and voluntary life insurance.
Voluntary dental, vision, and short-term disability options.
Voluntary wellness and emergency sick plans.
Up to 2% match on the 401(k) retirement plan.
Supplemental benefits and flexible spending accounts.
Additional life coverage.
10 paid holidays.
10 days of accrued paid time off during the first year, with an additional 5 days of PTO accrual after 12 months of employment.
Professional development opportunities through APA!’s ongoing animal-welfare training and mission work.
Eligible employees may receive up to a $2 per hour stipend after successful completion of internal APATec certifications; certifications and stipends are discretionary and subject to change.