Dog Foster Coordinator

Austin Pets Alive! • Austin, TX

10d • Onsite

About The Position

The Dog Foster Coordinator drives lifesaving outcomes for dogs in Austin Pets Alive!’s care, focusing especially on long-stay dogs, large dogs, and dogs in the Unstuck program. Based primarily onsite at Town Lake Animal Center, the coordinator identifies foster placement opportunities, matches dogs with caregivers, and provides ongoing support. The role includes developing individualized behavioral and management plans and helping caregivers feel informed and confident while caring for dogs with complex needs.

The coordinator manages priorities independently, uses data or feedback to inform decisions, and works closely with staff and volunteers. Volunteer engagement is part of the daily work, including helping with onboarding, training, guidance, and recognition. The position involves collaboration with Placement, Behavior/Care, Medical, and Volunteer teams, and may require schedule flexibility, evenings, weekends, holidays, after-hours responsiveness, and travel to foster homes or events.

This is a full-time, exempt position averaging 40 hours per week. It is based primarily at the Town Lake Animal Center campus in Austin, with work also required at other APA! locations and occasional offsite travel. The work environment is fast-paced and may involve loud noises, inclement weather, animal-related diseases, and risks of bites or scratches. The role requires walking and handling large, strong dogs, including dogs that pull, jump, or have challenging behavior profiles.

Austin Pets Alive! offers full-time employees subsidized employer-sponsored medical coverage, subsidized and voluntary life insurance, voluntary dental, vision, and short-term disability options, wellness and emergency sick plans, a 401(k) match of up to 2%, supplemental benefits, flexible spending accounts, additional life coverage, 10 paid holidays, and paid time off. Employees accrue 10 days of PTO during their first year, with an additional five days of accrual after 12 months. Professional development opportunities are also offered.

Requirements

• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to communicate warmly and effectively with people from diverse backgrounds.
• Effective written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to explain rules, procedures, dog-training, and management techniques clearly to people without prior behavior experience.
• Thorough understanding of dog behavior principles and APA-recommended training and management techniques.
• Strong understanding of dog marketing best practices.
• Proficiency with email, word processing, and spreadsheets.
• Strong time management, attention to detail, judgment, and problem-solving skills; able to prioritize, manage competing deadlines, and work autonomously with minimal oversight.
• Ability to handle high-volume needs professionally and remain productive in an emotionally charged, fast-paced environment.
• Ability to collaborate across teams, communicate effectively with remote colleagues, and work cooperatively with staff, volunteers, fosters, customers, and the public.
• Commitment to volunteer engagement, APA!’s customer experience expectations, and the well-being of every dog, with a drive to increase adoptions.
• Commitment to APA!’s values: Innovation, Respect, Drive, Resourcefulness, and Inclusion; and cultural values: Humble, Hungry, Smart.
• Ability to adapt to change, work with limited resources, and identify practical improvements to internal processes and the foster experience.
• Ability to work evenings, weekends, and holidays as needed, with schedule flexibility and occasional after-hours work.
• Ability to sit for extended periods, walk around shelter areas with uneven ground, and work around animals, loud noises, chemicals, and inclement weather.
• Ability to comfortably interact with animals of varying health conditions, including animals that may carry zoonotic diseases, and to walk and handle large, strong dogs, including dogs that pull, jump, or have challenging behavior profiles.
• Ability to use personal transportation for travel and transport.

Nice To Haves

• Experience working or volunteering in animal rescue, animal behavior, or animal care fields is strongly preferred.

Responsibilities

• Partner with volunteers during shifts and help maintain an inclusive, welcoming, collaborative environment.
• Work alongside volunteers on daily tasks; welcome and orient new volunteers; provide guidance, encouragement, feedback, and recognition; and recommend volunteers for specialized roles when appropriate.
• Place long-stay dogs, large dogs, and Unstuck Program dogs from Town Lake Animal Center into foster homes.
• Review incoming foster applications and reconnect with lapsed foster parents to identify suitable dog matches.
• Conduct matchmaking appointments, introductions, and handoffs for dogs and foster caregivers.
• Create, deliver, and monitor training, management, marketing, and enrichment plans for foster caregivers supporting dogs with higher-level behavioral needs.
• Proactively contact fosters caring for dogs with higher-level behavior needs, large dogs, and dogs in the Unstuck Program.
• Help fosters market their dogs, draft responses to inquiries, screen adopters, and arrange meet-and-greets.
• Support the Foster Buddy program by pairing new fosters with experienced fosters for peer support.
• Monitor and respond promptly to foster and internal team emails, provide foster support, and document communications in appropriate systems.
• Coordinate with Placement, Behavior/Care, Medical, and Volunteer teams to support dogs transitioning to foster and align on their care.
• Support, train, and guide Dog Foster Support Volunteers and leads to expand support for low-to-medium-challenge dogs.
• Assist with adoption events, marketing opportunities, and foster appreciation events as needed.
• Travel to meet fosters and their dogs at homes or events when needed.
• Attend required training sessions and meetings, communicate consistently with supervisors and colleagues, and perform other duties as assigned.

Benefits

• Subsidized employer-sponsored medical coverage, effective the first day of employment.
• Subsidized and voluntary life insurance.
• Voluntary dental, vision, and short-term disability options, effective the first day of employment.
• Voluntary wellness and emergency sick plans.
• 401(k) retirement plan with up to 2% employer match.
• Supplemental benefits, flexible spending accounts, and additional life coverage.
• 10 paid holidays.
• 10 days of paid time off accrued during the first year, with an additional five days of PTO accrual after 12 months of employment.
• Professional development opportunities.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: No Education Listed