Foster & Placement Coordinator

CommonSpirit Health•Kyle, TX

5d•Onsite

About The Position

The Foster & Placement Coordinator plays a key role in advancing the goals of APA!, with a focus on foster recruitment, foster retention, and advancing other pet placement pathways at the PAWS Kyle location. This position contributes directly to APA!’s mission to increase the live release rate across Texas by supporting a sustainable, inclusive, and high-impact model for shelter operations. This role recruits, matches, and supports foster families to expand shelter capacity, improve animal outcomes, and help more animals move successfully from the shelter to homes. The Foster & Placement Coordinator is responsible for managing their daily responsibilities, maintaining clear priorities, and delivering consistent, high-quality work that aligns with APA!’s values and goals. This includes staying organized, using data or feedback to inform decisions, and following through on key tasks and responsibilities with minimal oversight. This is a hands-on, mission-driven role focused on results, reliability, and teamwork. APA! is a volunteer-centric organization. Every staff member is expected to work alongside and support volunteers. The Foster & Placement Coordinator collaborates closely with volunteers to complete day-to-day tasks, helps create a positive and inclusive environment, and actively contributes to a culture of shared effort and mutual respect. This position involves shift flexibility, weekend hours, and high responsiveness. Every individual at APA! is responsible for working in collaboration with volunteers; making sure volunteers are recruited, trained and feel impactful through their efforts at APA!. A core part of this role is creating a welcoming and empowering experience for volunteers, including assisting with onboarding, training, and volunteer engagement as part of the day-to-day workflow.

Requirements

Committed to embodying APA!’s Core Values: Innovation, Respect, Drive, Resourcefulness, and Inclusion and cultural values: Humble, Hungry, Smart
Commitment to APA!'s customer experience expectations
Passion for working well with staff, volunteers, and customers—helping all individuals feel successful, appreciated, and connected to APA!’s mission
Strong commitment to volunteer engagement and support; dedicated to working well with volunteers across all roles
Comfortable working cross-functionally and serving as a liaison between volunteers, customers, and team members
Effective written and verbal communication skills; able to interpret rules, procedures, and instructional materials
Self-starter with strong time management; able to work independently and collaboratively
Excellent interpersonal skills; maintains a calm and professional presence in all situations
Strong attention to detail and high standards for quality
Adaptable to change and able to perform related duties as needed
Dedicated to delivering an exceptional and inclusive customer experience
Comfort and skill with technology including software use, spreadsheet management, data entry, etc.

Nice To Haves

Must demonstrate dependability, accountability, time management, use of reasoning, and good judgment skills
Attend and participate in all required training sessions and meetings
Maintain open and consistent communication with supervisor and other colleagues
Partner with Volunteer Managers to learn about the volunteer programs and support volunteers interested in your department on an ongoing basis
Able to react to change productively and perform other related duties as assigned
Able to work evenings, weekends, and holidays as needed
Able to work in a high-volume, fast-paced, high-stress environment
Comfortable working autonomously when given goals and deadlines

Responsibilities

Serve as a primary point of contact for foster families throughout their foster experience
Develop and implement ongoing strategies to recruit new foster families
Respond to foster inquiries and guide prospective fosters through the onboarding process
Maintain an active pipeline of prospective foster families
Conduct foster orientations, trainings, and informational sessions
Maintain an up-to-date understanding of available foster homes and their individual capacities
Coordinate foster placements, transfers, extensions, and returns
Help foster families prepare animals for adoption
Coach fosters and staff on system-level awareness of placement urgency, so pets do not get “stuck” in foster homes
Provide excellent customer service and follow APA placement guidelines and policies
Build rapport with foster families, creating a welcoming foster community and environment
Identify foster opportunities for animals who are difficult to place in traditional shelter housing
Monitor shelter population and foster capacity daily and identify opportunities to move appropriate animals into foster care
Ensure fosters receive appropriate information, supplies, medications, and instructions before an animal goes home
Help fosters troubleshoot problems and identify practical solutions that allow placements to remain successful
Monitor foster program data, including recruitment, retention, placement, returns, and outcomes
Build a foster community where people feel connected to one another and to the shelter's mission
Actively contribute to a volunteer-powered culture by partnering with volunteers during every shift and helping create an inclusive, welcoming environment
Work alongside volunteers to complete daily tasks, ensuring the work is shared and collaborative
Support the recruitment and onboarding process by welcoming new volunteers and helping them get oriented to the program
Help retain volunteers by offering encouragement, guidance, and feedback during shared work
Recommend strong volunteers for deeper involvement or specialized roles to your supervisor or volunteer manager
Contribute to a positive culture by recognizing volunteer contributions through appreciation, gratitude, and shoutouts
Help set volunteers up for success by clearly explaining tasks, providing hands-on guidance, and offering in-the-moment support
Job duties may include some or all of the above, and other duties as assigned by manager