Manager, Veterinary Services (Shelter Medicine)

HSSV•Milpitas, CA

About The Position

The Manager, Veterinary Services plays a key role in delivering medical services and programs for animals in the shelter and community. The role manages veterinary support staff, including registered veterinary technicians, veterinary assistants, students, and volunteers, at HSSV’s state-of-the-art facility. The manager supports organizational and departmental strategy, improves productivity, identifies opportunities and resource needs, and leads day-to-day operations with a focus on operational and people excellence. HSSV’s in-house shelter medicine service medically and surgically treats thousands of shelter animals, including cases involving traumatic injuries, complex internal medical conditions, and infectious diseases such as parvovirus and ringworm. The manager collaborates with shelter operations to optimize hospital stays, maintain animal flow, and ensure a high standard of care.

Requirements

Experience in a cross-functional animal shelter or veterinary clinic management role leading staff and/or volunteers.
Solid knowledge of animal-related operations, programs, and policies.
Understanding of active population management, capacity for care, and data-driven decision-making.
Flexibility and willingness to learn new techniques and skills to meet changing community needs.
Excellent fear-free animal handling skills, including handling fearful or aggressive dogs and cats.
Strong problem-solving and decision-making abilities, initiative, results orientation, resiliency, and adaptability.
Passion for animal welfare and community impact; ability to work in an emotional field with a positive attitude and empathy.
Outstanding interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills, including the ability to build trust, engage internal and external audiences, and influence stakeholder outcomes.
Experience with spreadsheets, Microsoft Office, Outlook, shelter management databases, and veterinary practice management systems.
Ability to lift and carry up to 50 pounds with assistance from floor to waist level.
Ability to kneel, bend at the waist, reach forward, and rotate the upper body.
Ability to sit or stand for sustained periods and walk on wet or dry surfaces.
Ability to work indoors and outdoors in all weather conditions, during daylight and after dark.
Ability to work with frequent exposure to loud noise, odors, chemicals, and animals with unknown histories and behaviors.

Nice To Haves

Registered Veterinary Technician (RVT) certification.
Experience with Shelter Buddy and/or Vetter.

Responsibilities

Promote a work environment that supports high-quality service, accountability, communication, resiliency, employee empowerment, innovation, and teamwork.
Develop a culture of learning and feedback through ongoing staff skill-building, professional development, and safe working practices.
Collaborate with the medical management team and cross-functional groups on strategic priorities, best practices, and daily workflows.
Build scalable care and treatment programs and manage treatment capacity.
Respond to post-adoption medical inquiries and ensure clinical questions are communicated clearly and escalated promptly to the appropriate medical professionals.
Ensure medical software systems are fully utilized and improve departmental efficiency.
Establish metrics and reports to analyze activities and programs; monitor and share critical data related to capacity management and animal flow.
Handle animals safely and humanely using proper restraint and low-stress techniques, and model and uphold these practices with staff and volunteers.
Support staff with scheduling, timecard management, and time-off requests.
Partner with the Volunteer Department to meet volunteer recruitment needs and supervise department volunteers.
Perform other duties as assigned.