Neonatal Care and Enrichment Specialist

Best Friends•Los Angeles, LA

1d•Onsite

About The Position

The Neonatal Care and Enrichment Specialist provides daily care and enrichment for neonatal animals in Best Friends Animal Society program locations and trains and oversees volunteers supporting that care. The role supports neonatal animals’ health, development, and wellbeing and contributes to the organization’s no-kill mission. It also involves compassionate customer service and visitor engagement, volunteer leadership, support for social media and public relations content, collaboration across departments, and accurate operational and medical recordkeeping. The position is based at West LA, 1845 Pontius Ave, Los Angeles, California. The stated schedule is Thursday through Monday, 5:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. PST, with flexibility as needed; daily hours and days may vary with departmental needs, and the role includes weekends, nights, and holidays. The anticipated hiring rate is $21.74–$24.00 per hour, depending on experience, plus benefits.

Requirements

High school diploma or GED, or 1–2 years of experience in customer service, volunteer coordination, neonatal kitten and puppy care, animal-related programs, or similar.
Strong communication skills.
Ability to handle, feed, and care for neonatal kittens and puppies, including animals with health or behavioral conditions or concerns.
Basic ability to identify and discuss medical and behavioral characteristics of kittens and puppies.
Customer-centric, non-judgmental approach when engaging adopters, partners, visitors, volunteers, and colleagues; familiarity and comfort with a conversational adoption process.
Strong interpersonal skills and ability to work as a personable, professional team player with people from different backgrounds and handle sensitive and confidential situations.
Ability to work in a fast-paced environment and organize multiple competing tasks and demands.
Resourcefulness, initiative, problem-solving ability, and flexibility to persist in achieving goals.
Proficiency with Microsoft Office products; familiarity with shelter or animal management software, or willingness to learn.
Ability to routinely lift 40 pounds and perform strenuous activities including lifting, carrying, reaching, stooping, squatting, cleaning, and bending.
Ability to perform repetitive tasks for extended periods, including typing, sitting, walking, and arm and hand movements.
Ability to work indoors and outdoors in varied weather, including extreme heat and cold.
Valid driver’s license and ability to meet Best Friends Animal Society’s driver qualification standards.
Ability to travel, including overnight stays, when needed.
Ability to work weekends, nights, and holidays; schedule may vary according to departmental needs.

Nice To Haves

Bilingual or multilingual skills.

Responsibilities

Provide and coordinate volunteer support for neonatal care, including feeding, cleaning, weighing, vaccinating, microchipping, and medicating animals.
Implement approved treatment protocols through medical exams and follow policies and local procedures to maintain health and safety standards for neonatal animals.
Coordinate and provide daily enrichment tailored to neonates, supporting emotional wellbeing and development through low-stress housing, gentle handling, age-appropriate stimulation, exercise, and socialization.
Oversee safe socialization and group housing practices for neonates and work with volunteers to provide safe interactions and enrichment while avoiding overstimulation or stress.
When necessary, provide compassionate feedback regarding end-of-life decisions, carry out euthanasia for program animals when necessary, follow organizational policies, and maintain controlled-substance logs as directed by the Veterinarian of Record.
Maintain clean workspaces and animal housing, stock supplies, and support the master inventory of neonatal care supplies.
Develop knowledge of Best Friends’ neonatal programs, initiatives, events, and activations to welcome and engage visitors and support the organization’s mission.
Provide customer service to adopters and visitors and use interactions to educate and engage people in neonatal care and support constituent journey goals.
Lead and empower volunteers and volunteer teams to expand the lifesaving capacity of neonatal care programs and deliver strong customer service.
Assist with or oversee social media content creation and editing, including written, video, and photo content about neonatal kitten or puppy care and enrichment.
Collaborate with departments and marketing teams on social media and public relations opportunities; represent Best Friends in media relations when requested and maintain the organization’s voice.
Collaborate with team members across operations to develop and implement efficient processes; follow policies and task lists and complete communications, work, data entry, and recordkeeping accurately and on time.
Maintain a safe workplace, model safe work practices, follow safety rules, and communicate unsafe practices or conditions.
Demonstrate kindness, inclusion, respect, authenticity, compassion, and positive influence in interactions with people and animals.