Tarrytown Dog Placement Specialist

CommonSpirit Health • Austin, TX

3d • Onsite

About The Position

The Tarrytown Dog Placement Specialist plays a key role in advancing the goals of APA!’s Tarrytown Dog Program, with a focus on care and placement functions. This role also participates in facilitating processes that support these functions. 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 care/placement.
The Tarrytown Dog Placement Specialist 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-powered organization, so every staff member is expected to work alongside and support volunteers. The Tarrytown Dog Placement Specialist 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 may involve shift flexibility, weekend hours are required, and responsiveness during times of high need.
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
• Must have experience handling dogs and interacting safely with them
• Must be open and adaptable to new procedures and ways of working
• Ability to effectively resolve conflict
• Must be available to work weekends and holidays

Nice To Haves

• Spanish language skills a plus

Responsibilities

• 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—not siloed
• 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
• Responsible for care of the dogs which includes feeding, medicating, observing for signs of illness, exercising, training, laundry, picking up dog waste, and helping clean the facility
• Manage dogs and interactions with specific behaviors and in groups
• Participate in training of onsite dogs
• Assist customers interested in adopting dogs or directing them towards dogs that would be a fit for their requirements (Matchmaking)
• Process dog adoptions (for onsite and in foster home dogs) and placements to foster program
• Communicate with different teams (foster, clinic, intake, etc) to collect necessary information to care for and adopt a dog out appropriately
• Counsel adopters about dogs who have behavior consults to discuss management of known behaviors.
• Create bios and behavior summaries to facilitate the process of dogs being adopted.
• Use electronic data systems to find information/process adoptions
• Answer questions that come through the general adoption/foster phone line.
• Education of visitors who have questions about Austin Pets Alive! and our No-Kill Mission.
• Job duties may include some or all of the above, and other duties as assigned by manager

Benefits

• Austin Pets Alive! is proud to offer a competitive benefits package for full-time employees, including subsidized employer-sponsored medical coverage, subsidized and voluntary life insurance, voluntary dental, vision and short-term disability options, all effective the first day of employment.
• We also offer voluntary wellness and emergency sick plans, up to 2% match on 401(K) retirement plan, supplemental benefits, flexible spending accounts, and additional life coverage.
• Full-time employees receive 10 paid holidays and accrue 10 days paid time off during the first year of employment, with an additional 5 days of PTO accrual upon completion of 12 months of employment.
• Employees will also receive professional development opportunities through APA!’s ongoing mission to advance our animal welfare professionals in our life-saving work.

What This Job Offers

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