Technician, Veterinary Programs

Best Friends•Bentonville, AR

3d•Onsite

About The Position

Best Friends in Northwest Arkansas is looking for a full-time Veterinary Technician to join our team. Our Pet Resource Center in Bentonville includes a state-of-the-art veterinary clinic that serves shelter and rescue animals along with community animals. This is an opportunity to be part of an amazing team that gets to utilize their skills for an altruistic purpose, serving those who truly need these services the most! Our world is unique and changes daily. We partner with shelters across Arkansas and the region to help them maximize their lifesaving and achieve no-kill. We are looking for a Veterinary Technician that will help with our intake from shelters, assist with foster animal appointments, surgery, and provide great care aligned with our mission, all while rocking out in the clinic to the best jams! Our perfect candidate is caring, motivated, hard-working, a little scrappy, and willing to jump in to help where there’s a need. In addition, they have surgical experience and ideally experience with high quality, high volume, spay and neuter. We promise a great group of colleagues and friends ready to team up with you to advance lifesaving across the state.

Requirements

A minimum of 1 year working as a vet assistant or technician is required.
Prior experience assisting in surgeries and comfortability with intubating dogs and/or cats is required.
Ability to work with, leash, kennel, walk, and handle cats and dogs, including those with health and/or behavior conditions/concerns; basic ability to identify and speak to medical and behavioral characteristics of dogs and cats.
Customer-centric, non-judgmental approach to engaging with adopters, partners, visitors, volunteers, and colleagues; familiarity and comfort with a conversational adoption process.
Strong interpersonal skills, a team player, personable, professional, and able to get along with people from different backgrounds, as well as the ability to handle sensitive and confidential situations.
Ability to work in a fast-paced environment with well-developed organization skills to juggle multiple competing tasks and demands.
Resourceful, get-it-done attitude; initiative to assist in any area or process; problem solving, seeking answers independently and enthusiastically; flexibility to persist until goals are achieved.
Ability to professionally advocate Best Friends’ positions on issues; experience in supporting, engaging with, and developing relationships with community members, shelter staff, volunteers, and donors.
Proficiency with Microsoft Office products; familiarity with shelter software/animal management software, or desire to learn.
Routinely lift 40 pounds and perform daily strenuous activity including, but not limited to lifting, carrying, reaching, stooping, squatting, cleaning, and bending.
Perform repetitive tasks for extended periods of time including typing, sitting, walking, arm, and hand motion.
Standing for extended periods of time.
Work indoors and outdoors in a variety of weather conditions including extreme heat and cold.
Exposure to and handling dogs and cats of all sizes, temperaments, and medical status.
Daily hours and days of the week may vary according to the needs of the department schedule; position includes weekends, nights, on-call shifts, and holiday work.

Nice To Haves

Additional experience in an animal welfare or nonprofit setting is a plus.
Some formal education from an AVMA accredited veterinary technician certification program preferred but not required.
Bilingual or multi-lingual skills are preferred but not required.

Responsibilities

Demonstrate kindness and the Golden Rule in our everyday actions by practicing inclusion and respect for every person for the value they bring to the table.
Be a role model for the spirit of authenticity, kindness and positive influence with each other, our visitors, and volunteers as well as to the animals every day. This includes listening, being present, being supportive of others and demonstrating compassion and curiosity in conflict.
Perform basic medical care including but not limited to intravenous injections, blood draws, medicating, vaccinating, subcutaneous fluids, catheter placement, and microchipping under the direction of a veterinarian; have a comprehensive knowledge of sterile techniques, basic knowledge of surgical instruments, and general pharmacology, anesthesia monitoring, surgical induction and recovery; skilled understanding of humane restraint for medical procedures and emergency stabilization procedures.
Maintain a clean and disinfected working environment, maintain controlled substances logs, accurately enter, and maintain patient and client medical data.
Support, empower and enable volunteers and foster parents with the goal of utilizing volunteers to expand Best Friends lifesaving capacity; assist with client communications including aftercare and emergency support.
Provide basic care such as feeding, cleaning, walking, and socialization for animals temporarily housed or transported within Lifesaving Center vehicles, buildings, or facilities.
Deliver superior customer service; communicate (or develop communications) about and maintain knowledge of Best Friends and community partner programs.
Work collaboratively with Best Friends’ team members in all areas of operations to achieve lifesaving goals; follow Best Friends policies, procedures, and task lists for daily lifesaving outcome assignments, including accurate and timely communications, work completion, data entry, and recordkeeping.
Maintain a safe workplace, value, and model safe work practices, adhering to organizational safety practices and rules, and communicating to leadership about unsafe practices and conditions.