Pet Welfare Assistant- Onsite

**Contract: Permanent, part time**

**Salary: £21,255 - £23,806 per annum (pro rata for part time)**
**Location: Burford, OX18 4PF**

**Closing date: Tuesday 19 March 2024**

**Interview date: 27 & 28 March 2024**
- We’re recruiting **Pet Welfare Assistants** for onsite animal care, for our Rehoming & Fostering team in **Burford** Our Pet Welfare Assistants manage a number of pet cases within the onsite pet care service which can be pets in our rehoming service or temporary crisis care.- We’ve just launched a new and exciting national Rehoming & Fostering team structure to support our aim of ensuring every pet enjoys a healthy life in a happy home. You’ll be joining a team who strive to be the best versions of themselves, so that they can do the best for the pets who need our help.More about the role
- Spread over 130 acres in the Cotswolds, you will find our beautiful Burford rehoming centre. Our small animal site accommodation supports cats, dogs, rabbits, guinea pigs, caged pets and also dedicated kitten and puppy accommodation. Our large site provides a quiet and green space for our teams to work with pets looking for new homes. We also share our large site with our horse rehoming team and some of our some of our support function teams, such as HR and Finance.- As a skilled animal handler and assessor, you will be responsible the ‘preparation stage’ with the pets in our care which involves caring, carrying out assessments and rehabilitation plans, preparing them for the ‘adoption stage’ or the best possible outcome for their circumstances with mínimal delay.- As a Pet Welfare Assistant, you will ensure that the welfare standards are met and that rehabilitation plans are followed and supported for pets in foster homes. Working independently and with the team you will carry out meetings with owners giving up their pet, ensuring all information is recorded, paperwork completed and that the pet is immediately assessed for behavioural or veterinary problems. Working closely with the Adoptions Coordinator you will provide additional in person or virtual advice and practical demonstrations to ensure adoptees are fully aware of the work that has been done with the pet and how to continue with any other additional behaviour training or medical provision.- At our Burford rehoming centre, we provide onsite accommodation for pets in our care 24/7. Overnight shifts are usually undertaken by team members who live on site. Occasionally, you will be expected to carry out night checks or stay in on site accommodation overnight when the resident team members are either not working or away for a period of time. These duties are organised on a local rota and shared between all members of the team.**This is a part time role working 26.25 hours per week, working on the following rota pattern. Sadly there is no flexibility with this working pattern.**

Week 1: Monday, Thursday, Friday
- Week 2: Tuesday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday-
About you
- As a skilled animal handler and assessor, you will be intuitive with pets, empathetic and welfare focused having worked in a similar animal related environment. You will also be used to assessing the needs of a pet, alert to the behavioural signs and have a basic knowledge of the use of medication e.g., hibiscrub, flea and tick treatments, diabetes management. In addition, you will have a fundamental understanding that the best welfare intervention for a pet is to find a new home and leave on site pet accommodation as quickly as possible.- You will be self-motivated, forward thinking with a collaborative and creative approach to your work, which will ensure to bring your best pragmatic ideas for the care of the pets to ensure the best outcome is achieved. In addition, you will be able to quickly assimilate information, be competent at accurately recording information while also conducting conversations with clients and stakeholders. You will be an excellent communicator, approachable with strong interpersonal skills.- You will know what it is like to work in an emotionally charged environment and have excellent ‘bounce back ability’ and resilience. In addition, you will be emotionally intelligent, showing empathy and knowing how to support clients and colleagues.**Knowledge, skills, and experience**
- Experience of having previously worked or volunteered with domestic animals or in an animal welfare environment.
- Previous experience in working in a customer focused environment and used to achieving a high level of customer satisfaction.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
- Good organisational and administration skills to include computerised systems.
- Current full driving licence.
- It would be great (but not essential) if you also had:
- Qualification or similar experience in animal behaviour or animal training.
- Experience of cash handling.
- Experience of working to strict health and safety procedures.
- Understanding of safeguarding issues.
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