Kennels Head

**Hours: 37.5 hrs per week on a 7 day rolling rota. Salary: Negotiable depending on experience**

**Reports to: Operations Manager Liverpool**

**Job Purpose**: To support and organise the kennel unit staff and resources to rescue, rehabilitate and rehome dogs in the most effective and efficient way possible. To develop, deliver and evaluate the Kennels Action Plan to progress Freshfields strategic Five Year Plan.

Key Activities: Staff Management
- Model positive leadership to motivate unit staff to act with compassion, professionalism and integrity in every aspect of their work.
- Be the key point of positive two way communication between senior management, staff and volunteers.
- Foster and encourage an aspirational culture, with the confidence to adapt to change and continually learn and improve.
- Recruit and induct skilled staff ensuring staff understand and consistently deliver our ethics, policies and professional expectations as an employee of the charity.
- Ensure kennels staff understand their work in the wider context of the scale and causes of the problems we are here to solve and the wider team that make it possible: the public, managers, fundraisers and communications.
- Ensure that kennels staff understand that kennels volunteers are donors and it is staffs’ responsibility to ensure they feel their decision to support Freshfields is a good one and their efforts are making a positive difference.
- To facilitate team spirit within the unit and wider Freshfields team.
- Coordinate operational activities such as rotas, leave and training to meet daily needs in a way that is fair and sufficient.
- Prioritise and evaluate the work of kennels staff and volunteers, provide professional and personal support and training to each to meet the wider objectives set.

Key Activities: Service Delivery
- Understand and ensure kennels meets Animal Welfare Act 2006 standards and the Dog Welfare Code of Practice.
- Ensure the unit is prioritising action that ensure the unit meets, or is working to meet, the ADCH minimum welfare and operational standards.
- To work alongside the vet and colleagues to make mutual animals welfare assessments, ensuring that agreed treatments and medications are administered in the prescribed quantity at the specified intervals.
- Oversee day-to-day operational activities ensuring an excellent quality of care for the physical and mental well-being of each dog.
- Evaluate and evidence the quality and impact of the kennels unit to successfully rescue, rehabilitate and rehome dogs.
- Ensure the effective and efficient daily management of the Unit.
- Deliver and record grant or appeal funded projects outputs and outcomes.
- Train staff to deliver standard operating procedures for admittance, assessment, daily care, medical care, adoption and fostering, and continue to seek improvements wherever possible.
- Keep full and accurate data and records in line with GDPR requirements and implement systems for clear and accurate communication between all relevant parties.
- Ensure all health and safety procedures and reporting are known and implemented.
- Ensure equipment, feeding and cleaning supplies are monitored, available and controlled.
- Ensure the facility and surroundings are maintained, fit for purpose, tidy and secure at all times.
- Authorise expenditure and purchase orders within designated budget limits.
- Ensure members of the public are treated with understanding and receive exceptional customer care in all circumstances.

Key Activities: Organisational responsibilities
- Implement systems to evidence the impact and value of our work to rescue, rehabilitate and rehome dogs to our donors and supporters. Train staff to contribute to the information.
- Allocate sufficient time for yourself, your staff and volunteers to contribute to essential support and maintenance, fundraising and communications support, team meetings and management tasks.
- Ensure all unit staff and volunteers work collaboratively with other units.
- Produce clear and accurate reports as required.
- Ensure all unit staff and volunteers are positive Ambassadors for Freshfields kennels, enhancing the reputation and profile of the charity in person and online.
- Ensure all staff participate in Communications work as required, including attend meetings, produce social media content, updates and news, deliver comms requests, support occasional tours of the rescue centre, media, events.
- Ensure that staff understand that their work is only possible because of members of the public and that every visitor must have a positive experience at Freshfields Animal Rescue.
- Perform other duties consistent with the requirements of the post

Person Specification:.
- Commitment to Freshfields values and kennels purpose, and drive to deliver it.
- 3 years’ experience of rescue, rehabilitation and rehoming of particularly vulnerable or high risk dogs (desirable).
- 3 years experience of staff goal setting, support, supervision