Kennel and Cattery Supervisor

About Us

Established in 2002, we are proud of our reputation for helping vulnerable cats and dogs in the South Yorkshire area in their time of need. Helping hundreds of cats and dogs each year, and running a 365-day operation, the demand for our work continues to grow. We are there for those who have nowhere else to go, for the sick and injured, those thrown out by society, and for the owners who simply can't care for them any longer, no matter what the reason.

We take the time to listen to each pet owner's story and always prioritise those most in need of help. Many cats and dogs that come into our care have complex medical and behavioural needs, while some may just be in the wrong home the first time. Our small, tight-knit team is dedicated to maintaining the effectiveness of our mission to aid cats and dogs in crisis.

About the Role

The role of Kennel & Cattery Supervisor is responsible for ensuring the safety and welfare of all the dogs and cats in our care (on-site and in foster homes). It involves managing the intake of new animals into our care, including engaging with members of the public and other organisations, and ultimately their successful rehoming, while continually providing excellent customer service to optimise animal and customer journeys.

• Lead and manage our animals and ensure the very best care and support is given.
• Proactively, collaboratively and resourcefully maintain relationships with volunteers, foster carers, adopters, other rescue managers and other colleagues in the wider Mayhew community
• Manage your team inclusively and collaboratively, enabling and empowering them
• Engage and collaborate with other senior staff to ensure the effective delivery of our strategic and operational goals

Animal Intake:

• Maintenance and management of our intake waiting list in line with agreed process and procedures: accepting dogs from a range of sources and prioritising urgency and need
• Ensuring a compassionate, empathetic, non-judgmental approach is taken with all members of the public needing to relinquish a cat or dog
• Maintain positive working relationships with the different alternative sources of our dog intake, ie. local stray kennels, greyhound racing trainers, local authorities, vets and other rescues
• Maintenance of accurate admission paper and electronic records

Animal Care:

• Responsible for the welfare of all the animals in the Charity’s care, ensuring the highest standards of care are given at all times, in line with ADCH Code of Practice and the Charity’s guidelines and considering the individual needs of each animal
• Responsible for the day-to-day care of all animals, managing a team of animal carers whose role is cleaning and maintenance of accommodation, feeding, socialising, exercising and assessing our animals
• Responsible for completion of risk assessments in line with agreed standards
• Ensure that each animal is medically and behaviourally assessed and assigned the appropriate care and training plan
• Design and implement remedial training programmes for those dogs and cats requiring such training
• Ensure that a high level of medical care is always provided and veterinary notes are accurately stored on the animals’ record
• Uphold RCVS standards and conform to welfare and veterinary procedures for the administration of all medication conforming to legal requirements including the storage and handling of drugs and disposal of waste
• Ensure all paper and electronic data is updated and maintained in a timely manner and animal information is recorded in line with agreed processes and procedures
• Responsible for ensuring behavioural assessments are undertaken in line with agreed procedures and incorporating risk assessments and documented accordingly
• Responsible for stock (incl. vet supplies, cleaning supplies, animal feed and care equipment) and monthly stock checks
• Act as one of the key decision-makers in all aspects of animal care, including when animals are transferred to other centres and euthanasia decisions are being made

Animal Rehoming:

• Approval of animals ready for adoption and agreement of their promotional advertising
• Act as one of the key decision-makers when animals are matched and adopted to homes
• Positively promote rehoming, be knowledgeable of the rehoming procedures, giving advice to those wishing to rehome a pet and assist customers with any homing enquiries, providing accurate information to ensure a thorough matching process is adhered to at all times
• Promotion and implementation of optimum ‘Length of Stay’ so no animal is in our care longer than necessary

Other Duties:

• Leading by example, maintaining high standards of work at all times
• Deal with public enquiries in a timely and professional manner, including, but not limited to: telephone enquiries, emails, social media and visitors to the centre
• Oversee the recruitment, training and onboarding of employees, volunteers and foster carers in line with standard procedures and in conjunction with the Welfare Operations Manager
• Line management of a team of Animal Carers and the Adoption & Customer Service Coordinator, but be prepared to be hands-on when appropriate
• Manage a departmental finance budgets and ensuring the cost-effectiveness of all operations and activities
• Establish and maintain daily routines and ensure the right cover is always available in the event of sickness, holiday or other absence
• Provide effective and compassionate customer service
• Ensure that cash control and handling procedures are fully adhered to
• Positively promote and contribute to centre fundraising activities at all times
• Attend relevant training and personal development opportunities to fulfil the requirements of the role
• Ensure all areas of the centre are kept hazard-free, clean and tidy at all times
• Deputise for the Welfare Operations Manager as appropriate
• Adhere to all Rain Rescue policies and procedures
• Carry out other duties relevant to the post as directed by the Welfare Operations Manager, CEO or Board of Trustees

ABOUT YOU

The ideal candidate will have strong leadership experience and be able to successfully inspire a team, with experience of working in a similar role and be comfortable in an environment where no two days are ever the same and sometimes tough decisions are needed. You will be hard-working and reliable and possess a passion for animal welfare and an empathy with people. You will have excellent interpersonal skills, with the ability to prioritise workloads and have effective time management.

Required knowledge, skills and experience:

• Experience working with dogs in a shelter environment
• Strong knowledge of dog behaviour, training and welfare
• Experienced in successfully motivating, managing, and developing a high-performing team and managing performance
• Experienced in effectively managing competing and changeable priorities, a high workload and multiple complex issues and tasks
• Full clean manual driving licence
• Experience working in the charity sector, preferably in animal welfare
• Previous people leadership experience with both staff and volunteers, managing a team against targets and KPIs
• Understanding of The Animal Welfare Act and behavioural issues
• Ability to care for cats and dogs from a range of different backgrounds, competently and safely handling them using the appropriate methods
• Experience in rescue centre operations and ability to implement safe procedures
• Professional and empathetic customer service skills
• High attention to detail for accuracy and welfare considerations
• Good communication and relationship-building skills
• Ability to manage a departmental finance budget
• Ability to make sound judgements, prioritising and delegating
• Ability to communicate effectively both verbally and written
• Confident IT skills and good organisational and decision-making skills

Personal attributes:

• Responsible
• Trustworthy
• Compassionate
• Adaptable
• High level of integrity
• Dynamic
• Resilient

Key Responsibilities:

• Movement of animals through the centre
• Welfare standards
• Auditing of quality of work
• Improving efficiency within the team
• Growing fostering network
• Growing volunteering network
• Staff and volunteer management
• Implementing Home Direct program
• The cleaning, tidying and maintenance of all areas of the Kennel and Cattery departments.
• Exercising, socialising and enriching animals in our care, maximising opportunities to do so each day
• Producing photos, videos and text to help get animals adopted
• Giving medications correctly under instruction
• To work closely with all members of the welfare team regarding the progress of animals in our care, always keeping in mind the ultimate goal of rehoming
• Assisting with the necessary training of animals to improve their adoptability ie. lead walking, calmness, sociability, crate training, muzzle training
• Auditing the overall health and hygiene of animals ie. raising any medical concerns, daily grooming, bathing when needed
• Following and auditing animal care processes ie. intake, in care
• Accurate admin documents including ASM in line with agreed SOPs ie. weight monitoring, diet monitoring, up-to-date flea and worm, changes in behaviour, daily observation sheets, behaviour assessments
• Health and safety of animals, staff, volunteers and visitors on site
• Welfare walkarounds
• Ensuring the completion of all tasks
• Oversee the daily, weekly and monthly task lists and ensures standards are met
• Handling of more complex dogs - ensuring the appropriate people handle animals
• Stock control of welfare -elated items
• Audit and update medication charts - ensuring correct dosage and review and manage daily medications
• Arrange and conduct intake assessments for cats and dogs
• Diarise and deliver basic medical checks and care ie. POCs, pre-op preparation (starving), adjusting diets,

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Job Type: Full-time

Salary: £26,000.00-£28,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• Free parking
• On-site parking

Schedule:

• 8 hour shift

Ability to commute/relocate:

• Rotherham: reliably commute or plan to relocate before starting work (required)

Application question(s):

• Please bring your experience to life - let us know what makes you the best candidate for the role.

Experience:

• Working with dogs and cats: 2 years (required)
• Managing an operational team: 1 year (required)

Work Location: In person

Reference ID: K&CMS