Job Details

About the Oregon Humane Society

Founded in 1868, Oregon Humane Society is the Northwest's oldest and largest animal welfare organization with one of the highest adoption rates in the nation. We are working toward our vision of a world where all animals are treated with compassion, kindness and respect. With campuses in Portland and Salem, OHS is an Oregon-based nonprofit that relies on donor support for its adoption, education, medical and humane law enforcement programs. Visit oregonhumane.org to learn more about how we’re creating a More Humane Society.

The Team

Animal Care is responsible for the daily care & husbandry of animals in the care of OHS. This includes cleaning, feeding, medicating and escalating behavior or medical concerns as they arise. Animal Care is the primary voice of the animal while at OHS.

The Position

The Animal Care Technician 1 is a vital member of the OHS Shelter Operations team responsible for providing the highest quality of care to animals in residence at the Oregon Humane Society and facilitating interactions with the public. 

Essential Responsibilities

PERSONAL LEADERSHIP

• Consistently strives to exceed expectations; demonstrates flexibility, resilience, and the ability to maintain positive relationships and composure, even under difficult circumstances.
• Maintains high ethical standards, including exhibiting behaviors and actions that embrace and align to our organization and customer service values, while treating all people with respect and dignity.
• Demonstrates an awareness of your individual personal strengths and development needs, modeling non-defensive behavior and openness to feedback; builds a culture of feedback and learning.

LEARNING

• Contributes to regular dialogue and accountability with the leadership team and across the organization to review progress and course correct if necessary
• Utilizes data and insights to identify, understand and articulate the key inputs and metrics that tell the story of the organization/team strategy and its progress
• Builds appropriate feedback loops to measure if we are meeting key milestones and if the impact planned is being felt across the organization.

INFLUENCE & REPRESENTATION

• Communicate effectively to executive and other stakeholder groups to ensure they are informed and able to actively engage.
• Liaise with and maintain productive relationships with all stakeholders, including other departments, and donors; build mutually rewarding professional relationships inside OHS at all levels.
• Leverage our best practices externally and grow OHS’ reputation as a leader in the animal welfare space.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Act as a vital member of the Shelter Operations team by providing appropriate animal husbandry, handling and screening according to established protocols and procedures. Stock areas and housekeeping duties as assigned.
• Work daily with animals of varying size and temperament, handling individual animals in a safe, caring and respectful manner.
• Provide continual coverage to animals and the public in assigned area, leaving area only upon request of supervisor or with adequate coverage to perform assigned tasks.
• Monitor all animal related information on kennel cards, correcting errors and adding new information upon observation. Ensure that all animals are correctly identified and that all cages have accurate animal information posted.
• Collaborate and communicate effectively, provide excellent customer service – internally and externally.
• Reliably and accurately complete work by following up on requests, checking work for errors, completing requests on or before deadlines and assuming responsibility for successes or errors.
• Provide timely and appropriate education to clients as needed.
• Assist with euthanasia services and handling animals for cremation services.
• Sort in-kind donations and distribute to appropriate departments.
• Assist in training new staff/volunteers.

SUPERVISOR RESPONSIBILITY

Supervises: None

ACCOUNTABILITY

Reports Directly To: Animal Care Manager

Minimum Qualification & Transferable Skills

We are interested in finding the best candidate for the job, and that candidate may be one who comes from a less traditional background. We welcome applicants who bring a diversity of identity, culture, experience, perspective and thought. We encourage you to apply, even if you do not believe you meet every one of the qualifications described. You are also encouraged to address how your professional and lived experience, scholarship, mentorship and/or service will contribute to the Oregon Humane Society.

• 1 year related work experience in customer service, retail, food service, animal care/handling, and/or a high-pressure, high-volume work environment.
• Basic working knowledge of computer software programs.
• Able to exercise sound judgment and maintain a professional demeanor during all interactions with the public, partner agencies, donors, staff and volunteers.
• Proficiency using the Microsoft Office Suite, including Outlook, Word, Excel.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills - able to communicate with a diverse population in a consistently informative, respectful and professional manner.
• Knowledge and experience working with a wide variety of dog and cat breeds.

Work Environment Conditions & Physical Requirements

This position interacts and collaborates will all levels of the organization, including OHS staff, executive team members, donors, general-public, external vendors, volunteers, and supporters. Contact and communication is carried out through face-to-face, telephone and digital interactions. Excellent customer service skills are essential to success. Communication must be clear, understandable, professional and respectful in all circumstances.

WORKING CONDITIONS

• Work is performed in an office and medical center/animal shelter environment.
• Travel between the two campuses may be required.
• Working at both campuses may be required.
• Occasional weekend and evening work may be required.
• Animal contact and related injuries may occur.
• Noise exposure varies and sometimes includes uncontrolled barking and other animal vocalizations.
• Pace of work is active and demanding, requiring a high degree of multitasking and ability to adapt to changing priorities while managing concurrent projects/tasks to completion.
• Contact with angry or emotional people may occur.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS

• Occasional lifting and moving of inanimate objects weighing up to 50 lbs.
• Occasional pushing and pulling of carted items weighing up to 100 lbs.
• Occasional moving items above shoulder level.
• Occasional use of hands and arms at or above shoulder level.