HSNB Career Opportunities

Job Title: Kennel Manager

Reports To: Executive Director

Department: Kennel Operations
FLSA Classification: Non-Exempt, Salary

Position Summary:
The Kennel Manager oversees the overall health and welfare of the all the animals at the Humane Society of the North Bay. The Kennel Manager owns several core responsibilities including managing inventory/ordering for all critical supplies in Animal Care (e.g. cleaning supplies, cat/dog supplies, etc.), reporting daily animal inventory, dog pairing, and training and directing kennel staff and volunteers. 


Essential Duties:

• Ensure the humane management and treatment of all animals in HSNB’s care.
• Supervision of all kennel staff, ensuring that staff are trained in the Standard Operating Procedures relevant to their duties, and that these are followed.

Team Leadership/Volunteer Management 
Embrace and support the HSNB mission of providing shelter and compassionate care to our community’s animals in need and strengthening the lifelong commitment between animals and people.

Direct and motivate the Animal Care team/volunteers and ensure the Animal Caregivers are following all required protocols/processes, working efficiently & safely, taking required breaks, and working within the budgeted/scheduled hours (minimizing overtime).
Ensure staff and volunteer morale remains high through a positive and inspirational work environment, keeping the staff and volunteers focused on the life-saving goals of HSNB.

Administrative Duties Include:
Help ensure all animals sent to the Adoption Center have complete intake files including all medical paperwork, working with the Consulting Vet to resolve any gaps discovered.

Supervising staff to ensure that all animals receive daily care and cleaning, kennel cards are present and updated, and medical issues are identified and addressed.

Help ensure that all kennel staff have job descriptions, applications and training requirements are up to date and scheduled per policy.

Help ensure that all product/supply deliveries shipping receipts are accurate and submitted to accounting on a daily basis per policy.

Task Scheduling:

• Animal care is always the first priority, All animals on-site receive food, water and have their cages or kennels cleaned a minimum of twice daily, or as often as needed. During the first two hours of the morning and last two hours of the evening these services will be completed.
• Animal Care-Adoptions Assistant Morning Duties and Secondary Duty Task Scheduling
• Verify Daily Medical Care has been signed off by appropriate employees

Adoption Partners:

• Manage adoption partner organizations
• Secondary Point of contact for all adoption partners
• Ensure accurate processing of adoption partner animal transfers

Spay/Neuter Programs Oversite:

• Work with Spay/Neuter partner organizations to ensure scheduling is complete, becoming the point of contact.
• Note on all animal records appropriate information regarding S/N scheduling.

Animal Processes Include:

• Ensure all animals remain in a clean and as comfortable environment as we can provide to include clean, adequate bedding; fresh water; food; and medical care.
• Ensure that staff follows stray animal intake procedures: all stray animals are vaccinated, treated for parasites, accurately described, photographed and posted on Facebook and or social media.
• Ensure consistent administration of the County licensing program
• Authorized to alter fees as determined by the situation
• Ensure all processing is complete and accurate
• Ensures all owner surrenders are up to date on vaccinations, medical records have been received and processed. Authorized to vary the $90 surrender fee as needed and warranted by the situation, especially in return for spay/neuter of the animal.
• Ensure that the shelter information system is up to date at all times, and that all information about an animal is reflected in the system.

Closing Duties

• Ensure that the facility is locked and all animals are secure at the end of each shift.
• First in line to be on call for Morgan Alarm for the shelter 24/7.

Job Task Descriptions: Animal Care, Cleaning Protocols & Safety 

Ensure the health and welfare of all animals and ensure they are getting proper care as needed (food, water, shelter, meds, behavior stimulation, etc.)

Learn all cleaning/disinfecting protocols and ensure they are followed consistently, including all rooms in animal care corridor, animal suites, playroom, as well as some deep-cleaning and general cleaning tasks.
Ensure medical protocols are followed consistently.

Ensure all animals are closely observed and monitored to assess/report any signs of sickness or abnormalities in behavior. Ensure any concerns are communicated to all the required teams of people, e.g. Management, Consulting Vet, Animal Control Officers, observation sheets.

Coordinate transport of animals to the Adoption Floor based on capacity and expected adoptions flow, and manage the housing of animals from the Adoption Center of animals back to the kennels and or vet if any become sick, stressed out, show aggressive behavior, etc.

Drive a “no bite” and safe environment, reducing safety risks in any ways possible

Serve as “back-up” Animal Caregiver, should there be a gap/no show in the Caregiver schedule

Create behavior plans for identified dogs and manage an “activity board” to communicate to Caregivers and senior volunteers the requested activities for specific dogs

Monitor Animal Care area for any needed repairs (e.g. faulty equipment, light bulbs out, damage to doors/walls, etc.) and report needs to Facilities Committee to coordinate quick resolutionAnimal Inventory & Behavior 

Work with Adoption Center staff to determine best placement of all animals (includes pairing of animals), as well as extra signage/comments communicating limitations.

Ensure daily animal inventory and capacity report are completed and distributed to key players involved in managing animal population.

Supply Inventory 

Ensure all critical supplies are in stock at all times – never let critical items run out

Manage ongoing system for ordering all food needed for animals, ensuring budgets and vendor partnership with Nature’s Best are fully leveraged

Manage ongoing system for ordering all cleaning supplies needed to clean animal suites and common animal areas, ensuring budgets and vendor partnerships (e.g. purchased and donated supplies) leveraged

Manage ongoing system for ordering all other Animal Care supplies (e.g. leashes/collars, scrubs, etc.)

Ensure a clean, sanitized and organized Animal Care area is always maintained (desks, medical, laundry, housekeeping closets, hallways, playroom, suites) leveraging space effectively.

Requirements 

• Good written and oral communication skills.
• Ability to operate standard office equipment and computer systems.
• Ability to lift up to 50 pounds alone.
• Ability to stand, bend, move, and twist often and for short to long periods of time.
• Understand and possess general animal handling skills for dogs and cats.
• Ability to understand basic animal behavior
• Excellent customer service skills in dealing with all internal and external customers.
• Recognize and understand de-escalation techniques to help ensure a calmer and more appropriate experience in the shelter.
• Ability to listen intently and make decisions based on fact.
• Ability to deal with high-stress environments calmly and professionally.

Shelter Work Environment:

• Appropriate clothing must be worn at all times. Protective gear shall be worn when necessary.
• Train all staff on all equipment & products used at the Shelter. Material Safety Data Sheets will be acquired for these products and will be available for all Staff before they are used. Records of training will be recorded, filed and maintained and will be available for OSHA reviews.

Physical demands include:

• Lifting and moving animals and cages up to 50 lbs.
• Frequent movement, including but not limited to standing, walking, stooping, carrying heavy loads, movement of cages, restraining active animals, and operation of motor vehicle.

Working conditions include:

• Possible exposure to dangerous, diseased, frightened, and injured animals
• Must be comfortable handling dogs and cats of any and all ages in a stressful environment
• Understanding and enforcing contractual agreements, i.e., we maintain a shelter for the Solano County Animal Control
• Department, and due to limited space, not all animals brought in to ACD are able to be taken into our care. Excess animals are required by our contract with the City of Vallejo to be sent to County after their stray hold expires.
• Contact with animals may result in injuries such as, but not limited to, scratches and bites
• Physical restraint may be required to safely control an animal, which may include leashes, bite poles, towel wraps and other humane restraint processes
• Possible exposure to potentially harmful chemicals and prescribed veterinary drugs
• Working with strong cleaning agents on wet surfaces
• Frequent exposure to household and industrial cleaning supplies, which may include but not limited to, bleach, soaps, and standard cleaning agents in shelter environments
• Indoor and outdoor work in all weather conditions
• Exposure to animal feces, urine, vomit and possibly blood
• Excessive, uncontrolled noise associated with stressed or reactive dogs and cats
• Exposure to various smells due to the day-to-day activity at the shelter and may include odors from feces, urine, medications and cleaning chemicals
• Emotional demands include: witnessing the results of animal abuse and neglect, and determining the need to send animals to a licensed veterinarian for euthanasia (although every effort is made to adopt out all of the animals we take into our care, some animals may be humanely euthanized for terminal disease, quality of life, or behavior that is unsuitable and dangerous for adoption into the community).