Foster Coordinator

Blue Cross For Pets; England; On-site; GBP 23,000 - 28,000; Full time

Job summary

An animal welfare organization in Hertfordshire is seeking a passionate Foster Coordinator to recruit and support volunteer fosterers for pets in need. You will manage relationships with volunteers, ensuring they provide nurturing environments for animals awaiting forever homes. Ideal candidates will have experience in volunteer management and a background in animal welfare. The role offers 17.5 hours a week with a competitive salary and comprehensive benefits.

Benefits

38 days holiday rising to 43 with service

Health cash plan

Pension scheme with enhanced employer contribution

Professional fees paid with Continuing Professional Development

Qualifications

• Experience of supervision or management of volunteers.
• Experience of having worked in an animal welfare environment.
• Good experience of running and marketing recruitment campaigns for volunteer roles.

Responsibilities

• Recruiting and guiding a diverse team of volunteer fosterers.
• Collaborating closely with the Adoptions Coordinator.
• Promoting the advantages of fostering within local communities.

Skills

Supervision or management of volunteers

Experience in animal welfare

Running and marketing recruitment campaigns

Working with local communities

Interviewing and recruitment skills

Ability to work independently

Organisational and administration skills

Job description

Foster Coordinator

Application Deadline: 30 November 2025

Department: Rehoming & Fostering Services

Employment Type: Permanent

Location: Hertfordshire

Reporting To: Offsite Assistant manager

Compensation: £23,993 - £27,715 / year

Description

Contract: Permanent, 17.5 hours per week

Salary: £11,196 - £12,993 (£23,993 - £27,715 FTE)

Location: Hitchin, SG4 8EU

Closing date: Wednesday 3rd December 2025

Interview date: W/C 8th December 2025

We’re recruiting a pet Foster Coordinator for our Rehoming & Fostering team at our Hertfordshire rehoming centre!

Our Foster Coordinators recruit and support our amazing volunteer fosterers in the local area who care for the animals in our care, within their homes, whilst our teams find them their forever homes.

More about the role

Our pet fostering service plays a crucial role in our rehoming process, aligning with our strategy to expand services and assist more pets. As a Foster Coordinator, your key responsibilities involve recruiting and guiding a diverse team of volunteer fosterers. Collaborating closely with the Adoptions Coordinator, you will stay informed about the current capacity and skills of fosterers, as well as available homes.

Additionally, your role extends to establishing connections with local communities and partners, actively promoting the advantages of fostering to gather more targeted support. While maintaining a robust rehoming service is a priority, we equally value the fostering experience. Your focus will be on ensuring excellent interactions with our fosterers, offering support as they provide a safe and nurturing environment for pets awaiting their permanent homes and during times of crisis care.

This is a part-time role, working 17.5 hours per week on a 3 week rota:

• Week 1 – Thursday, Friday
• Week 2 – Wednesday, Thursday, Friday
• Week 3 – Wednesday, Friday

If you excel in an environment where you can see the difference you make every day, then this is the role for you. Interested? Then apply and let’s work together to see if this is the role for you.

About you

You will be an excellent communicator, approachable with strong interpersonal skills and be able to communicate with people on all levels. You will have managed a team of remote volunteers previously and understand the special nature of this relationship, being able to offer guidance and advice on all areas of the volunteering relationship.

With the ability to work collaboratively and effectively with people at all levels, you will have a passion for ensuring that volunteers have the right opportunities to thrive in their roles.

Building a solid and reliable bank of fosterers is absolutely key to this role so you will have experience in marketing volunteer opportunities, delivering local recruitment campaigns and supporting the fosterers to ensure we maintain good numbers of this valuable resource and that we retain people. To do this you will be self-motivated, a forward thinker with a collaborative and creative approach to your work, which will ensure to bring your best pragmatic ideas for the care of the pets and management of our fosterers to ensure the best outcome is achieved.

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

• Demonstrable experience of supervision or management of volunteers.
• Experience of having worked in an animal welfare environment.
• Good experience of running and marketing recruitment campaigns for volunteer roles.
• Experience of working with local communities and promoting volunteer opportunities
• Good interviewing and recruitment skills
• Experience of working to a high level with minimal supervision.
• Able to prioritise and manage a busy work schedule dealing with complex issues whilst ensuring timely delivery or resolution of issues.
• Good experience of actively managing a bank of clients, volunteers or stakeholders.
• Previous experience in working in a client focused environment where delivering a high level of customer satisfaction is the norm.
• Championing change initiatives, influencing and leading colleagues to embrace the changes.
• Excellent written and verbal communication and numerical skills.
• Strong organisational, administration and analytical skills, including use of computerised systems.
• Current full driving licence
• The ability to demonstrate, understand and apply our Blue Cross values.

It would be great (but not essential) if you also had:

• Working knowledge of the behaviour of animals and the challenges they face in a rescue environment, as well as relevant legislation.
• Proven experience of working constructively and collaboratively with colleagues from different teams.
• Interpersonal and consultative skills, including the ability to communicate, present, negotiate, influence, and build credibility with colleagues and external parties.
• Understanding of safeguarding issues.

Want to know more detail? Great! We have attached the job description which hopefully gives you everything you need.

How to apply

Click the apply button below and complete the online application process before the closing date on Wednesday 3rd December 2025.

Blue Cross benefits

Our people are the most important part of delivering our purpose. If it were not for their amazing efforts and commitment, we would not be able to make the difference that we do today.

In return, Blue Cross wants to ensure we provide you with the best working environment we can. We want you to be happy working for us and will do everything we can to make sure you are.

Our generous benefits package includes:

• Full time equivalent of 38 days holiday rising to 43 with service (including Bank Holidays)
• Programmes for physical and mental wellbeing support
• Free access to GP via MetLife- 24/7 GP services, private prescriptions and more for you and your family
• Health cash plan
• Unlimited access to an employee assistance programme
• Pension scheme with enhanced employer contribution
• Professional fees paid with Continuing Professional Development and personal development support.
• Life assurance
• 20% discount on Pet Plan pet insurance
• Enhanced family friendly policies
• Recognition scheme
• Annual volunteer days
• Charity worker discounts across a variety of retailers

To read more about the benefits Blue Cross has to offer, please visit the 'why work for us' page on our website.