Junior Kennel & Cattery Assistant, Four Paws Country Pet Hotel

Island FM; St Saviour; On-site; GBP 18,000 - 24,000; Full time

Job summary

Island FM in Guernsey is seeking a Junior Kennel & Cattery Assistant to help care for dogs, cats and small animals across our boarding services.

You will feed, water, medicate, exercise animals, maintain clean pens, assist with bookings and handle customers with care. The role requires reliability, teamwork, physical fitness and a willingness to work weekends on a rota.

Qualifications

• Experience with dogs and cats preferred.
• Ability to multitask and manage time effectively.
• Good communication with customers and team.

Responsibilities

• General welfare of all animals, including feeding and playtime.
• Animal handling with confidence and safety.
• Supervision of playtimes and monitoring animal behavior.
• Washing and maintaining kennels and cattery areas.
• Reception duties: greeting customers, bookings and data entry.

Skills

Animal handling

Time management

Team player

Communication

Driving licence

Job description

Island FM Job Path: Junior Kennel & Cattery assistant

Job Title: Junior Kennel & Cattery assistant

Job Location: St Saviour's, Guernsey

Main Purposes of Job:

Here at Four Paws , we run lots of different services such as dog boarding, cat boarding, small animal boarding, doggy daycare, horse rug washing and grooming and it would be your duty to oversee all these services.

A Kennel and Cattery assistant job is varied. You are required to feed, water, medicate, and provide exercise to various types of animals. The animals’ welfare and happiness must be met and you must maintain the cleanliness of their living space at all times.

We are Guernsey’s biggest and busiest boarding facility with 48 kennels, 21 cat pens and six small animal hutches.

It is crucial to be organised, have excellent time management skills and listen attentively to customers to be able to understand the animals’ individual needs and requirements when it comes to their welfare and any medical needs that they may have. Safety and confidentiality is paramount to the business, and everyone has to ensure all policies and procedures are met for the safety of the staff, customers and all the animals.

If you are physically fit, confident in handling animals, and can work well in a team and on your own, this job could be right for you.

Your duties as a Kennel and Cattery assistant include but are not limited to:

• General welfare of all animals, (cats, dogs, small animals etc) feeding, playtime
• Animal handling – confidence while physically handling animals is critical
• Supervising playtimes and being able to read dogs body language
• Monitor animal behaviour for any changes
• Washing and preparing horse rugs/animal bedding
• Updating our social media platforms
• The reception: i.e. greeting customers, taking bookings, payments, and data entry into the Petlinx system.
• Preparing food and feeding the animals
• Maintaining the pens, runs and grounds
• Cleaning and sanitation - disinfecting of all kennel/cattery blocks, corridors and play areas to a very high standard

Being a kennel & cattery assistant is a physically demanding job. You must be able to bend and stretch constantly throughout the day. This job is a lot more than just playing with puppies!

Working with animals can be challenging, stressful at times and unpredictable but it is a very rewarding job.

What we require from you:

• Honest and reliable
• Be available to work every other Saturday including i.e. Bank Holidays, Easter, Christmas day, Boxing Day, New Year's Day (On-shift rota)
• Availability throughout the school holidays/weekend periods (Holidays must be taken off outside of these busy times e.g school holidays, bank holidays)
• Be able to work well under pressure, quickly and efficiently
• Work as a team, and work on your own
• Have great time management and know-how to prioritise your workload
• Be physically fit - upwards of 20,000 steps a day and be able to lift heavy items i.e. 15kg/20kg food bags
• Have a passion for all animals
• Have excellent communication and people skills
• Experience and confidence with dogs and cats
• A can-do, self-motivated attitude
• Full Driving licence or motorbike to get to St Saviours (Buses do not running very well up here in St Saviour) as some days can start early or overrun in busy periods.
• Previous animal care experience of dogs and cats
• Be over 17 - due to working on your own sometimes with tasks
• Be a team player

The hours are varied Monday to Friday and some Saturday on a rota

We have two rotas - hours can vary between on two rotas (37.5 hours a week): 6.30am to 2pm or 12pm to 7.30pm (more in peak seasons - such as school holidays/ bank holidays)

Salary based on experience.

The start date is to be confirmed with the candidate.

Full training will be given

Please note you must have a local Guernsey housing licence to apply