Kennel Assistant

Battersea; Old Windsor; On-site; GBP 21,000 - 25,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

28 days annual leave + 8 publichols

Discounted gym membership

Employee Assistance Programme

Pension contributions up to 10%

Healthcare cash plan

Job summary

Battersea supports a Rehoming & Welfare Assistant at our Old Windsor centre, delivering high-standard care, enrichment and daily welfare for dogs. You will help with feeding, hygiene, records and care planning, while supporting veterinary and behavioural needs.

The role requires resilience, adaptability and strong teamwork in a busy shelter environment. We offer a comprehensive benefits package and opportunities for professional development, with a focus on animal welfare and community outcomes.

Qualifications

• Experience caring for animals in work or volunteer capacity.
• Ability to lift and move animals and other heavy objects.
• IT literate with MS Office and other relevant IT systems; logging information in electronic databases.
• Ability to work with minimal supervision while handling a heavy workload.
• Adaptable, flexible and open to change in a busy environment.
• Collaborative work with colleagues from different teams and clear communication.
• Basic literacy, numeracy and IT skills.
• Clear communication tailored to different people if needed.
• Empathetic and resilient when dealing with distressed animals and people.
• Able to manage multiple tasks flexibly.

Responsibilities

• Keep kennels clean to high standards.
• Provide dogs with proper food, water and enrichment.
• Support behavioural and medical needs of dogs.
• Maintain accurate animal records.
• Regularly review procedures to maintain excellent care.

Skills

Animal care

IT literacy

Communication

Empathy

Flexibility

Team collaboration

Basic literacy/numeracy

Physical ability

Multitasking

Record keeping

Tools

MS Office

Job description

*Please note, internally, this role is titled Rehoming & Welfare Assistant*

We are looking for a Rehoming & Welfare Assistant to join our beautiful Battersea centre in Old Windsor, providing the highest standards of animal husbandry, care, and enrichment to the dogs in our care.

If you want to make a difference in the lives of many dogs in need of help, this may be the right job for you.

In this role, you will:

• Ensure our kennels meet high standards of cleanliness
• Provide dogs with the correct food, water, and enrichment
• Support their behavioural and medical needs
• Keep accurate animal records
• Regularly review procedures to maintain excellent care for every dog at Battersea

What we're looking for:

• Experience of looking after animals in a work or volunteer capacity, including physical ability to lift and move animals and other heavy objects
• Experience of keeping up to date with and applying good practice in your role and ability to use electronic databases to log and look up information (including IT literate with good experience of MS Office and other relevant IT systems)
• Experience of delivering high quality work with minimum supervision and having a flexible approach to managing and prioritising a high workload and multiple tasks, as well as experience of positively embracing and adapting to change
• Proven experience of working constructively and collaboratively with colleagues from different teams, including the ability to adapt your communication style for different groups
• Basic literacy, numeracy and IT skills
• Experience of communicating clearly with the ability to adapt your communication style for different people as appropriate
• Ability to show empathy and be resilient when dealing with people and animals in distress
• Demonstrates flexibility and the ability to manage multiple tasks

A plus if you also have:

• Knowledge and experience of working within an animal rescue environment.

What we can offer you:

In return for your commitment to our cause and to recognise the value of our employees, Battersea offers a range of benefits to support the wellbeing of our employees. These include:

• 28 days of annual leave (plus 8 days paid public holidays) per year for full time employees (pro-rated for part-time employees).
• Discounted gym membership and cycle to work schemes.
• Employee Assistance Programme and access to Wellbeing Resources.
• Generous pension contributions - up to 10% employer contribution.
• Free healthcare cash plan, where you can claim for a range of treatment including dental, optical, physiotherapy, chiropody and acupuncture every year.

We are also committed to providing learning and development to our employees. During your time with us, we provide support for your professional and career development, including access to digital and in-person training programmes, leadership and management training, mentoring and much more.

Working with our animals:

Working with our rescues is a very rewarding experience. Your work plays a vital role in giving our dogs and cats a chance at finding their forever home. Everyday will be different and will come with its own unique challenges. We are looking for people with the resilience and adaptability to handle all aspects of this role. It is important to note that the role does involve a lot of physical tasks which are required to provide the exceptional standards of care to our animals.

Diversity and inclusion:

We are committed to providing a welcoming and inclusive experience for all staff, volunteers and trustees and those hoping to join us. We operate an anonymised shortlisting process and actively seek to ensure our process is fair and equitable for all.

We understand the value of diverse voices, perspectives, and experiences to help us deliver even more for our dogs and cats, and we welcome applicants from all sections of the community.

As a Disability Confident Committed Employer we will ask about any adjustments you may need at application and/or interview stage, and if you are offered a role with us, we’ll talk to you about any workplace adjustments you may need to help you perform at your best. If you would like to talk more about this, please contact [e-mail] or call us on 020 3887 8341.

More about us:

At Battersea, we aim to never turn away a dog or cat in need of help. We give each one lots of love, expert care and get to know their characters and quirks so we can find them a new home that’s just right for them. Join us and help us be here for every dog and cat, wherever they are, for as long as they need us.

Acceptable use of AI:

At Battersea, we value expertise. We recognise each candidate that applies to us will have a range of expertise they can offer us, so we want to hear about this in your own words. We understand the support that generative artificial intelligence (AI) software can offer but it can also lead to numerous applications presenting as generic and impersonal. This makes it difficult to gain understanding of your unique experience.

To best showcase yourself, we encourage you to write your responses without the assistance of AI. If you require the use of AI software to aid in completing your application, we ask you use the generative responses as a prompt for writing your answers and avoid copying and pasting. You must also ensure the information presented in your application accurately reflects your experience.

Closing date:

We will close the vacancy once it is filled

Interview date:

Thursday, 2nd December 2026 (In person, at our Old Windsor centre)

Start Date:

Monday, 11th January 2027

Please note, we operate an anonymous shortlisting process, so all personal information that can identify job applicants is completely anonymised to help mitigate against any potential bias. We are therefore unable to accept CVs.

For full details about the role, please download the recruitment pack from our Careers website.