Pet Welfare Assistant

Blue Cross; Thirsk; On-site; GBP 18,000 - 22,000; Part time

Job summary

A pet welfare organization located in Thirsk is seeking a Pet Welfare Assistant to ensure the care and rehabilitation of animals in need. The role requires experience with domestic animals, strong communication skills, and a customer-focused mindset. You will play a vital part in preparing pets for adoption and maintaining welfare standards. This part-time position offers various benefits and a commitment to employee wellbeing.

Benefits

38 days holiday, rising to 43

24/7 GP access

Health cash plan

Employee assistance programme

Pension scheme

20% discount on pet insurance

Annual volunteer days

Qualifications

• Experience in animal welfare or similar field.
• Strong customer satisfaction focus.
• Excellent communication abilities.

Responsibilities

• Care and conduct assessments of pets.
• Prepare pets for adoption.
• Monitor compliance with welfare standards.

Skills

Animal handling experience

Customer service skills

Verbal communication skills

Organizational skills

Job description

We're recruiting a Pet Welfare Assistant for onsite animal care, for our Rehoming & Fostering team in Thirsk! At Blue Cross, we're dedicated to providing the best care possible to pets in need. As a Pet Welfare Assistant for our onsite services, you'll play an important role in our mission, ensuring that every pet receives the love, attention, and support they deserve during their stay at our Thirsk rehoming centre.

More about the role: As a skilled animal handler and assessor, you will be responsible for the ‘preparation stage’ with the pets in our care which involves caring, carrying out assessments and rehabilitation plans, preparing them for the ‘adoption stage’ or the best possible outcome for their circumstances with minimal delay. As a Pet Welfare Assistant, you will ensure that the welfare standards are met and that rehabilitation plans are followed and supported for pets in our care.

Working pattern

This is a part‑time role, working 15 hours per week on a rota to include weekends and public holidays.

Week 1: Tuesday, Saturday. Week 2: Sunday, Tuesday. At our Thirsk rehoming centre, we provide onsite accommodation for pets in our care 24/7. Overnight shifts are usually undertaken by team members who live on site. Occasionally, you will be expected to carry out night checks or stay in onsite accommodation overnight when the resident team members are either not working or away for a period of time.

A full driving licence is required for this role, and as part of your role you will be using company vehicles to transport pets. If you excel in an environment where you can see the difference you make every day, then this could be the role for you.

As a skilled animal handler and assessor, you will be intuitive with pets, empathetic and welfare focused having worked in a similar animal‑related environment. You will also be used to assessing the needs of a pet, alert to the behavioural signs and have a basic knowledge of the use of medication e.g., hibiscrub, flea and tick treatments, diabetes management. In addition, you will have a fundamental understanding that the best welfare intervention for a pet is to find a new home and leave on‑site pet accommodation as quickly as possible. You will be self‑motivated, forward‑thinking with a collaborative and creative approach to your work, which will ensure to bring your best pragmatic ideas for the care of the pets to ensure the best outcome is achieved. In addition, you will be able to quickly assimilate information, be competent at accurately recording information while also conducting conversations with clients and stakeholders. You will be an excellent communicator, approachable with strong interpersonal skills. 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

• Experience of having previously worked or volunteered with domestic animals or in an animal welfare environment.
• Previous experience in working in a customer focused environment and used to achieving a high level of customer satisfaction.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Good organisational and administration skills to include computerised systems.
• Current full driving licence.

Optional qualifications

• Qualification or similar experience in animal behaviour or animal training.
• Experience of cash handling.
• Experience of working to strict health and safety procedures.
• Understanding of safeguarding issues.

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

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.

Benefits

• 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