Pet Welfare Assistant - Onsite Services

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

Benefits offered by this job

38 days holiday rising to 43 with long

Wellbeing programmes

GP access via MetLife

Health cash plan

Pension with employer contribution

Life assurance

Job summary

Blue Cross UK in Hitchin, Hertfordshire is recruiting a Pet Welfare Assistant for our onsite Rehoming & Fostering team. The role is permanent, part-time (30 hours per week) with some weekend coverage as part of a two-week rota.

You will care for dogs, cats and small pets, perform assessments, follow rehabilitation plans, and support adopters and foster carers. Onsite accommodation and shift patterns are described in the job details.

Qualifications

• Experience with domestic animals or in an animal welfare environment.
• Customer-focused background with high customer satisfaction.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Good organisational and administrative skills including computerised systems.
• Current full driving licence.

Responsibilities

• Perform preparation, assessments and rehabilitation plans for pets in care.
• Assist with the adoption process and ensure timely outcomes.
• Meet with owners, collect information, complete paperwork and assess for issues.
• Collaborate with the Adoptions Coordinator to provide guidance and demonstrations.
• Record keeping and monitoring welfare and medical provisions as needed.

Skills

Domestic animals experience

Customer focus

Communication skills

Organisation skills

Driving licence

Tools

Computerised systems

Job description

Location: Hitchin SG4 8EU

Application Deadline: 27 September 2026

Department: Rehoming & Fostering Services

Location: Hertfordshire

Compensation: £19,981 / year

Description

Contract: Permanent, part time, 30 hours per week

Salary: £19,981 per annum (£24,976 FTE)

Location: Hitchin SG4 8EU

Closing date: Sunday 27th September 2026

Interview date: 5th – 7th October 2026

We’re recruiting a Pet Welfare Assistant for onsite animal care, for our Rehoming & Fostering team in Hertfordshire!

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 Hertfordshire rehoming centre.

Our Hertfordshire rehoming centre, based in Kimpton, originally opened in the 1940s and have facilities for dogs, cats and small pets. Our newly refurbished facilities include 20 kennels, five puppy pens and 29 cat pens, which includes a mother and kitten unit. We also have indoor rabbit space and rooms for small pets.

Our dedicated Rehoming & Fostering team, supported by an incredible network of volunteers, helps pets and people across Hertfordshire and beyond. The team plays a vital role in finding loving new homes for pets through both centre-based adoptions and our Home Direct scheme, which allows pets to remain in a home environment while they wait to be adopted. By working closely with adopters, owners and foster carers, the team helps ensure every pet has the best possible chance of finding the right home.

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 independently and with the team you will carry out meetings with owners giving up their pet, ensuring all information is recorded, paperwork completed and that the pet is immediately assessed for behavioural or veterinary problems. Working closely with the Adoptions Coordinator you will provide additional in person or virtual advice and practical demonstrations to ensure adoptees are fully aware of the work that has been done with the pet and how to continue with any other additional behaviour training or medical provision.

This is a part-time role working 30 hours per week, worked across a two-week rota that includes every other weekend and occasional public holiday shifts.

At our Hertfordshire 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.

If you excel in an environment where you can see the difference you make every day, then this is the role for you.

About 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, and 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.

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

• 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.

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.

• 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.