Rehabilitation Trainer & Behaviour Advisor

Blue Cross; Watford; On-site; GBP 26,000 - 30,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

38 days holiday incl. bank holidays

Wellbeing support

GP access 24/7 via MetLife

Health cash plan

Employee assistance programme

Pension scheme

CPD / development support

Life assurance

Pet insurance discount

Family-friendly policies

Volunteer days

Job summary

Blue Cross in Hertfordshire is recruiting a Rehabilitation Trainer & Behaviour Advisor to join our Behaviour team based on site. You will apply reward-based training to rehabilitate pets and support centre staff and pet owners.

The role involves working under an Animal Behaviourist, delivering practical rehabilitation programmes, and coaching teams across Blue Cross. It is a full-time, 35-hour week with some travel and occasional out-of-hours duties.

Qualifications

• Demonstrable experience of pet behaviour and training.
• Experience with dogs across breeds and temperaments.
• Developing training programmes for owners/caregivers.
• Full UK driving licence.
• Ability to demonstrate Blue Cross values.

Responsibilities

• Implement and facilitate rehabilitation programmes practically.
• Advise and coach centre teams on behaviour issues.
• Teach and demonstrate training techniques to owners and staff.
• Collaborate with peers across Blue Cross sites.
• Assist with adoption assessments and owner support when needed.

Skills

Pet behaviour

Training techniques

Communication

Teamwork

Job description

Description

Contract: Permanent, 35 hours per week

Salary: £26,006 - £30,240 per annum

Location: Hertfordshire, SG4 8EU

Closing date: 12/10/26

Interview date: 1st stage - 21st & 22/10/26, 2nd stage - 26th & 27/10/2026.

We’re recruiting a Rehabilitation Trainer & Behaviour Advisor to join our Behaviour team based in Hertfordshire.This is a really exciting opportunity to join the Blue Cross Behaviour Service.

More about the role

We are looking for a talented behaviour advisor who has a thorough understanding of reward-based training techniques, to work with pets in our care (be it on site, in foster, or post adoption). Working under the guidance of an Animal Behaviourist, you will be implementing and facilitating rehabilitation programmes practically, as well as advising and coaching centre teams who work with the pets in our care.

No two days will be the same – you could be working with an owner with a problem they are having with their pet, team training, assessing pets for adoption, supporting a pet on site or collaborating with your peers across Blue Cross. If you are looking for a dynamic role which helps people and pets and is at the forefront of animal welfare, then this is the role for you.

This role is full-time role (35 hours per week), working Monday to Friday. Remote working is not available, and there will be occasions when you'll need to travel to other sites or take on duties outside these hours to meet the needs of the pets and people.

About you

You will be a confident, adaptable and compassionate animal handler and trainer who enjoys working with a diverse range of people and pets. With excellent communication skills and an understanding of animal behaviour, you will be skilled at teaching and demonstrating training techniques and advising our teams and pet owners on behaviour issues. In addition, you will thrive working collaboratively with others, be skilled at asking targeted questions to uncover critical information, and have a desire to improve the experience of the pets in our care.

Knowledge, skills, and experience

Demonstrable experience of:

• Pet behaviour and training techniques, and evidence of success in understanding pet behaviour & training problems
• Carrying out behaviour and training programmes for dogs, across a variety of breeds and temperaments
• Developing training programmes and delivering to owners / caregivers that are practical and realistic for a pet owner
• Full UK driving licence
• The ability to demonstrate, understand and apply our Blue Cross values

It would also be great if you had:

• Animal Behaviour and Training Council (ABTC) standard of Animal Training Instructor (ATI) qualification or working towards
• Experience of working with multi species animals
• Experience of promoting better understanding of pet behaviour through the media, or performing other public speaking

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early should we receive an overwhelming response.

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.

If you’d like to learn more about Blue Cross, our mission, and the work we do to support animals and people, take a look at our About Us page