Rehabilitation Training and Behaviour Advisor

Blue Cross; Newport; On-site; GBP 16,000 - 18,000; Part time

Benefits offered by this job

Holiday entitlement

Wellbeing support

GP access

Health cash plan

Employee assistance

Pension scheme

CPD support

Life assurance

Pet insurance discount

Family friendly policies

Volunteer days

Retailer discounts

Job summary

Blue Cross in Newport is seeking a Rehabilitation Trainer & Behaviour Advisor to join our rehoming, advice & behaviour unit. This role applies reward-based training to support pets in our care, on site, in foster, or post adoption.

Under supervision of an Animal Behaviourist, you will run rehabilitation programmes and coach teams, assessing pets for rehoming and planning their journeys. Part-time, 22.5 hours across three days with some weekend work.

Qualifications

• Experience in reward-based training methods.
• Ability to assess pets for rehoming suitability.
• Excellent communication and team coaching skills.
• Full UK driving licence.

Responsibilities

• Implement rehabilitation programmes for pets in care.
• Assess pets for rehoming suitability and plan the journey.
• Coach centre teams on behaviour guidance and techniques.
• Support owners with behaviour issues and training strategies.
• Collaborate with Blue Cross teams across sites.

Skills

Pet behaviour

Dog training

Owner training

UK driving licence

Blue Cross values

Multi-species experience

Public speaking

Education

ABTC ATI qualification

Working towards ATI

Job description

Rehabilitation Training and Behaviour Advisor

Application Deadline: 24 November 2026

Department: Rehoming & Fostering Services

Employment Type: Permanent - Part Time

Location: Newport

Compensation: £15,603 - £18,144 / year

Description

Contract: Permanent, 22.5 hours per week

Salary: £15,603 - £18,144 per annum (£26,006 – 30,240 FTE)

Location: Newport, NP18 2LH

Closing date: Tuesday 24th November 2026

Interview date: 1st interview - 4th December, 2nd interview - 11th December

More about the role

We’re recruiting a Rehabilitation Trainer & Behaviour Advisor to join our behaviour team based at our Newport rehoming, advice & behaviour unit! This is a really exciting opportunity to join Blue Cross’ growing behaviour service.

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. A key aspect of the role involves assessing pets for suitability for rehoming, and then collaborating with the team to determine each pet's rehoming journey. This forms a large part of the role.

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 part time role working 22.5 hours across three days, both weekdays and weekends, with some negotiation on which days you will work. While remote working is not available, 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 and have a desire to improve the experience of the pets in our care.

Knowledge, skills, and experience

• 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 owners
• 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.