Dog Care Program Lead — Volunteer-Powered Shelter Impact

RiseMe; Austin (TX); On-site; USD 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Austin Pets Alive! seeks a Dog Care Program Manager to lead the daily care of all dogs, promoting a Homes First philosophy and partnering with volunteers to maximize compassionate outcomes.

You will set priorities, supervise staff, design workflows, track progress, and use data to continually improve care quality while maintaining a welcoming, home-like environment. This role requires strong people skills, resilience, and the ability to collaborate across departments to ensure every dog receives

Qualifications

• Experience leading staff and volunteers in a nonprofit setting.
• Strong organizational and communication skills.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and data-driven improvements.

Responsibilities

• Foster and model a volunteer-powered culture across the team by ensuring that every staff member is partnered with volunteers on every shift, with the goal of empowering volunteers to lead and grow within the program.
• Serve as a facilitator and coach to staff and volunteers, ensuring the work is shared, not siloed, and that volunteers are supported in completing daily tasks.
• Ensure active recruitment, onboarding, and engagement of volunteers using volunteer engagement tools and resources
• Support retention by matching volunteers to appropriate tasks, offering guidance, and providing regular check-ins and staff mentorship.
• Identify strong volunteers for deeper roles and seek out customer to volunteer conversion opportunities.
• Recognize volunteer contributions through consistent appreciation and shoutouts.
• Provide clear expectations, hands-on training, and in-the-moment coaching to set volunteers up for success.
• Inspires and guides Dog Care managers, staff, and volunteers to deliver compassionate, attentive, and personalized care that prioritizes each dog’s well-being and positive outcomes.
• Manages staff and volunteer expectations to maintain a home-first value system based on the belief that a shelter does not replace a home.
• Ensures every dog has a clean, comfortable environment, appropriate nutrition, medical and behavioral support, enrichment, and at least two documented outings each day.
• Conducts daily rounds to review each dog’s well-being, care needs, placement barriers, and progress toward an outcome.
• Ensures staff and volunteers document accurate daily observations and promptly escalation medical, behavioral, safety, or care concerns.
• Designs and implements sustainable workflows, SOPs, checklists, and communication systems to improve efficiency, accountability, and consistency. Collaborates across divisions, especially with the behavior and placement teams, to ensure workflows support all departments.
• Implements a volunteer-centric care model to ensure volunteers complete 50% of daily duties.
• Completes and supports Apatec training, and implements a program to train and track staff proficiency.
• Partners with Customer Service, Behavior, Veterinary, Foster, and Adoption teams to remove placement barriers and prevent dogs from becoming stuck in the shelter.
• Uses care and outcome data to identify gaps, improve operations, and ensure timely follow-through.
• Balances staff and volunteer responsibilities to meet care standards within the approved budget.
• Manages department spending and supplies, maintaining efficient operations while meeting daily program needs.

Job description

Austin Pets Alive! seeks a Dog Care Program Manager to lead the daily care of all dogs, promoting a Homes First philosophy and partnering with volunteers to maximize compassionate outcomes.

You will set priorities, supervise staff, design workflows, track progress, and use data to continually improve care quality while maintaining a welcoming, home-like environment. This role requires strong people skills, resilience, and the ability to collaborate across departments to ensure every dog receives