Dog Care Program Manager

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

Dog Care Program Manager

APA! BACKGROUND: Austin Pets Alive! (APA!) is one of Austin’s most dynamic and beloved nonprofits. The organization leads the No Kill movement nationally and is considered a national thought leader in animal welfare. APA! locally rescues, treats, and adopts out 10,000 homeless dogs and cats each year, providing the safety net for Austin’s most at‑risk shelter pets, which helps Austin to be a No Kill city, while also assisting other communities in saving homeless animals. The organization is distinguished by its large volunteer workforce and the scrappiness of its grassroots and its non‑traditional, community‑based animal rescue work. The organization continues to innovate best practices to save lives and spreads its impact by offering resources and mentorship related to its renowned lifesaving model through American Pets Alive!, APA!’s national division. In 2020, American Pets Alive! began the Human Animal Support Services (HASS) - an innovative initiative aimed at rethinking the traditional model of animal sheltering. It focuses on supporting both people and pets in the community to reduce the number of animals entering shelters and improve outcomes for both. The project encourages collaboration between animal welfare organizations and community‑based services, with a goal of providing personalized, proactive support that positions animal welfare as a social service.

BRIEF POSITION SUMMARY/OVERVIEW:

This position is essential to the physical and emotional well‑being of all pets at APA!, creating a healthy environment that aligns with APA!'s mission and resources. The Senior ProgramManager leads a team of managers and staff dedicated to providing high‑quality daily care, individualized support, and a Homes First philosophy—ensuring every dog, especially those with the most complex needs or longest stays, receives the highest level of attention and advocacy. This role is committed to excellence, continuous improvement, and upholding a consistently high standard of care, while fostering positive collaboration across all departments, staff, and volunteers to connect quality care with the ultimate goal of finding every pet a loving home.

The Dog Care Program Manager leads and oversees the strategic direction, growth, and daily operations of APA!’s Dog Care. This role ensures alignment with APA!’s broader mission to increase the live release rate across Texas, while building a sustainable, inclusive, and high‑impact model for shelter operations.

The Dog Care Program Manager is responsible for managing daily workflows, supervising staff, and setting clear, mission‑aligned goals. This includes creating structured plans, tracking progress toward outcomes, and ensuring accountability and follow‑through on team priorities. The role uses data to guide decisions and helps keep the team focused on consistent, measurable impact. This is a leadership role rooted in empowerment, facilitation, and values‑driven oversight.

Rather than working independently, the Dog Care Program Manager sets the tone that APA! is a volunteer‑powered organization—every staff member is expected to work collaboratively with volunteers and to help create meaningful opportunities for them to lead and contribute. This includes pairing with volunteers to complete day‑to‑day tasks, modeling strong partnership, and developing a culture of shared effort and team accountability.

This position requires a high level of responsiveness and Manager on Duty (MOD) availability. The work is often fast‑paced and dynamic, with weekend or shift flexibility expected. While APA! strongly encourages work‑life balance, during on‑duty shifts, the Dog Care Program Manager is expected to be highly present, solutions‑oriented, and ready to support the team with real‑time problem‑solving.

Every individual at APA! is responsible for working in collaboration with volunteers; making sure volunteers are recruited, trained and feel impactful through their efforts at APA!. A core part of this role is creating a welcoming and empowering experience for volunteers, including assisting with onboarding, training, and volunteer engagement as part of the day‑to‑day workflow.

WORKING RELATIONSHIPS:

This position reports to the Director of Strategic Customer Service and works collaboratively with Directors, Managers, and Supervisors across departments and functions.

Duties and 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.
• Ensures adequate