Dog Care Program Manager

Advertising Producers Association; Austin (TX); On-site; USD 65,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

Austin Pets Alive! seeks an experienced Dog Care Program Manager to lead, mentor, and optimize daily care for dogs in a busy shelter environment.

You will supervise staff and volunteers, set mission-aligned goals, and drive Homes First practices while coordinating across departments to improve outcomes and live release rates. The role emphasizes empowerment, collaboration, and high‑quality care, with kitchen, enrichment, medical support, and regular outings for each dog, and weekend/after-hours

Qualifications

• Four+ years of supervisory operations experience.
• Experience in animal sheltering or kennel operations preferred.
• Proven ability to lead complex operations and drive accountability.
• Experience working with volunteers and advocates.
• Strong written and verbal communication, coaching and cross-department collaboration.

Responsibilities

• Foster a volunteer-powered culture and empower volunteers to lead on each shift.
• Coach staff and volunteers, ensuring work is shared and supported.
• Recruit, onboard, and engage volunteers; sustain retention and mentorship.
• Pair volunteers with tasks; provide regular feedback and recognition.
• Use data to identify gaps, improve workflows, and support outcomes.
• Balance staffing, training, and daily assignments across operating hours.

Skills

Supervisory operations

Animal sheltering

Volunteer engagement

Cross-department collaboration

Staff coaching

Data-driven decision making

Communication skills

Job description

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 Program Manager 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 elevate 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 staffing, daily assignments, training, and coverage across operating hours.
• Coaches and supports managers and staff, fostering a collaborative and inclusive environment where everyone is entrusted to deliver the highest standard of care.
• Ensures dogs who need the most care receive it.
• Responds to urgent operational and animal‑welfare concerns and escalates significant risks to the Director of Strategic Customer Service.
• Coordinates staff and volunteer scheduling with managers and volunteer supervisors.
• Performs other related duties as assigned.
• Commitment to Homes First, excellent customer service, volunteer integration, and APA!’s core values, where the most important part of the operations includes helping people find their match.
• Work closely with the Director of Strategic Customer Service to create the conditions where the dog care team is able to support the placement team daily.
• Job duties may include some or all of the above, and other duties as assigned by manager

OTHER FUNCTIONS:

• Act as Manager on Duty at least 2 shifts per week.
• Attend and participate in all required training sessions and meetings
• Uses proper animal handling techniques to ensure everyone’s safety
• Pays close attention to the safety and security of all pets in care.
• Mindful of proper safety and security for the team
• Maintains good observations, medication, and tracking records
• Understands the importance of vaccination requirements.
• Understands and is aware of potential parasites and how to prevent them.
• Strong ability to recognize the symptoms of possible illnesses and diseases, accidents, or injuries.
• Understands when to seek proper veterinary care
• Understands when to seek proper behavior care
• Capable of administering emergency first aid to an injured pet.
• Maintain open and consistent communication with Director or designee and other colleagues
• Able to react to change productively and perform other related duties as assigned
• Must demonstrate dependability, accountability, time management, use of reasoning, and good judgment skills
• Attend and participate in all required training sessions and meetings
• Maintain open and consistent communication with Program Manager or designee, supervisor, and other colleagues
• Partner with Volunteer Managers to learn about the volunteer programs and manage volunteers interested in your department on an ongoing basis
• Able to react to change productively and perform other related duties as assigned
• Able to work evenings, weekends, and holidays as needed
• Able to work in a high‑volume, fast‑paced, high‑stress environment

QUALIFICATIONS, SKILLS, & EXPECTATIONS:

• At least four years of supervisory operations experience, including supervising managers or supervisors or volunteers, preferred.
• Animal sheltering, kennel operations, boarding, veterinary, or dog‑behavior experience strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated ability to lead complex operations, simplify processes, use data, and hold teams accountable.
• Experience working with volunteers and advocates, strongly preferred.
• Strong communication, coaching, decision‑making, and cross‑departmental collaboration skills.
• This role requires a high level of communication and people skills.
• Value our role in ensuring the safety of each other, the animals, and the community.
• Willing and committed to working well with volunteers and staff in all roles
• Committed to embodying APA!’s Core Values: Innovation, Respect, Drive, Resourcefulness, and Inclusion and cultural values: Humble, Hungry, Smart
• Commitment to APA!'s customer experience expectations
• Passion for working well with staff, volunteers, and customers—helping all individuals feel successful, appreciated, and connected to APA!’s mission
• Strong commitment to volunteer engagement and support; dedicated to working well with volunteers across all roles
• Comfortable working cross‑functionally and serving as a liaison between volunteers, customers, and team members
• Effective written and verbal communication skills; able to interpret rules, procedures, and instructional materials
• Self‑starter with strong time management; able to work independently and collaboratively
• Excellent interpersonal skills; maintains a calm and professional presence in all situations
• Strong attention to detail and high standards for quality
• Adaptable to change and able to perform related duties as needed
• Dedicated to delivering an exceptional and inclusive customer experience

PHYSICAL JOB REQUIREMENTS:

• Must be able to work around animals (including diseased, injured, and/or potentially aggressive animals), loud noises, chlorine or other chemicals, and inclement weather
• Must be able to comfortably interact with cats/dogs of various health levels, including pets who may carry zoonotic diseases such as ringworm, scabies, intestinal parasites, etc.
• Must be able to walk big dogs that pull and jump
• Able to be on your feet for multiple hours of the day
• Must be able to visually observe people and animals from up to 150 feet away
• Ability to hear normal speech at close contact and shouting up to 150 feet away with the ability to hear and discern dog vocalizations both soft and loud
• Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk.
• Must be able to focus in a loud and busy environment despite distractions
• Will sit, stand, walk, talk, hear, stoop, bend, stretch, squat, kneel, grasp, grip, put fingers together firmly and reach above and below shoulder level, lift and/or carry up to 30 pounds; flex the neck upward and downward; twist the neck and the waist.
• If reasonable accommodations are requested, reasonable accommodations will be made to enable employees with disabilities to perform the essential functions of their job absent undue hardship to the organization.

WORK ENVIRONMENT:

• Frequent after‑hours or weekend work may be required to support program needs
• Exposure