Medical Director

New Frontier Animal Medical Center; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Anti-Cruelty is seeking a Medical Director to provide strategic and medical leadership for all veterinary programs, ensuring exceptional medical care for shelter animals and advancing shelter medicine practices. This leader will develop a medical program that supports welfare outcomes through timely, evidence-based care and reduced length of stay.

The role partners with Operations to remove barriers to adoption, expand access to care, and grow the HQHVSN program into a regional leader while

Qualifications

• Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) or Veterinary Medical Doctor (VMD) from AVMA-accredited college.
• Current Illinois veterinary license, or ability to obtain prior to employment.
• DEA license, or ability to obtain.

Responsibilities

• Promote and model the PETS Work Culture Agreement: Praise, Engagement, Trust, and Support.
• Develop and lead the medical strategy for all shelter animals.
• Champion progressive shelter medicine practices that improve welfare while reducing unnecessary length of stay.
• Partner with Operations leadership to identify and remove medical barriers to adoption, foster, transfer, or reunification pathways.
• Lead development of medical protocols that balance individual patient care with population health.
• Oversee infectious disease prevention, outbreak response, biosecurity, and population medicine initiatives.
• Ensure medical practices align with current ASV Guidelines.
• Recruit, mentor, coach, and develop staff veterinarians; lead medical rounds and continuing education.

Skills

Shelter medicine leadership

Population health

Leadership

Data-informed decision making

Coaching & mentoring

Education

DVM or VMD from AVMA-accredited college

Illinois veterinary license, or ability to obtain prior to employment

DEA license, or ability to obtain

Job description

POSITION SUMMARY
The Medical Director provides strategic and medical leadership for all veterinary programs at Anti-Cruelty, ensuring exceptional medical care for shelter animals while advancing innovative, progressive shelter medicine practices.

This leader is responsible for developing a medical program that supports outstanding animal welfare outcomes through timely, evidence-based care, reduced length of stay, and increased live release. The Medical Director partners closely with Operations leadership to remove medical barriers to adoption, expand access to care, strengthen community impact, and continue building Anti-Cruelty's High-Quality High-Volume Spay/Neuter (HQHVSN) program into a regional leader.

The Medical Director fosters a culture of collaboration, continuous improvement, and compassionate leadership while ensuring compliance with Association of Shelter Veterinarians (ASV) Guidelines, applicable veterinary regulations, and organizational standards.

Success in this role is measured not only by excellent medical care, but by how effectively medical strategy helps more animals reach positive outcomes sooner.

ESSENTIAL RESPONSIBILITIES

Shelter Medicine Leadership

• Promote and model the PETS Work Culture Agreement: Praise, Engagement, Trust, and Support.
• Develop and lead the medical strategy for all shelter animals.
• Champion progressive shelter medicine practices that improve welfare while reducing unnecessary length of stay.
• Partner with Operations leadership to identify and remove medical barriers preventing animals from moving efficiently through adoption, foster, transfer, or reunification pathways.
• Lead development of medical protocols that balance individual patient care with population health.
• Oversee infectious disease prevention, outbreak response, biosecurity, and population medicine initiatives.
• Ensure medical practices align with current ASV Guidelines.

Length of Stay & Population Health

• Partner with Operations leadership to achieve organizational Length of Stay goals.
• Analyze medical trends contributing to prolonged stays and implement evidence-based solutions.
• Develop treatment pathways that maximize quality of life while minimizing unnecessary shelter time.
• Use data to evaluate medical outcomes, treatment effectiveness, euthanasia decision-making, and operational efficiency.
• Participate in multidisciplinary pathway planning and long-stay case reviews.

High-Quality High-Volume Spay/Neuter Leadership

• Provide strategic leadership for the HQHVSN program.
• Expand surgical capacity while maintaining exceptional quality and patient safety.
• Standardize surgical protocols that improve efficiency, consistency, and outcomes.
• Mentor veterinarians in high-quality, high-volume surgical techniques.
• Evaluate innovations that increase access to care and community impact.

Veterinary Leadership

• Recruit, mentor, coach, and develop staff veterinarians.
• Lead regular medical rounds and continuing education.
• Complete performance evaluations and support professional growth.
• Foster a collaborative culture grounded in evidence-based medicine.

Operational Partnership

• Serve as a member of the organizational leadership team.
• Partner with Operations, Shelter, Clinic, Admissions, Foster, Behavior, and Facilities leaders to align medical strategy with organizational priorities.
• Support strategic planning, budgeting, quality improvement, and continuous process improvement initiatives.

Clinical Responsibilities

• Perform duties of a staff veterinarian as needed.
• Provide medical and surgical care for shelter animals and community-owned pets.
• Support community medical programs and emergency response efforts.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS & ABILITIES

Demonstrated expertise in shelter medicine, population health, high-quality high-volume spay/neuter, progressive animal welfare practices, veterinary leadership, coaching, data-informed decision making, and collaborative problem solving.

EDUCATION & LICENSURE

Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) or Veterinary Medical Doctor (VMD) from an AVMA-accredited college of veterinary medicine. Current Illinois veterinary license, or ability to obtain prior to employment. DEA license, or ability to obtain.

PREFERRED EXPERIENCE

• Five or more years of veterinary practice, preferably including shelter medicine.
• Leadership experience supervising veterinarians and veterinary teams.
• Experience with HQHVSN programs and population medicine.
• Experience leading organizational change, quality improvement, or operational innovation.
• Familiarity with shelter management software and veterinary electronic medical records.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS

• Ability to safely handle companion animals.
• Ability to stand for extended periods.
• Ability to lift up to 35 pounds.
• Ability to work in an open-office environment.
• Due to nature of shelter work, may be exposed to deceased, fractious, or aggressive animals; hostile or irate persons; zoonotic or other diseases; unpleasant noises, odors, or sights; and extreme temperatures.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS

Available to work an extended schedule, including weekends, early mornings, evenings and holidays according to demands of the role and tasks.

The job description is a guide to the essential functions of the job, not an all-inclusive list of responsibilities, qualifications, physical demands, and work environment conditions. Job descriptions are reviewed and revised to meet the changing needs of the organization at the sole discretion of management.

Anti-Cruelty is an equal opportunity employer