Medical Director, Queens Veterinary Services

Animal Care Center of NYC; New York (NY); On-site; USD 155,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

PTO program

Paid CE time

Health insurance

401K and Pension

Life Insurance

Job summary

Animal Care Centers of NYC is seeking a Medical Director for Queens Veterinary Services to lead the shelter's veterinary program, ensure humane, evidence-based care, and support population health in a large open-admission facility.

With a team of five veterinarians, this role requires strong clinical judgment and leadership. The ideal candidate will guide protocols, mentor staff, and collaborate across departments to advance animal welfare in NYC.

Qualifications

• Licensed DVM with NY credentials or license eligible.
• Experience leading high‑performing veterinary teams.
• Experience in shelter medicine is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Provide medical leadership for the shelter veterinary program.
• Oversee delivery of clinical services and population health management.
• Supervise shelter veterinarians, including scheduling and performance feedback.
• Collaborate with shelter leadership and external veterinary partners.
• Promote adherence to medical standards and protocols.

Skills

Team leadership

Clinical leadership

People management

Education

DVM license (NY)

Job description

Medical Director, Queens Veterinary Services

Full Time Medical Queens, Queens, NY, US

3 days ago Requisition ID: 2861

Salary Range: $155,000.00 To $160,000.00 Annually

Medical Director, Queens Veterinary Services

Schedule

This is a full time position, working 40 hours a week.

Who We Are

ACC is one of the nation’s largest open-admission animal shelters, whose mission is to End Animal Homelessness in NYC. We touch the lives of nearly 20,000 animals each year. ACC is more than an animal shelter; we are a resource to the community, always seeking ways to keep the human-animal bond intact. With a 90% placement rate, our progressive, life‑saving initiatives contribute to the successful placement of our animals.

We strive to find loving homes for homeless and abandoned cats, dogs, guinea pigs and rabbits, both by adopting animals directly to the public and by partnering with more than 200 dedicated animal placement organizations (our New Hope partners). We also help keep NYC communities safe and rescue animals in need, responding to emergencies that involve animals as well as keeping our doors open 24/7 for people and animals in need.

Summary

Animal Care Centers of NYC is the only open‑admission shelter in the city with an annual intake of 25,000 animals of all species. Currently we operate 3, brick and mortar shelters in Manhattan, Staten Island and Queens. In spring of 2027, ACC will open a state‑of‑the‑art, 50,000 sq. ft shelter in Bronx, and our Brooklyn rebuild is slated to open in Fall of 2027. We are growing and need forward thinking talent that can help guide strategic initiatives and impart vision and wisdom to sculpt the future of sheltering in NYC.

The Medical Director provides medical leadership and oversight for the shelter’s veterinary program, ensuring that all animals receive timely, humane, evidence‑based medical care while supporting the department’s mission to protect animal health and welfare. With guidance from the Director of Shelter Medicine, the Medical Director will implement and uphold medical standards, protocols, and systems that promote high‑quality individual patient care and effective population health management within an open‑admission shelter environment.

Working collaboratively with shelter leadership, veterinary staff, animal care personnel, behavior and placement teams, animal rescue, foster programs, and external veterinary partners, the Medical Director oversees the delivery of veterinary services and serves as the shelter’s primary medical resource for complex clinical and population‑health decisions.

Leading with heart and empathy your approach must be one of collaboration and team building. We foster and nurture and create a safe space for people to speak, learn, make mistakes, and grow. At ACC we treat our colleagues with the same compassion as we do our animals. Therefore, a successful candidate inspires the team to want to come to work every day and shows them how they make a difference in the lives of every animal that enters through our doors. With a team of 5 veterinarians, you endeavor, through your actions, to motivate, collaborate, initiate, stimulate, communicate, appreciate, and sometimes commiserate with your team and colleagues.

The position requires strong clinical judgment, leadership skills, knowledge of shelter medicine, and the ability to balance individual animal needs with the health and welfare of the overall shelter population.

Required Qualifications:

• NYS Licensed DVM, or license eligible with 5 years of shelter medicine practice.
• Demonstrated competency in managing high performing veterinary teams.
• Must be able to lift at least 50 lbs.

ACC values work/life balance and offers a generous paid‑time‑off (PTO) package that includes vacation time, birthdays off, 40 hours of paid CE time with a small stipend, personal days and sick pay. We also value physical and mental health by offering a great open access Cigna medical, dental and vision insurance at a low premium to our employees as well as 401K and Pension, Life Insurance. We also have on‑the‑job training for 2-4 weeks, periodic all staff training to include safety, DEI, cross training, and other growth opportunities.

Because ACC is a nonprofit, employees may be eligible for loan forgiveness, cancellation, and/or consolidation under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program (PSLF). Created under the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007, PSLF allows borrowers who work full time for nonprofits and government agencies to have their outstanding debt forgiven tax‑free on Federal Direct Loans, after making 120 qualifying monthly payments under a qualifying repayment plan.

• Direct supervision of shelter veterinarians, to include scheduling, payroll, feedback and corrective actions.
• Provide clinical leadership, mentoring, and ongoing professional development to team veterinarians.
• Participate in recruitment and onboarding.
• Provide guidance and escalation support for complex medical, surgical, behavioral, and quality‑of‑life cases.
• Promote consistency in clinical decision‑making and adherence to ACC medical standards and protocols.
• Monitor medical conditions, infectious disease, population health and emerging health concerns.

Other Responsibilities:

• Lead shelter response to infectious disease outbreaks.
• Ensure efficient and proficient surgical processes.
• Provide guidance in end of life, quality of life decision making.
• Participate and/or lead shelter medical rounds.
• Collaborate with other departments and cultivate positive working relationships.
• Clinical work required.
• Fear Free certification within 30 days of hire.
• Complete other duties as assigned by supervisor.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Advanced surgical skills a plus.

At ACC it's all hands‑on deck. We work together as a team, which means you may be asked to help with tasks that involve working outside in all sorts of weather. As a busy animal shelter in one of the biggest cities in the world it can get noisy inside. Employees should have the ability to remain calm yet professional in stressful situations involving animals and/or members of the public. Animal Care Centers houses hundreds of animals in its facilities at any given time and with that comes fur, odors and other airborne particles in abundance.

ACC offers many low‑cost services to pets and people in need. This includes compassionate end‑of‑life services for people who cannot afford to go to a private veterinary office but still want to provide a professional and peaceful transition for their beloved pet.

Reports To:

Sr.VP Animal Health & Welfare

Overtime:

This position is exempt from overtime.