Director of Adoptions Programs

Arizona Animal Welfare League

Job Description

General Statement of Duties

The Director of Adoptions Programs provides strategic leadership and operational oversight for all adoption functions across the organization, including Chandler, the main shelter, and partner locations. This role ensures a seamless, humane, and accessible adoption experience for both animals and adopters, with a strong emphasis on cross-departmental collaboration, communication, and exceptional customer service. This role is responsible for owning and advancing the vision, strategy, and performance of the adoption program, ensuring alignment with organizational goals and evolving community needs.
The Director is responsible for fostering a culture of collaboration, equity, and compassionate customer service while ensuring alignment with organizational mission, values, and goals. This position oversees budgeting, staffing, program development, and performance outcomes, and plays a key role in advancing innovative, inclusive adoption strategies.
The Director of Adoptions programs operationalizes AAWL’s core values (collaboration, integrity, empathy, and innovation) and advances a positive, inclusive workplace culture by incorporating diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) principles into all aspects of our community-facing work. This role ensures adoption practices reflect a community centered approach, prioritizing access, reducing barriers, and supporting positive outcomes for both pets and people.
This position applies a strategic, systems-level lens to program design and implementation, ensuring adoption initiatives are innovative, data informed and continuously improved based on outcomes and community needs.
The Director of Adoptions Programs reports to the VP of Operations and is a key member of AAWL’s Operations Team, leading the strategy and execution of all adoption initiatives to ensure pets are successfully matched with adopters and supported through placement and post-adoption services. This role owns and continuously improves the end to end adopter journey, from first point of contact through post adoption support.

Supervision Received: This position reports directly to the Vice President of Operations.
Supervision Exercised: This position supervises Chandler Manager, Main Shelter Adoptions Manager, and provides oversight for all partner Adoption locations. Front desk staff are part of the Adoptions department. While this role does not directly supervise Front Desk Staff, it provides functional oversight and ensures alignment in workflows, communication, and customer experience across all client facing touch points.

SPECIFIC RESPONSIBILITIES
· Apply a strategic, data-informed lens to all program design, ensuring alignment with organizational priorities, improve outcomes, identify opportunities for growth and innovation, long-term sustainability, and AAWL’s strategic plan.
· Leads and continuously improves Adoption programs, evaluates and removes barriers to adoption and promotes an inclusive, relationship-based approach with clients.
· Develops and implements strategies that reduce length of stay and enhance adopter experience.
· Strengthens community trust through communication, equitable policies, and positive public engagement.
· Directs a high-quality customer service model that prioritizes relationship-building over transactional interactions.
· Ensures alignment of customer experience standards across Adoptoins and Front Desk teams to support a cohesive and welcoming environment.
· Collaborates withFront Desk leadership to identify and address gaps in the client experience, improving flow, communication, and overall service deliver.
· Serves as a visible leader and ambassador to the public, promoting organizational values and community relationships.
· Oversees resolution of client concerns with professionalism, empathy, and accountability.
· Increases the visibility of adoptable pets through community outreach, events, off-site adoptions, marketing collaboration, and strategic partnerships.
· Oversees business functions including cash handling, data entry, off-site adoptions, and daily transactions.
· Participates in the development of annual budgets and ensures approved budget is met.
· Ensures department tracking and statistics are maintained.
· Uses metrics and reporting to evaluate program effectiveness and drive continuous improvement.
· Partners with the development department to develop new grant proposals that support programmatic needs, track grant expenses and deliverables, and participate in the reports to grantors.
· Hires, mentors, leads, and supports the Adoption teams, including goal setting, performance evaluation, training, and development.
· Work collaboratively with teams to identify organizational gaps that volunteers can fill and help develop new volunteer programs that integrate volunteers into all aspects of operations.
· Motivates and encourages employees and volunteers by fostering a growth-oriented, positive, and collaborative culture
· Collaborates with executive leadership to align adoption strategies with organizational goals and long-term sustainability
QUALIFICATIONS:
· Demonstrated interest in animal welfare issues and commitment to AAWL’s mission.
· 5+ years of professional experience in a nonprofit environment or a related field with a history of progressive leadership.
· Minimum of three (3) years of experience supervising multiple paid staff members.
· Ability to think strategically, plan long-term, and evaluate programs through a systems-change lens.
· Demonstrated ability to lead through change and operate effectively at both strategic and operational levels.
· Strong track record of successful financial management and/or budgeting experience.
· Excellent writing and verbal communications skills in English required. Proficiency in Spanish is a plus.
· Experience using data and metrics to inform decision making and improve performance.
· Must be able to work both collaboratively and independently.
· Demonstrated ability to lead diverse teams and build strong relationships with staff, volunteers, and community members across varied backgrounds.

EMPLOYMENT DETAILS 

• The salary range for this position is $90,800 – $113,500 per year
• Benefits include employer-paid medical insurance, paid vacation/sick time off, and twelve paid holidays, dental and vision insurance available.
• Additionally, we offer continuing education and management training opportunities on how to resolve conflicts, implement new ideas and take/receive feedback. 

TO APPLY FOR THIS POSTION 

• Please submit a cover letter, resume and three professional references including their email, phone, and relationship to Julie McCabe, VP of Operations, at: jmccabe@aawl.org. In your subject line please reference Director of adoptions programs No phone calls or walk-ins, please.