Pathway Planning & Animal Care Coordinator

Blue Mountain Humane Society

Job Description

IMPORTANT NOTE: This job requires at least three years of experience in animal welfare, preferably in a shelter environment in a leadership/supervisory role. It is also a one-year, grant-funded position that requires in person work. Those not meeting these requirements will not be considered for the position.

The Pathway Planning & Animal Care Coordinator is responsible for building and formalizing Blue Mountain Humane Society’s organization-wide Pathway Planning system. This position does not independently determine animal outcomes. Instead, the Coordinator works collaboratively with staff across departments to ensure that structured, team-based pathway planning occurs consistently at intake, during daily rounds, and in weekly case review meetings. The Coordinator develops the systems, documentation standards, data tracking tools, and facilitation processes that enable staff to make timely, transparent, and well-supported pathway decisions. This role functions as a facilitator and systems builder, not as a supervisor of existing departments or a replacement for operational decision-makers. By the end of the grant term, Pathway Planning will be embedded into routine shelter operations and sustainable under existing leadership. Pathways are determined collaboratively by operational staff (animal care, medical, behavior, foster, and related roles); the Coordinator ensures the process occurs consistently and that decisions are recorded and actionable.

Responsibilities
1. System Development & Implementation
· Formalize a structured Pathway Planning framework based on current pilot efforts.
· Develop SOPs for intake reviews, daily rounds, and weekly case discussions.
· Create documentation standards in PetPoint.
· Design meeting templates, tracking tools, and accountability systems.
· Train staff on use of pathway planning tools.
2. Facilitation & Coordination
· Facilitate (not own) daily pathway rounds.
· Facilitate weekly cross-department pathway meetings.
· Ensure pathway decisions are documented for each animal within 7 days of intake.
· Support staff in identifying and removing barriers to positive outcomes.
· Maintain follow-through tracking for agreed-upon action steps.
3. Data Tracking & Grant Reporting
· Monitor length of stay, outcome types, and pathway compliance.
· Track long-stay trends and intervention outcomes.
· Provide monthly internal reports.
· Prepare required ASPCA reporting documentation.
· Compare pre- and post-implementation metrics.
4. Capacity & Systems Improvement
· Identify operational bottlenecks affecting length of stay and outcomes.
· Recommend system-level improvements.
· Support capacity-for-care alignment.
· Assist leadership in evaluating long-term sustainability.
5. Sustainability & Handoff
· Document processes for long-term adoption.
· Train Animal Care Manager and leadership team in system ownership.
· Deliver end-of-grant evaluation and sustainability plan.

Qualifications
· Experience in animal shelter operations or related animal care environment.
· Strong facilitation and meeting leadership skills.
· Comfort navigating emotionally complex discussions.
· Data literacy and comfort with shelter management software.
· Ability to build and document structured processes.
Preferred:
· Experience with Pathway Planning or Capacity for Care frameworks.
· Experience reducing length of stay or improving outcome metrics.

Benefits:
• 401(k) matching
• Dental insurance
• Health insurance
• Life insurance
• Paid time off
• Vision insurance

Experience:
• Animal welfare: 3 years (Required)
• Project leadership: 4 years (Required)
• Data entry: 3 years (Required)

Work Location: In person