Senior Manager, Care and Enrichment

ASPCA

Job Description

Summary:

Are you an adaptable and skilled people manager who is passionate about optimizing the welfare of shelter animals? Do you thrive in a dynamic and complex environment, where colleagues work together to continually advance our field? Do you love to collaborate with colleagues in other areas of expertise, coming together to help animals in need? If so, the role of Senior Manager, Care and Enrichment at the ASPCA’s new Recovery & Rehabilitation Center (R&R Center) in Pawling, New York might be the perfect role for you!

The Senior Manager is an integral member of the operations leadership team and facilitates deep engagement in the mission of the ASPCA by overseeing daily operations and providing supervision, coaching, and developmental support for all Care and Enrichment Technicians at the R&R Center. The ideal candidate for this this role values collaboration across teams and continually strives to create and maintain a positive work culture in which animals benefit from the harmonious exchange of information and ideas across shelter operations, shelter medicine, and animal behavior.

The Care and Enrichment team is responsible for providing for the daily needs of the animals housed at the R&R Center and for ensuring smooth and efficient animal care operations. The team works together, using low-stress handling and husbandry techniques, to ensure all animals have appropriate safe, clean, comfortable housing, including transport housing, and access to enriching experiences. Care and Enrichment closely monitors the population for signs of medical and behavioral change, communicating across teams on the status of each animal in a timely manner.

Recovery & Rehabilitation Center Overview & Upcoming Launch
The R&R Center, currently under construction in Pawling, NY, will be a unique program dedicated to providing integrated sheltering, behavioral, and medical care for canine victims of cruelty rescued through the ASPCA’s partnership with the NYPD. The R&R Center team will work closely with ASPCA teams in New York City, including the Animal Recovery Center (ARC), the Animal Hospital (AAH), the Canine Annex for Recovery and Enrichment (CARE), and the Adoption Center.

The target start date for this position will be January 13, 2025. The role will begin remotely and report to the R&R Center in Pawling, NY around May 2025.

Responsibilities:
Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

Shelter Operations (50%)
Collaborate with medical and behavioral leadership to continually evaluate the shelter population, ensuring animal welfare objectives are met
Oversee the Care and Enrichment team’s monitoring systems to help maintain the medical and behavioral health of shelter animals
Ensure proper daily care and adherence to nutrition, sanitation, infectious disease-prevention, and behavioral protocols established by the ASPCA’s Shelter Medicine Services Team and Behavioral Sciences Team (BST)
Oversee the implementation of a robust enrichment program; collaborate and receive guidance from behavior and medical leadership to develop the program and measure efficacy; ensure smooth integration into daily care flow and lead ongoing program maintenance
Provide a safe and compassionate environment for animals in our care, our staff, and volunteers by using low-stress handling techniques
Ensure that all team members have received training and mastered the skills to handle in a low stress manner, and that they implement these handling techniques consistently in all their interactions with animals.
Lead the ongoing development and refinement of daily care and enrichment SOPs, collaborating across areas to orchestrate a yearly review and ensuring a cohesive Center-wide SOP package
Collaborate continuously with behavior and medical teams, communicating clearly within and between teams to ensure consistent, efficient care
Work with Senior Managers to determine appropriate roles and expectations for volunteers
Provide guidance and supervision to volunteers as needed, while communicating respect and gratitude for volunteer support
Lead collection of sheltering information necessary to support animal placements in foster and adoptive homes
Work across teams to choreograph animal movement into, through, and out of the shelter in a seamless and low-stress manner
Provide information about budgetary needs as part of yearly planning process
Work with the Manager, Administration to meticulously track expenses and order approved supplies, ensuring shelter needs are consistently met
Collaborate with other ASPCA departments, prioritizing alignment in operations practices

People Management (25%)
Manage and supervise three Managers, Care and Enrichment; provide management coaching, ensuring aligned support and expectation setting
Oversee the work of the entire Care and Enrichment team
Maintain a fully staffed team, hiring and onboarding new Managers and Care and Enrichment Technicians as necessary
Serve as facilitator and mediator for Care and Enrichment Team conflict-resolution discussions
Ensure that all team members have received training and mastered the skills to handle in a low stress manner, and that they implement these handling techniques consistently in all their interactions with animals
Develop and implement annual professional development plans for each direct report, leveraging tools provided by the ASPCA
Provide continual support, coaching, and feedback to all direct reports, conducting regularly scheduled one-on-one meetings to provide excellent managerial support
Conduct bi-annual skip-level meetings with CETs
Address and report performance concerns appropriately
Conduct regular trainings and refresher courses for team members
Guide and motivate staff to ensure an appropriate work-life balance

Program Development and Maintenance (25%)
In collaboration with Behavior and Medical teams, research and develop best practices in sheltering, enrichment and animal care/handling
Continually solicit feedback on care and enrichment from colleagues across areas and direct reports to foster an environment of continuous improvement, submitting ideas to the Senior Director, Operations for consideration
Serve as a critical voice on the R&R Center leadership team, collaborating closely with other leads to strategize about team growth, hone communication, foster ongoing healthy team culture, and keep operations running smoothly
Contribute to yearly strategic planning, under the direction of the Senior Director, Operations
Work across areas to provide consistent messaging for R&R Center team members; field questions about outcome decisions, organization wide policies and procedures, and leadership team decisions
Attend workshops for animal welfare professionals to expand the sheltering, rehabilitation and recovery work of the ASPCA; share learning with the entire Care and Enrichment team upon return
Collaborate with the Learning Lab and serve as a Subject Matter Expert for the development of new modules, offer consultation for partners and participate in future Learning Lab Retreats

Exemplifies the ASPCA’s Core Values:
Has Commitment and dedication to improving the lives of animals
Demonstrates Ownership and feels responsible for outcomes
Believes in Team – that we are stronger together
Seeks to Elevate others and reimagine what is possible
Focuses on Impact, specifically making change for animals

Education and Work Experience:
High School Diploma or GED required, B.S. or B.A. preferred
Minimum of 2 years of management experience; 3 or more strongly preferred
Minimum of 3 years of experience working in an animal shelter performing direct care work

Fear Free® Shelter Program certification required or completed within 60 days of hire
Low Stress Handling® University Silver-Level certification is required within six months of hire

Qualifications:
Valid driver’s license and ability to pass a motor vehicle history check demonstrating a safe driving history
Able to travel at least once per quarter to transport animals, liaise with placement partner organizations or deploy to provide support in the field or temporary shelter environment
Able to tolerate seeing animals suffering from extreme fear, anxiety, and/or arousal on a daily basis
Must feel comfortable participating in humane euthanasia decisions and procedures, as needed
Available to regularly work 4 or 5 days per week, including weekends, and available to work a flexible schedule when needed including days, evenings, weekends, and holidays
Ability and willingness to travel up to 10% of the time
Highly effective people- and team-management abilities; can artfully flex management style to best support diverse individuals
Strong coaching abilities
Good team player; a “people person” who enjoys and excels at collaboration
Superior problem-solving abilities; likes to find solutions when facing challenges
Ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment
Flexible; can easily adapt to changes to plans/protocols and help others do the same
Able to lift and carry up to 50 pounds
Able to work standing for 8 or more hours and bend, crouch, kneel and move freely to perform responsibilities that include handling potentially dangerous animals in stressful conditions
Able to work in physically challenging conditions and able to wear appropriate protective gear, including a protective mask; job responsibilities may entail exposure to chemical and biological hazards, such as feces and blood, exposure to sharp objects, working in noisy environments and working in areas with uneven, wet and slippery surfaces

Fluent in the use of MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint; familiarity with shelter software systems or Salesforce a plus

Compensation and Benefits:
The applicable target hiring range for this remote role is based on where the employee works, which for remote roles is the employee’s primary location of residence, and its respective cost of labor. We have organized the U.S. varying costs of labor index into three geographic zones. As a point of reference, below, we have included our ASPCA locations by geographic zone to illustrate what the hiring range would be in each of the following areas.
Starting pay for the successful applicant will depend on a variety of factors, including but not limited to education, training, experience, location, business needs, internal equity, market demands or budgeted amount for the role. The target hiring range is for new hire offers only, and staff compensation may increase beyond the maximum hiring range based on performance over time. The maximum of the hiring range is reserved for candidates with the highest qualifications and relevant experience. The expected hiring salary ranges for this role are set forth below and may be modified in the future.

Zone 1 (For example, Asheville, NC; Champaign, IL; Columbus, OH; Gainesville, FL; Miami, FL; Oklahoma City, OK; Overland, KS; Union, MO; Weaverville, NC): $73,000-$77,000
Zone 2 (For example, Los Angeles, CA): $80,000-$85,000
Zone 3 (For example, New York, NY): $88,000-$93,000
For remote positions, you can view which zone applies to you based on your location. For questions regarding other locations not found on the list, please send an email to Careers@aspca.org for more information.

For more information on our benefits offerings, visit our website.
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Qualifications:
See above for qualifications details.

Language:
English
Education and Work Experience:
High School Diploma

Our EEO Policy:
The ASPCA is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sex, national origin, ancestry, gender, gender identity or expression, age, marital or domestic partner status, citizenship status, sexual orientation, disability, genetic information, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state or local laws, regulations or ordinances.

Applicants with disabilities may be entitled to a reasonable accommodation under the terms of the Americans with Disabilities Act and certain state or local laws. A reasonable accommodation is a change in the ASPCA’s standard application process, which will ensure an equal employment opportunity without imposing undue hardship on the ASPCA. Please inform the ASPCA’s People Team if you need an accommodation in order to complete any forms or to otherwise participate in the application process.

Individuals seeking employment are considered without regards to race, color, creed, religion, sex, national origin, ancestry, gender, gender identity or expression, age, marital or domestic partner status, citizenship status, sexual orientation, disability, genetic information, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state or local laws, regulations or ordinances.

ASPCA is an Equal Opportunity Employer (M/F/D/V).

This is a full time job