PAWS is hiring a full time Adoption-Foster Coordinator for Old City Adoption Center location interacting primarily with cats, kittens, and guinea pigs!

At PAWS, we work every day to end pet homelessness and to find loving homes at-risk pets. PAWS’ innovative foster program, open adoption philosophy, and commitment to surrender prevention are essential parts of our progressive mission, enabling us to rescue thousands of animals each year. PAWS is looking for a motivated, welcoming, and organized Adoption-Foster Coordinator to join our team! Because our team is extremely collaborative and our animal population can have complex medical and behavioral needs, excellent communication and organizational skills are crucial for this role. The ideal candidate has a focus on animal welfare, is outgoing, customer service oriented, patient, and is able to get along well with a variety of people and animals.

Benefits for full time Adoption-Foster Coordinators at PAWS include heavily discounted/at-cost veterinary care and pet food, as well as medical/dental insurance, 401(k) with employer matching, and paid time off!

Duties include, but are not limited to:

—Engaging with potential adopters to ensure smooth and timely adoptions. This includes: 

        —Communicating with all applicants in a non-judgmental manner 

        —Screening applications thoroughly

        —Employing compassion, curiosity, patience, and deliberate attention during conversations with applicants

        —Sharing resources and information relevant to each home and experience level

        —Making appropriate matches between applicants and the population of available animals

—Providing information, guidance, and support for foster parents as they navigate foster procedures, get their foster pets ready for adoption, resolve or manage medical issues, and work through behavior concerns. This includes: 

        —Communicating with consideration to the foster’s experience level and emotional investment and honoring their feedback

        —Asking questions to get objective information and sharing relevant resources and information

        —Supporting foster parents through emotional decisions and events in their foster pets’ care including unexpected illness, death, or euthanasia

—Problem-solving concerns with foster parents and adopters who encounter challenges or have questions

—Assessing and organizing donated items and other supplies, keeping storage areas clean and accessible.

—Creatively promoting PAWS animals to both foster parents and potential adoptive homes by taking photos of animals available for foster or adoption, posting on social media, and writing bios to attract fosters or adopters 

—Following established procedures governing safe work practices to prevent the spread of disease keeping all work and animal housing areas clean, organized, and sanitized

—Working cooperatively with volunteers to create a welcoming and supportive team and work environment, including training, supervising, and building relationships with volunteers to support retention

—Supporting animal care and operations at our adoption center. This includes:

        —Administering medication

        —Monitoring for health conditions and reporting medical concerns promptly and

        —Providing enrichment for resident animals

        —Ensuring animals have clean cages, and fresh food, water, bedding and litter

        —Following best practices for safe, humane, and stress-free animal handling

—Administrative support, including responding to voicemails and emails, paperwork and computer file organization for contracts and resources, record-keeping, data entry, scheduling appointments, and inbox hygiene with attention to existing procedures and best practices so information is easily accessible by staff who need it 

—Leading with compassion in each interaction with clients and members of the public, including visitors to adoption centers, potential foster parents or adopters, recent adopters, and donors as well as clinic clients, people inquiring about our services, and surrendering owners

—Promoting a humane and caring attitude towards pets and treating all animals with compassion at all times, including those who are sick, injured, stressed, or reactive

—Other duties as assigned

Education and experience required:

—A high school diploma or equivalent is required. Bachelor’s Degree or some college preferred. Experience working or volunteering in an animal rescue, shelter, or veterinary practice is preferred. Experience with customer service experience preferred.

 

Education and experience required:

—A high school diploma or equivalent is required. Bachelor’s Degree or some college preferred.

—Professional experience working with dogs with behavioral needs is preferred.

—Experience working or volunteering in an animal rescue, shelter, or veterinary practice is preferred.

—Customer service experience is preferred.

—Professional writing experience is preferred.

Physical Requirements:

—Ability to walk and/or stand on your feet throughout a normal workday and tolerate loud noises.

—Ability to lift and move objects and animals weighing up to 50 pounds for short distances and to humanely restrain an animal when necessary.

—Allergic conditions that would be aggravated when handling animals may be a disqualification.

Required Skills and Qualities:

—Ability to read, write, and understand English (other language proficiency a plus) 

—Computer proficient in Microsoft office and Google/G-Suite products, and proficiency or comfort with learning the internet-based software used by the organization (ShelterLuv, Trello, Mailchimp).

—Working knowledge of basic animal health and behavior.

—Excellent customer service skills, including a welcoming, positive and non-judgemental attitude and the ability to show gratitude for volunteers, donors, other clients.

—Strong interpersonal, verbal, and written communication skills.

—Strong sense of initiative, identifying tasks that need to be accomplished and prioritizing appropriately, working independently with minimal supervision and direction.

—Flexibility, maturity, and ability to manage multiple tasks and accommodate varied work assignments and schedules.

—Ability to communicate effectively with a culturally diverse staff, volunteers, and community in a professional, pleasant, respectful, courteous, and tactful manner at all times.

—The ability to remain pleasant and calm even in stressful situations, and to turn people down, firmly when necessary, without becoming aggressive or unpleasant.

 

Hours/Location:
PAWS is open seven days a week. A minimum of 8 hours per day, 40 hours per week, is required, including weekends. This position will primarily be based out of our Old City location but may be cross-trained for occasional shifts at our Grays Ferry location. The daily schedule may vary according to the needs of the organization and may include weekend, night, and holiday work.

Interested?
Please share your resume and introduce yourself to us at tammy@phillypaws.org!

About the Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society (PAWS):
PAWS is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to saving Philadelphia’s homeless and at-risk pets and serving pet owners in need. PAWS is the city’s largest rescue partner and provider of affordable veterinary care for pet owners and rescue organizations that cannot otherwise access it. Each year, PAWS finds loving homes for thousands of animals in need and enables thousands more families to keep their cherished pets. Through rescue efforts, community support, and surrender prevention, PAWS is working to make Philadelphia a place where every savable pet is guaranteed a home.