What are the responsibilities and job description for the Cat Foster & Adoption Support Specialist position at Austin Pets Alive!?
Cat Foster & Adoption Support Specialist
APA! BACKGROUND: Austin Pets Alive! (APA!) is one of Austin’s most dynamic and best-loved nonprofits. The organization is the leader in the no kill movement nationally and is considered a national thought leader in animal welfare. APA! locally rescues, treats, and adopts out 10,000 homeless dogs and cats each year, providing the safety net for Austin’s most at-risk shelter pets, which helps Austin to be a no-kill city, while also assisting other communities in saving homeless animals. The organization is distinguished by the scrappiness of its grassroots, non-traditional community-based animal rescue work.
APA! BACKGROUND: Austin Pets Alive! (APA!) is one of Austin’s most dynamic and best-loved nonprofits. The organization is the leader in the no kill movement nationally and is considered a national thought leader in animal welfare. APA! locally rescues, treats, and adopts out 10,000 homeless dogs and cats each year, providing the safety net for Austin’s most at-risk shelter pets, which helps Austin to be a no-kill city, while also assisting other communities in saving homeless animals. The organization is distinguished by the scrappiness of its grassroots, non-traditional community-based animal rescue work.
The organization continues to innovate best practices to save lives and teaches its renowned lifesaving model through American Pets Alive!, APA!’s national division. In 2020, AmPA! began the Human Animal Support Services (HASS) project, a collaborative movement of more than 10,000 animal welfare professionals working in nearly 1,900 organizations. HASS is the first-of-its-kind collective of shelters and animal welfare professionals coming together to build community-focused animal services that better meet the needs of people and pets by keeping human-animal families together and keeping pets unnecessarily out of shelters.
Position Summary & Overview
The Cat Foster & Adoption Support Specialist plays a crucial role in supporting the APA! Cat Foster & Adoption Support Program and collaborating closely with the Cat Placement Team and the Cat Specialty Populations Coordinators. Specializing in providing post placement support for fosters and adopters, this role is dedicated to ensuring the proper care of animals, adherence to APA! protocols, and the seamless progression of cats into foster, towards adoption and support post foster and adoption placement.
The Cat Foster & Adoption Support Specialist serves as a mentor to fosters and adopters, offering guidance throughout the process. Their responsibilities include facilitating follow-up clinic appointments, ensuring the prescription and fulfillment of medications, and providing assistance in effectively marketing the cats for adoption.
ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS
- Act as a primary point of contact for fosters and adopters of APA! cats, offering concierge-level service for pre and post-adoption medical, behavioral, and general support.
- Maintain a positive and respectful attitude towards each of our individual fosters, recognizing them as valuable volunteers. Assess their skills, requirements, and preferences to provide tailored support and guidance.
- Oversee the creation and distribution of communications across various platforms (email, social media) to effectively recruit fosters.
- Identify, recruit, and train volunteers to assist in various fostering tasks, enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of the fostering program.
- Ensure accuracy and honesty in portraying available foster cats, staying updated on their evolving medical or behavioral needs, and adjusting marketing materials accordingly.
- Efficiently coordinate the transfer of foster cats between fosters and facilitate new foster placements to ensure swift and smooth transitions.
- Facilitate the matchmaking process between potential foster parents and cats, considering both parties' needs, while promoting growth and diversity by encouraging fosters to try new opportunities.
- Responsible for the daily care of cats in adoption centers, including feeding, cleaning enclosures, administering medications, and monitoring overall health and well-being.
- Assess the needs of cats requiring urgent placement and act swiftly to coordinate urgent foster placements.
- Maintain a record of foster cats with impending return deadlines, ensuring they receive priority attention during foster matchmaking, while also proactively informing onsite staff about their return and requirements in advance to facilitate a seamless transition.
- Address medical inquiries, coordinate medication requests according to established protocols, schedule medical services, and assist with finding new foster placements or addressing behavioral concerns.
- Manage a caseload of cats, ensuring timely follow-ups and proactive outreach to foster parents.
- Collaborate closely with onsite cat teams (care, placement, intake) to ensure accurate information and medical requirements are communicated effectively to foster parents.
- Coordinate medical and marketing needs for cats in foster care, ensuring all requirements are met.
- Facilitate cat adoptions by guiding adopters through the application process, counseling, completing paperwork, and ensuring a smooth transition for both the cat and adopter.
OTHER FUNCTIONS:
- Attend and participate in essential trainings covering fundamental cat husbandry practices and techniques for administering medications
- Assist with Tarrytown Cattery specific tasks such as care, cleaning, and adoption processing.
- Assist Cat Specialty Populations Coordinators with tasks such as FIP new starts, emergency appointment scheduling, and care demonstrations in their absence.
- Collaborate closely with the Cat Coordinators to enhance the foster-to-event process, streamline foster communication, and boost event promotion efforts.
- Create protocol manuals as necessary, thoroughly documenting our procedures for future reference. Regularly review and update these manuals to ensure they meet the required standards.
- Maintain open and consistent communication with Program Manager or designee, supervisor, and other colleagues
- Able to demonstrate time management to complete job responsibilities
- Able to react to change productively and perform other related duties as assigned
- Able to work evenings, weekends, and holidays as needed
- Able to work in a high volume, fast-paced, high-stress environment
- Other duties, as needed
QUALIFICATIONS, SKILLS, AND EXPECTATIONS
- Demonstrate unwavering kindness when handling all cats, maintaining a compassionate approach without exception.
- Uphold a standard of integrity in all actions and decisions.
- Thrive in a high-volume, fast-paced, and high-stress environment, showcasing self-motivation, a positive attitude, and a strong team-oriented mindset.
- Execute responsibilities efficiently with minimal oversight, demonstrating a proactive approach to tasks.
- Exhibit keen attention to detail and the ability to follow instructions accurately.
- Maintain punctuality and regular attendance.
- Demonstrate effective communication skills in person, over the phone, and via email.
- Possess basic experience in cat handling and care.
- Display foundational knowledge of common feline health conditions.
- Possess fundamental knowledge of cat behavior.
- Attend and actively participate in all mandatory training sessions and meetings.
- Maintain open and consistent communication with the Cat Specialty Populations Manager or designated authority, supervisor, and colleagues.
- Demonstrate proficiency in performing all duties, responsibilities, and required skills.
- Adapt positively to changes and willingly undertake additional responsibilities as assigned.
- Exhibit effective communication and customer service skills.
- Show competency in computer skills, with a preference for familiarity with Google Apps.
- Embody APA!'s core values, including innovation, respect, drive, resourcefulness, and inclusion.
- Demonstrate a commitment to meeting APA!'s customer experience expectations.
- Collaborate effectively with volunteers and staff in various roles.
- Uphold the mission and culture of APA! in a positive manner across all activities.
- Fluency in English and Spanish desired
PHYSICAL JOB REQUIREMENTS:
- Must be able to work around animals (including diseased, injured, and/or potentially aggressive animals), loud noises, chlorine or other chemicals, and inclement weather
- Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer
- Must be able to focus in a loud and busy environment despite distractions
- Must be able to comfortably interact with cats of various health levels, including cats who may carry zoonotic diseases such as ringworm, scabies, intestinal parasites, etc.
- Able to be on your feet for multiple hours of the day
- Must be able to visually observe people and animals from up to 150 feet away
- Ability to hear normal speech at close contact and shouting up to 150 feet away
- Must be able to walk around shelter as needed - uneven ground, keeping a safe distance from dogs and handlers
- Will sit, stand, walk, talk, hear, stoop, bend, stretch, squat, kneel, grasp, grip, put fingers together firmly and reach above and below shoulder level, lift and/or carry up to 30 pounds and push and pull up to 50 pounds for situations of moving supplies and setting up for events; repetitively use hands to operate computers; flex the neck upward and downward; twist the neck and the waist.
WORK ENVIRONMENT:
- Standard office environment, with exposure to environmental conditions that include working with and near animals
- Uses own transportation to travel and transport
- Occasional after-hours or weekend work may be required to support program needs
- Work is normally performed inside; some outside work is required
- Exposure to unpleasant odors and noises.
- Exposure to bites, scratches and animal waste
- Possible exposure to contagious diseases
- Rapid pace with exposure to potential hazards including animal waste, disinfectants, and high levels of noise
- Potential for animal bites and scratches and diseases that can be transmitted from animals to people
TIME COMMITMENT
- This is a full-time, nonexempt position with an average of 40 hours per week.
- Shift and schedule flexibility is required, as weekly schedule is subject to change
- Able to work evenings, weekends, and holidays as needed
WORKING RELATIONSHIPS
The Cat Foster Support Specialist collaborates closely with the Cat Foster and Adoption Support Coordinator and the Major Medical Cats Coordinator to deliver exceptional customer service and support to fosters responsible for APA! animals. Additionally, this role involves close coordination with Cat Foster & Adoption placement specialists, clinic staff, and case managers.
LOCATIONS:
- APA! Cat Adoption Center at Tarrytown, 3108 Windsor Road Austin, TX 78703
- Town Lake Animal Center (TLAC) Campus, located at 1156 West Cesar Chavez, Austin, Texas 78703
- Remote work and travel to offsite locations may be necessary
BENEFITS:
Austin Pets Alive! is proud to offer a competitive benefits package for full-time employees, including up to 95% subsidy on employer-sponsored medical coverage, subsidized and voluntary life insurance, voluntary dental, vision and short-term disability options, all effective the first day of employment. We also offer voluntary wellness and emergency sick plans, up to 2% match on 401(K) retirement plan, supplemental benefits, subsidized pet insurance, flexible spending accounts and additional life coverage. Full-time employees receive 10 paid holidays and accrue 10 days paid time off during the first year of employment, with an additional 5 days of PTO accrual upon completion of 12 months of employment. Employee’s will also receive professional development opportunities through APA!’s ongoing mission to advance our animal welfare professionals in our life saving work.
EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES AND ACCOMMODATIONS STATEMENT
Austin Pets Alive! is an equal employment opportunity employer and we value having staff who come from communities that are most impacted by the issues we engage on. We especially encourage people of color, LGBTQ people, women, transgender and gender non-conforming people, and people with disabilities to apply.
Austin Pets Alive! does not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. Austin Pets Alive! is committed to creating a dynamic work environment that values diversity and inclusion, respect and integrity, community focus, and innovation.
