Part-Time Community Engagement Assistant

Have you been looking for a rewarding position in a community-centric, no-kill animal welfare environment where you can work alongside a professional team to make a real difference for your community? Are you at your professional best in environments that offer variety and flexibility and are highly engaging, collaborative, structured, and supportive? Is working alongside a positive, experienced team that prioritizes pet lifesaving and maintains the highest care standards important to you? If so, you belong in Burlington as an Animal Services Community Engagement Assistant! 

What you will do:

This hands-on role will assist the Community Engagement Manager in executing Animal Services' marketing strategy in collaboration with staff from multiple functional areas of our agency and community influencers to create on-brand content, messaging, and presence at community events in support of Animal Services' mission and vision. You’ll support the Animal Services marketing and development teams in elevating our presence by helping with community events, writing copy for press releases, and social media content creation. You’ll focus on assisting with developing and scheduling engaging organic content across five social platforms using the Later social management platform.  

About Us:

BAS is a department of the City of Burlington, NC, which serves residents across Alamance County and is dedicated to enhancing the well-being of pets and people through our commitment to pet lifesaving, public service, proactive support, community collaboration, and solutions-oriented, positive outcomes. Empowering our community through compassion and responsibility, BAS envisions a future where every pet and person thrives together. We are committed to providing comprehensive care and support through innovative programs, proactive initiatives, and collaboration with our community. Our vision is to create a community where pets and their families are united and positive outcomes are achieved through our dedication to public service.  BAS is committed to a no-kill philosophy and practice, which means we are transparent and work collaboratively with our community to save every pet that can be saved. BAS is a “no-kill” professional animal services agency and cared for over 7,000 pets last year at the Burlington Pet Adoption and Resource Center (PARC). Learn more about us at burlingtonnc.gov/pets. 

• Creates written, photo, graphic, and video content for digital and print marketing, including advertisements, newsletters, webpages, development communications, etc.  
• Assists with drafting and editing media releases.
• Assists with creating, scheduling, and managing social media content using Later.
• Assists with planning, marketing, and executing community events and programs both at BAS and off site. 
• Ensures content is aligned with brand standards and BAS mission, vision, values, and goals.
• Maintains positive, collaborative, and cooperative interpersonal communications and professional relationships with all internal and external contacts. 
• Ensures compliance with regulatory and policy requirements pertaining to communications.
• Practices Fear-Free© technique when interacting with pets and engages in safe work practices in performing duties.
• Performs other related duties as assigned.

• Knowledge of the current media and content landscape. 

• Skilled with social media marketing and professional public communications best practices.  
• Skilled with basic videography and graphic design. 
• Skill with project management and time-management for juggling multiple time-sensitive deliverables simultaneously. 
• Knowledge of humane animal care, treatment, and modern, community-centric animal services operations. 
• Skilled and knowledgeable in using Microsoft Office (particularly Word, Outlook, and Excel) and other applications and software used to support the position and its responsibilities, such as Later, Meta, YouTube, Canva, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, etc.  
• Knowledge and skill with modern office equipment and technology, computer software, multi-line phones, and other applications. 
• Skill and ability to be flexible, responsive, and adaptive to frequent interruptions, changes in priorities, workload, pace of work, and assignments. 
• Skilled with effective listening, reading, and understanding of detailed and complex information and procedures. 
• Skilled with effective digital, oral, written, and interpersonal communication in professional environments. 
• Ability to appropriately handle and manage emotional stress accompanying exposure to stressful animal welfare situations. 
• Ability to exercise sound judgment and decision-making under pressure. 
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively. 

Minimum Qualifications: 

• Graduation from an accredited college or university with an associate degree in communications, marketing, business, or closely related subject, and one year of directly related work experience. Students currently enrolled as seniors in a bachelor’s degree program or master’s degree students majoring in Marketing, Communications, Business Administration, or Public Administration with 6 months of work experience will also be considered.  
• Valid Driver’s License  

Special Requirements: 

•  Fear Free © Certification (or obtained within the first six months of employment). 

Preferred Qualifications: 

• Digital Marketing or Social Media Certifications  
• Oral and written fluency in both English and Spanish languages. 

Physical Requirements and Working Conditions: 

• Work typically involves periods of sitting, walking, standing, and repetitive motion involving frequent typing at a computer.  
• Must be able to lift at least 25 pounds and handle animals as needed.  
• Work may involve occasional exposure to potentially hazardous conditions such as aggressive animals, zoonotic diseases, and distressed customers.  
• Work in this position is primarily performed indoors. 

Salary : $20 - $21