Animal Control Officer

Description

The City of New Hope, located 8 miles northwest of downtown Minneapolis, with a population of approximately 22,000, is recruiting for an animal control officer who is committed to building relationships with and serving our community. City leadership and residents are very supportive of public safety. The police department operates from a very modern facility which opened in 2019 with excellent space to facilitate the work. This position performs technical and administrative work providing basic animal control services by enforcing related state statutes, ordinances, and departmental procedures, providing humane, competent, and timely aid to domestic and wild animals in distress situations, instructing the public on laws governing the keeping of domestic animals, and the proper care of such animals, and related work. Work is performed under the limited supervision of the police captain.

Examples of Duties

Qualification Requirements
To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential function satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable an individual with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Essential Functions

• Patrols and responds to complaints in order to locate violations and take appropriate action.
• Issues citations and/or warnings as indicated in the policies and/or operating procedures.
• Impounds stray, domestic animals when necessary.
• Provides humane, competent, and timely aid to domestic and wild animals in distress situations.
• Instructs the public on laws governing the keeping and proper care of animals.
• Works in conjunction with other departments and agencies such as local health departments, County Humane Society, and the DNR.
• Takes animal bite reports and ensures that all necessary procedures are carried out properly.
• Assists owners in locating lost pets by keeping accurate and timely records of all animals impounded, and of all missing animals.
• Maintains accurate records of all contacts, enforcement actions, complaints, and routine procedures and compiles an annual report of activities.
• Maintains records of all equipment and makes recommendations for purchase and maintenance.

• Knowledge of proper care and handling techniques for domestic and wild animals.
• Knowledge of basic care of injured animals.
• Knowledge of the use of basic animal control equipment.
• Knowledge of basic record keeping procedures.
• Ability to learn animal control statutes, ordinances, and procedures.
• Ability to learn the use of specialized animal control equipment.
• Ability to handle animals in a variety of stressful situations.
• Ability to safely operate a vehicle in routine patrol type situations.
• Ability to communicate tactfully and effectively with the public and other agencies.
• Ability to write reports in an accurate, consistent and timely manner.
• Ability to use sound judgment.
• Ability to perform all duties requiring physical activity, such as lifting, climbing, walking over rough terrain and making use of a boat.
• Ability to respond to exceptional situations during off duty hours and/or to adjust regular shift hours to handle special situations that may occur from time to time.
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with staff and the general public.

Minimum Qualifications

Education and Experience
High school diploma or GED and moderate experience working with animals, or equivalent combination of education and experience.

Physical Requirements
This work requires the regular exertion of up to 25 pounds of force and occasional exertion of up to 100 pounds of force; work regularly requires walking, speaking or hearing, using hands to finger, handle or feel, reaching with hands and arms and lifting, frequently requires standing, sitting, stooping, kneeling, crouching or crawling, pushing or pulling and repetitive motions and occasionally requires climbing or balancing and tasting or smelling; work requires close vision, distance vision, ability to adjust focus, depth perception, color perception and peripheral vision; vocal communication is required for expressing or exchanging ideas by means of the spoken word and conveying detailed or important instructions to others accurately, loudly or quickly; hearing is required to perceive information at normal spoken word levels; work requires preparing and analyzing written or computer data, operating machines, operating motor vehicles or equipment and observing general surroundings and activities; work regularly requires exposure to outdoor weather conditions, frequently requires exposure to bloodborne pathogens and may be required to wear specialized personal protective equipment and occasionally requires wet, humid conditions (non-weather), working near moving mechanical parts, exposure to fumes or airborne particles, exposure to toxic or caustic chemicals, exposure to the risk of electrical shock, working with explosives and wearing a self contained breathing apparatus; work is generally in a moderately noisy location (e.g. business office, light traffic).

Special Requirements
Valid driver's license in the State of Minnesota.
Preferred candidates will be required to pass an extensive background process as well as a physical examination.

Additional Information

Tentative Timeline:
Feb. 18 – Applications due
Feb. 26 – Staff interviews
March 4 Evening – Personnel board interviews
March 10 – City manager interviews
Following all interviews, conditional offers will be extended to the preferred candidate
Conditions include: backgrounding, psychological and a physical exam
Start date would be set once conditions are met, ideally no later than mid-April