Pet Welfare Assistant (Onsite), 12-Month FTC, Southampton
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Department: Rehoming & Fostering Services
Location: Southampton
Compensation: £23,993 / year
Application Deadline: 8 June 2025
Department: Rehoming & Fostering Services
Location: Southampton
Compensation: £23,993 / year
Description
Contract: 12 month fixed term contract, part time
Salary: £23,993 per annum FTE
Location: Southampton, SO30 2HL
Closing date: Sunday 8 June 2025
Interview date: 16 & 17 June 2025
We’re recruiting a Pet Welfare Assistant for onsite animal care on a 12 month fixed term basis, for our Rehoming & Fostering team in Southampton!
At Blue Cross, we're dedicated to providing the best care possible to pets in need. As a Pet Welfare Assistant for our onsite services, you'll play an important role in our mission, ensuring that every pet receives the love, attention, and support they deserve during their stay at our Southampton rehoming centre.
More about the role
Our beautiful centre opened in 1988 and occupies approximately three acres of land in a discrete location surrounded by fields where we can walk our dogs, providing some wonderful enrichment in a quiet environment. The centre has facilities to care for dogs and cats, as well as a specialised area for puppies and kittens. We also operate a pet food bank for those that might need our support within the local area.
As a skilled animal handler and assessor, you will be responsible for the ‘preparation stage’ with the pets in our care which involves caring, carrying out assessments and rehabilitation plans, preparing them for the ‘adoption stage’ or the best possible outcome for their circumstances with minimal delay.
As a Pet Welfare Assistant, you will ensure that the welfare standards are met and that rehabilitation plans are followed and supported for pets in our care. Working independently and with the team you will carry out meetings with owners giving up their pet, ensuring all information is recorded, paperwork completed and that the pet is immediately assessed for behavioural or veterinary problems. Working closely with the Adoptions Coordinator you will provide additional in person or virtual advice and practical demonstrations to ensure adoptees are fully aware of the work that has been done with the pet and how to continue with any other additional behaviour training or medical provision.
This is a part-time role working 26.25 hours a week on a 2 week rota which includes weekends and bank holidays.
Working pattern:
Week 1: Sunday, Monday, Thursday, Friday
Week 2: Monday, Friday, Saturday
At our Southampton rehoming centre, we provide onsite accommodation for pets in our care 24/7. Overnight shifts are usually undertaken by team members who live on site. Occasionally, you will be expected to carry out night checks or stay in onsite accommodation overnight when the resident team members are either not working or away for a period of time.
If you excel in an environment where you can see the difference you make every day, then this is the role for you. Interested? Then apply and let’s work together to see if this is the role for you.
About you
As a skilled animal handler and assessor, you will be intuitive with pets, empathetic and welfare focused having worked in a similar animal related environment. You will also be used to assessing the needs of a pet, alert to the behavioural signs and have a basic knowledge of the use of medication e.g., hibiscrub, flea and tick treatments, diabetes management. In addition, you will have a fundamental understanding that the best welfare intervention for a pet is to find a new home and leave on site pet accommodation as quickly as possible.
You will be self-motivated, forward thinking with a collaborative and creative approach to your work, which will ensure to bring your best pragmatic ideas for the care of the pets to ensure the best outcome is achieved. In addition, you will be able to quickly assimilate information, be competent at accurately recording information while also conducting conversations with clients and stakeholders. You will be an excellent communicator, approachable with strong interpersonal skills.
You will know what it is like to work in an emotionally charged environment and have excellent ‘bounce back ability’ and resilience. In addition, you will be emotionally intelligent, showing empathy and knowing how to support clients and colleagues.
Knowledge, skills, and experience
* Experience of having previously worked or volunteered with domestic animals or in an animal welfare environment.
* Previous experience in working in a customer focused environment and used to achieving a high level of customer satisfaction.
* Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
* Good organisational and administration skills to include computerised systems.
* Current full driving licence.
It would be great (but not essential) if you also had:
* Qualification or similar experience in animal behaviour or animal training.
* Experience of cash handling.
* Experience of working to strict health and safety procedures.
* Understanding of safeguarding issues.
Want to know more detail? Great! We have attached the job description which hopefully gives you everything you need.
How to apply
Click the apply button below and complete the online application process before the closing date on Sunday 8 June 2025.
We reserve the right to close this vacancy early should we receive an overwhelming response.
Blue Cross benefits
Our people are the most important part of delivering our purpose. If it were not for their amazing efforts and commitment, we would not be able to make the difference that we do today.
In return, Blue Cross wants to ensure we provide you with the best working environment we can. We want you to be happy working for us and will do everything we can to make sure you are.
Our generous benefits package includes:
* Enhanced annual leave entitlement: 30 days plus bank holidays
* Pension scheme with enhanced employer contribution
* Health cash plan
* Life assurance
* Unlimited access to an employee assistance programme
* Programmes for physical and mental wellbeing support
* Free access to GP via MetLife
* Recognition scheme Annual volunteer days
* Claim for professional fees
To read more about the benefits Blue Cross has to offer, please visit the 'why work for us' page on our website.
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