Animal Care Assistant (WEEKENDS ONLY)

Animal Care Assistant

(Small Animals only)

Part Time - 15 hours per week.

(Every Saturday and Sunday 8am-4:30pm)

RSPCA Animal Centre, Martlesham, Suffolk, IP12 4PD

An opportunity has arisen for a friendly, enthusiastic, active and diligent person to join the animal care team at our friendly RSPCA re-homing branch.

The ideal candidate will have experience working with animals, including small mammals.

The ideal candidate will have the ability to prioritise their work and work closely with their colleagues to ensure all task are being completed to a high standard. You will be pro-active and willing to assist our animal supervisor’s where necessary, support your team in making important decisions and assist with building good public relations.

The successful candidate will have sound literacy and numeracy skills and be able to work as part of a close-knit team. Good people skills and a confident customer facing attitude is essential. A full driving licence is essential.

In the first instance please apply via the indeed application process including a CV and covering letter.

Job Description:

Ensure all health and safety measures and procedures are observed and adhered to by staff, volunteers and the general public within the Animal Centre, reporting any accidents, near misses, or incidents promptly and correctly in accordance with the Animal Centre procedures.

Assist with the preliminary assessment, ongoing inspection and or treatment of animals by the veterinary surgeon, or other authorised person at the Animal Centre.

Attend to the needs of the individuals, including exercise, coat care/grooming, administration of first aid, treatments and medications as directed.

Complete thorough non-veterinary health assessments in collaboration with other staff, of animals entering and leaving the Animal Centre, including taking temperatures, inspection of eyes, ears, nose and throat for signs of infection or abnormality, reporting any concerns to the Centre Manager.

Ensure and check the completion of all associated reports e.g. Pet Portfolio (history of animal updated daily). Banned breeds paperwork and availability of animals for adoption.

Ongoing assessment in conjunction with other staff members of animals within the Animal Centre with respect to their health, welfare, behaviour and suitability for re-homing, drawing attention to superiors of animals who are not considered to be fully healthy and/or require veterinary treatment.

Regularly inspect all equipment within the Animal Centre, with early reporting of any defects or deficiencies found, also responsible for/assisting with stock control of equipment, feeding and cleaning supplies.

Assist with ordering, stock rotation, presentation, Animal Centre shop sales and stock taking.

Operation of the cash register and safe receipt of moneys, maintaining daily cash records as directed.

Clean, disinfect and maintain a high standard of cleanliness set by management, animal accommodation, isolation and exercise areas; food preparation, laundry, storage, treatment and in some instance’s destruction facilities, reception, offices, stores, staff facilities including toilets and outside areas and ensure buildings/exercise areas are secure at all times.

Acting as the first point of contact for public enquiries of animals within the Animal Centre and assisting the Centre Manager with fundraising and public events for the Animal Centre along with visits by schools or other groups.

Record temperatures on each animal section to ensure they are acceptable and put provisions in place to0 maintain temperatures required by licensing.

Identify a suitable diet, prepare and provide food and water for the animals in our care.

To carry out routine animal behaviour monitoring/assessments prior to rehoming and to design and implement behavioural training plans where needed. To keep managers informed on the progress/outcome of behavioural plans and to raise any cause for concerns.

Complete documentation and maintain computerised and paper records relating to the acceptance and release of animals.

Attend to the needs of the client/customer/general public, face to face or via the telephone regarding animals at the centre and to undertake initial assessment of an animal and prospective adopter’s suitability to one another and to provide ongoing support and advise post adoption.

To undertake other duties as required by the Centre Manager. Other tasks undertaken by the jobholder may include, but are not limited to:

Assisting with educational visits/talks

· Post adoption advice to clients

· Implanting of microchips and completion of microchip records

· Assisting and creating animal’s promotional initiatives

· Taking temporary care of wildlife accepted into the centre pending transfer.

· Writing kennel cards and taking photos of animals for use on adoption write ups, press releases and our website.

In addition to your normal duties, you may occasionally be required to undertake such other reasonable duties as necessary to meet the needs of the Branch.
This job description is a statement of the job content required as of March 2023. It should not be seen as precluding future changes.

Job Types: Part-time, Permanent
Part-time hours: 15 per week

Salary: From £7,410.00 per year

Benefits:

• On-site parking

Schedule:

• Weekend availability
• Weekends only

Experience:

• professional domestic animal: 1 year (required)

Licence/Certification:

• Full UK driving license (required)

Work Location: One location

Application deadline: 01/04/2023