Dog Care and Welfare Assistant
Job Title: Dog Care & Welfare Assistant
Department: Dog Care & Welfare
Reports to: Dog Care & Welfare Supervisor/ Assistant Supervisor
Hours: 37.5 hours per week via 7-day shift pattern
Location: National Headquarters and Training Centre, Model Farm Road, Cork
Contract Term: Permanent
Purpose of Role
The primary purpose of this role is to provide high-quality care and support to all dogs under the care of our Dog Care & Welfare team, ensuring their health and wellbeing by the provision of the five welfare domains.
Key Responsibilities
1. Kennel Husbandry: Carry out husbandry for up to 30 dogs within our onsite kennel accommodation, adhering to standard operating procedures (SOPs). This includes providing specialist health care, maintaining appropriate hygiene levels, behaviour management and proactively identifying areas for improvement.
2. Dog Wellbeing: Monitor and maintain the mental and physical wellbeing of all our dogs, implementing tailored feeding, care and enrichment practices to ensure each dog's unique needs are met. Proactively identify and resolve potential welfare issues.
3. Health Management: Proactively identify and administer treatment for health issues, liaising with veterinary professionals as needed, and implementing preventative measures to support long-term health and wellbeing.
4. Behavioural Management: Maintain and develop appropriate behaviour responses within the kennel environment using appropriate dog-handling and training techniques while being aware of individual personalities and breed temperaments and traits. Collaborate with trainers to address behaviour issues when appropriate.
5. Rehoming of dogs: Act as the lead person to rehome dogs to be repurposed, by assessing their needs and selecting a suitable placement home. Collaborate with training staff to ensure a comprehensive understanding of each dog’s history, behavioural traits, and any special considerations.
6. Record-keeping: Maintain accurate and up-to-date records, providing detailed verbal and written/electronic reports on the health, welfare, and behaviour of dogs.
7. Data Collection and Reporting: Assist in the collection, analysis, and reporting of health and welfare data to inform decision-making and improvements within the organisation.
8. Mentorship: Mentor and train new staff, volunteers, and temporary workers to ensure consistency in the application of SOPs and organisational values.
9. Collaboration: Work as part of the team to deliver joint objectives in the team including cross-departmental support for breeding, welfare, and client-facing teams to ensure seamless care for dogs.
10. Initiatives and Development: Lead and support canine health and welfare improvement initiatives, sharing insights and advice with other departments. Actively engage in CPD (Continuing Professional Development) to stay informed of best practices and advancements in dog health and welfare.
11. Community Support: Support our Guide Dog, Assistance Dog, and Community Dog clients by providing advice and guidance on caring for their dogs. Engage with community initiatives to promote the importance of canine welfare.
12. SOP Review and Development: Assist in reviewing and refining SOPs to adapt to evolving welfare standards and organisational needs.
13. Flexibility: Respond to emergency health and welfare situations as required, occasionally outside regular hours.
Person Specification:
* Comfortable handling dogs, completing physical tasks and working in an outdoor environment.
* 3rd level science degree, animal care qualification and/or relevant experience required.
* Positive/optimistic attitude essential with an ability to demonstrate a solution-oriented approach.
* Strong communication skills, comfortable with computer use and working with data.
* Passionate about animal health and welfare.
* Experience working in a fast-paced environment as part of a team.
* Full clean Category B (vehicles) drivers licence essential.
* Availability to work evenings, weekends and bank holidays as required.
Special Conditions:
* You will be required to work as part of a roster which covers a variety of shift patterns which includes some weekend and evening work.
* Full clean driving licence essential.
* Must be eligible to work in Ireland and EU.
* Category B current driving licence – Driving of organisation vehicles and transportation of dogs is sometimes required as part of the role.
* Subject to full Garda vetting.
Values and Behaviours
IGDB places great emphasis on how people get the job done. For example, we need people who are passionate about enabling people who are vision-impaired and families of children with autism to lead better lives and become more mobile and independent. Employees are expected to achieve these standards to fully meet the expectations of their role.
Values and behaviours
* Respect: Treats clients, colleagues, and volunteers with equal respect. Is open-minded and tolerant of different views.
* Teamwork: Supports a team environment which promotes wellbeing and maximises personal effectiveness. Communicates clearly and effectively with others. Strives to be supportive, consistent, and professional with clients, colleagues, and volunteers.
* Optimism: Is solution-focused and looks to bring a positive attitude to challenges. Celebrates wins and encourages others to do the same. Does not fear failure – believes we can all learn lessons for the next time together.
* Conscientiousness: Takes pride in what is done and how it is done. Always presents a professional and capable manner in all tasks that are completed. Has a clarity of purpose, sets a good example for others. Is accountable for what is done and takes ownership for achievement.
* Integrity: Leads by example. Is fair and consistent when working with clients, colleagues and volunteers. Takes ownership of achievements and responsibility for failure.
* Excellence: Strives to continuously improve own performance.
Please note that if you are NOT a passport holder of the country for the vacancy you might need a work permit.
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