Friends of Oakland Animal Services Dog Foster Coordinator Oakland, CA · Full time Company website

Apply for Dog Foster Coordinator

Friends of Oakland Animal Services (FOAS) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit whose mission is to provide homes, health, and happiness to Oakland’s animals in need. Since our founding in 2005, our primary focus has been to fund programs and activities at the City of Oakland's municipal animal shelter, Oakland Animal Services (OAS), that improve services to the people and animals of Oakland.

Job Duties and Responsibilities

• Coordinate day-to-day program activities and operations for the dog foster program.
• Coordinate movement of shelter dogs into and out of foster care.
• Match dogs needing foster with appropriate foster homes, by having a good understanding of each dog’s needs (e.g. behavior and medical needs) and capabilities of foster homes.
• Recruit and train foster caregivers.
• Provide ongoing support to foster caregivers, including answering questions, offering guidance, providing supplies, addressing medical and behavior needs, and other foster-related needs.
• Maintain regular communication with foster caregivers to monitor animal progress, and to ensure that fostering is a positive, manageable experience.
• Cultivate a supportive, engaged community of foster caregivers and volunteers.
• Participate in all aspects of daily foster program operations and perform hands-on tasks as needed (e.g. restocking and organizing supplies, cleaning, direct animal care).
• Coordinate veterinary care for foster dogs, and assist with such care as needed.
• Ensure foster dogs are up to date on all appropriate vaccinations and flea treatment.
• Collaborate and coordinate with other staff to support foster dogs’ care, placement, and overall outcome.
• Develop and maintain systems to support effective day-to-day program operations, program coordination, information sharing, and recordkeeping.
• Identify and address challenges in day-to-day program operations, including inefficiencies in processes and workflows, and contribute to developing and implementing improvements.
• Support initiatives to help grow the foster program’s capacity, improve program operations, and meet the evolving needs of OAS.
• Develop meaningful volunteer roles to support the foster program and support the recruitment and training of these volunteers.
• Build capacity of foster caregivers to assist with marketing, promotion, and adoption of available foster animals.
• Create and update foster program resources such as procedures and training materials.
• Maintain accurate records related to foster dogs and program activities (e.g. animal status, location, care received), ensuring to keep relevant records in the shelter database software up-to-date.
• Collect, review, and maintain foster documentation (e.g. foster contracts, behavior bios, field trip forms). 
• Support external communication by sharing images, videos, and stories highlighting foster program successes.
• Assist manager in providing regular reports to OAS and FOAS leadership regarding program status, successes and challenges.
• Other duties as assigned.

Required Qualifications, Skills, and Experience

• Associate degree or equivalent qualification, or a higher degree, from an accredited college or technical school.
• One year of experience working or volunteering with an animal care, rescue, or shelter organization required; at least two years preferred.
• Strong teamwork and collaboration skills, with ability to establish and maintain effective and cooperative working relations with the public, other employees, and volunteers.
• Strong interpersonal skills, with the ability to remain calm and objective in urgent or complex situations.
• Flexibility, adaptability, aptitude for effectively prioritizing multiple tasks in a dynamic, fast-paced environment.
• Ability to develop, implement, and maintain processes and systems.
• Ability to handle animals safely and humanely, including facilitating safe interactions with people, transporting animals, putting on gear (e.g. collars/harnesses), etc.
• Experience handling dogs of all sizes, including basic training and recognizing behavioral concerns.
• Ability to recognize symptoms of common animal diseases.
• Ability to navigate and operate safely in an animal shelter which include physical tasks such as opening/closing cages, carrying and organizing supplies, lifting and handling animals, etc.
• Ability to lift and handle dogs of all sizes, and move heavy items such as large dog crates and 50 lb bags of dog food.
• Strong computer skills, including Microsoft Office and database systems
• Commitment to the mission, goals and success of Oakland Animal Services and Friends of Oakland Animal Services.

Preferred Qualifications, Skills, and Experience

• Familiarity by training or experience with basic animal care such as vaccinating, deworming, weighing, and giving medications.
• Experience working with animals who may require additional support, including dogs with behavioral challenges, medical needs, or other barriers to placement.
• Experience with coordinating teams of volunteers and/or staff.
• Familiarity with animal sheltering and animal welfare challenges.

Working Conditions

• Primary work location is an animal shelter environment.
• Exposure to loud noises, high levels of activity, animals in various health and behavioral conditions.
• Potential for exposure to animal feces, blood, urine, and zoonotic diseases.
• Potential for exposure to animal bites, scratches, physical bodily impact.
• Activities may include some outdoor work (e.g. supporting fosters at events); must be able to work comfortably outdoors and in varying weather conditions.
• Must be able to tolerate the emotional aspect of work in an animal shelter environment, including the use of euthanasia, and participate in thoughtful, professional communication regarding difficult outcomes with staff, volunteers, and the public. 
• Expected regular work schedule is Thursday to Monday. Occasional flexibility required to ensure adequate team coverage.

Reports To

Dog Program Manager

Job Classification

Full-time, Non-exempt, 40 hours per week

Work Location

On-site at Oakland Animal Services (1101 29th Ave, Oakland, CA 94601)

Compensation

$27- $30 per hour; thirteen select paid holidays, plus accrued vacation and sick time based on hours worked. Health benefits and 401(k) retirement plan also offered.