Adoption Coordinator - Northern Hub at CommonSpirit Health Mountain Region

Huntersville, North Carolina, United States -

Full Time

Start Date

Immediate

Expiry Date

24 Jul, 26

Salary

40000.0

Posted On

25 Apr, 26

Experience

2 year(s) or above

Remote Job

Yes

Telecommute

Yes

Sponsor Visa

Skills

Animal handling, Customer service, Volunteer management, Adoption facilitation, Animal care, Networking, Logistics coordination, Communication, Time management, Problem solving, Vaccination administration, Medical treatment, Data management, Teamwork, Training

Industry

Hospitals and Health Care

Description

Adoption Coordinator - Northern Hub APA! BACKGROUND: Austin Pets Alive! (APA!) is one of Austin’s most dynamic and best-loved nonprofits. The organization is the leader in the no-kill movement nationally and is considered a national thought leader in animal welfare. APA! locally rescues, treats, and adopts out 10,000 homeless dogs and cats each year, providing the safety net for Austin’s most at-risk shelter pets, which helps Austin to be a no-kill city, while also assisting other communities in saving homeless animals. The organization is distinguished by the scrappiness of its grassroots, non-traditional community-based animal rescue work. The organization continues to innovate best practices to save lives and teaches its renowned lifesaving model through American Pets Alive!, APA!’s national division. In 2020, AmPA! began the Human Animal Support Services (HASS) project, a collaborative movement of more than 10,000 animal welfare professionals working in nearly 1,900 organizations. HASS is the first-of-its-kind collective of shelters and animal welfare professionals coming together to build community-focused animal services that better meet the needs of people and pets by keeping human-animal families together and keeping pets unnecessarily out of shelters. BRIEF POSITION SUMMARY/OVERVIEW: The Adoption Coordinator - Northern Hub plays a vital role in saving lives by providing hands-on animal care, facilitating adoptions and foster placements, and serving as a key connection between the Austin hub transport team and adopters. Based at the Petco Adoption Center in Huntersville, NC, this role provides hands-on animal care while ensuring a smooth and positive foster and adoption experience. A significant part of this position is working alongside volunteers as a teammate, guiding them in daily care and adoption facilitation to maximize efficiency and lifesaving impact. This role is instrumental in establishing and expanding a Direct to Adopter (D2A) model for Austin Pets Alive! (APA!), increasing the save rate for APA!’s target shelters. The Adoption Coordinator will ensure that all animals at the center receive the highest standard of care while also focusing on building a strong foster and adoption network. By prioritizing open, adopter-friendly placements rooted in lifesaving, this position will help shape a more inclusive and effective future for animal welfare. The Adoption Coordinator - Northern Hub plays a key role in advancing the goals of APA!’s transport program. This position contributes directly to APA!’s mission to increase the live release rate across Texas by supporting a sustainable, inclusive, and high-impact model for shelter operations and placement coordination. The Adoption Coordinator - Northern Hub is responsible for managing their daily responsibilities, maintaining clear priorities, and delivering consistent, high-quality work that aligns with APA!’s values and goals. This includes staying organized, using data or feedback to inform decisions, and following through on key tasks and responsibilities with minimal oversight. This is a hands-on, mission-driven role focused on results, reliability, and teamwork. APA! is a volunteer-powered organization, so every staff member is expected to work alongside and support volunteers. The Adoption Coordinator - Northern Hub collaborates closely with volunteers to complete day-to-day tasks, helps create a positive and inclusive environment, and actively contributes to a culture of shared effort and mutual respect. This position may involve shift flexibility, weekend hours, and responsiveness during times of high need. Every individual at APA! is responsible for working in collaboration with volunteers; making sure volunteers are recruited, trained and feel impactful through their efforts at APA!. A core part of this role is creating a welcoming and empowering experience for volunteers, including assisting with onboarding, training, and volunteer engagement as part of the day-to-day workflow. ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS * Collaborate with the APA! transport team to market and place dogs most in need, maximizing lives saved. * Facilitate communication regarding Texas dogs in need, ensuring all placement options are explored before arrival. * Provide excellent customer service by processing adoptions through an inclusive, adopter-friendly approach. * Perform hands-on animal care, including feeding, providing fresh water, cleaning kennels, facilitating daily outings, and offering enrichment to support animals’ physical and emotional well-being. * Administer vaccinations, oral medications, and medical treatments, while also coordinating veterinary care with external Veterinary clinic partners. * Support adopters and fosters with pre and post placement guidance, including behavioral, medical, and transition assistance. * Coordinate logistics for animal drop-offs and pick-ups, ensuring smooth transitions for animals entering and leaving the center for adoption. * Counsel adopters, answer questions, and strive to ensure that every visitor leaves with a pet. * Lead and support volunteers by working alongside them, providing training, and ensuring effective teamwork. * Assist in development of foster, volunteer, and adopter network for NC Hub location. * Assist in developing standard operating procedures (SOPs), streamlining processes for efficiency, and training new team members. * Coordinate and physically pick up dogs and cats from the airport or transport or designated arrival locations as needed. * Be available for contact from transport drivers and the Texas hub during all scheduled transports. * Ensure the adoption center is clean, organized, and well-maintained at all times. * Promote a culture of philanthropy by encouraging fundraising support and engaging others in the organization's mission. * In the event of a natural disaster (e.g., winter storm, hurricane, etc.), this position will be expected to help lead rescue effrts along with APA! and AmPA!. This could include communication with affected shelters, organizing national transport efforts, managing volunteers, coordinating donations, and other duties as assigned. * Ensure the APA! Shelter Hub embodies the new model of transport programs, always centering equity, and providing non-judgmental support to adopters, fosters, and all stake-holders * Actively contribute to a volunteer-powered culture by partnering with volunteers during every shift and helping create an inclusive, welcoming environment * Work alongside volunteers to complete daily tasks, ensuring the work is shared and collaborative—not siloed * Support the recruitment and onboarding process by welcoming new volunteers and helping them get oriented to the program * Help retain volunteers by offering encouragement, guidance, and feedback during shared work * Recommend strong volunteers for deeper involvement or specialized roles to your supervisor or volunteer manager * Contribute to a positive culture by recognizing volunteer contributions through appreciation, gratitude, and shoutouts * Help set volunteers up for success by clearly explaining tasks, providing hands-on guidance, and offering in-the-moment support OTHER FUNCTIONS: * Must demonstrate dependability, accountability, time management, use of reasoning, and good judgment skills * Attend and participate in all required training sessions and meetings * Maintain open and consistent communication with Program Manager or designee, supervisor, and other colleagues * Partner with Volunteer Managers to learn about the volunteer programs and support volunteers interested in your department on an ongoing basis * Able to react to change productively and perform other related duties as assigned * Able to work evenings, weekends, and holidays as needed * Able to work in a high-volume, fast-paced, high-stress environment * Comfortable working autonomously when given goals and deadlines QUALIFICATIONS, SKILLS, & EXPECTATIONS: * At least 2 years of animal handling (cats and dogs) experience preferred * Some veterinary medical experience or knowledge preferred * Excellent networking and customer service skills * Desire to engage in regular networking and partnership building * Solution oriented, positive attitude when encountering challenges or barriers * Interest in growing and expanding a program on a state and national level * Must have a valid driver's license and insurance * Must demonstrate dependability, accountability, time management, use of reasoning, and good judgment skills * Attend and participate in all required training sessions and meetings * Maintain open and consistent communication with Program Manager or designee, supervisor, and other colleagues * Partner with Volunteer Managers to learn about the volunteer programs and support volunteers interested in your department on an ongoing basis * Able to react to change productively and perform other related duties as assigned * Able to work evenings, weekends, and holidays as needed * Able to work in a high-volume, fast-paced, high-stress environment * Comfortable working autonomously when given goals and deadlines PHYSICAL JOB REQUIREMENTS: * Must be able to work around animals (including diseased, injured, and/or potentially aggressive animals), loud noises, chlorine or other chemicals, and inclement weather * Must be able to comfortably interact with cats/dogs of various health levels, including zoonotic diseases such as ringworm, scabies, intestinal parasites, etc. * Must b able to walk big dogs that pull and jump * Must be able to visually observe people and animals from up to 150 feet away * Ability to hear normal speech at close contact and shouting up to 150 feet away with the ability to hear and discern dog vocalizations both soft and loud * Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer * Must be able to focus in a loud and busy environment despite distractions * Must be able to walk around shelter as needed - uneven ground, keeping a safe distance from dogs and handlers * Will sit, stand, walk, talk, hear, stoop, bend, stretch, squat, kneel, grasp, grip, put fingers together firmly and reach above and below shoulder level, lift and/or carry up to 50 pounds and push and pull up to 50 pounds for situations of moving supplies and setting up for events; repetitively use hands to operate computers; flex the neck upward and downward; twist the neck and the waist. * If reasonable accommodations are requested, reasonable accommodations will be made to enable employees with disabilities to perform the essential functions of their job absent undue hardship to the organization. WORK ENVIRONMENT: * Standard office environment, with exposure to environmental conditions that include working with and near animals * May use own transportation to travel and transport * Occasional after-hours or weekend work will be required to support program needs * Exposure to unpleasant odors * Rapid pace with exposure to potential hazards including animal waste, disinfectants, and high levels of noise * Potential for animal bites and scratches and diseases that can be transmitted from animals to people TIME COMMITMENT: * This is a full-time, exempt position with an average of 40 hours per week * Shift and schedule flexibility is required, as weekly schedule is subject to change * Able to work evenings, weekends, and holidays as needed WORKING RELATIONSHIPS: This position reports directly to the Adoption Center Manager - Northern Hub. LOCATION(S): * Petco; 10017 Biddick Ln, Huntersville, NC 28078 * May travel to offsite locations as needed * Occasional after-hours or weekend work may be required to support program needs PAY: This position starts at $40,000 / Year. Eligible employees will be able to receive up to $2/hr stipend within approximately 6 months through successful completion of internal APATec certifications (applicable to shelter operations, customer service, and medical roles). *Certifications and stipends are discretionary and subject to change based on business need. BENEFITS: Austin Pets Alive! is proud to offer a competitive benefits package for full-time employees, including a subsidy on employer-sponsored medical coverage, subsidized and voluntary life insurance, voluntary dental, vision, and short-term disability options, all effective the first day of employment. We also offer voluntary wellness and emergency sick plans, up to 2% match on 401(K) retirement plan, supplemental benefits, subsidized pet insurance, flexible spending accounts and additional life coverage. Full-time employees receive 10 paid holidays and accrue 10 days paid time off during the first year of employment, with an additional 5 days of PTO accrual upon completion of 12 months of employment. Employees will also receive professional development opportunities through APA!’s ongoing mission to advance our animal welfare professionals in our life-saving work. EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES AND ACCOMMODATIONS STATEMENT Austin Pets Alive! is an equal employment opportunity employer and we value having staff who come from communities that are most impacted by the issues we engage on. We especially encourage people of color, LGBTQ people, women, transgender and gender non-conforming people, and people with disabilities to apply. Austin Pets Alive! does not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. Austin Pets Alive! is committed to creating a dynamic work environment that values diversity and inclusion, respect and integrity, community focus, and innovation. APA! is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities in the employment application process. To request an accommodation, please contact Talent Acquisition at job@austinpetsalive.org at least one week in advance of your interview.

Responsibilities

The Adoption Coordinator manages daily animal care and facilitates adoptions at the Northern Hub while collaborating with volunteers to ensure high-quality service. This role is responsible for expanding the Direct to Adopter model and coordinating logistics for animal transports and placements.