Community Support Specialist

Job Type: Full-time
Pay: $15/ hour
Work Location: On site
Reports to Community Support Manager

Company Overview

Cincinnati Animal CARE (CAC) is a dynamic and progressive humane society in contract with Hamilton County to deliver exceptional animal services to our community. We enforce animal laws and prioritize public safety while striving to be a community resource providing education and support to the people and animals of Hamilton County. We value our team of compassionate, open-minded and resilient staff and volunteers who make it possible to care for 8,000 animals each year. We believe that lifesaving is a community ethic and implement a collaborative, holistic approach to animal sheltering and Dog Warden services.

Position Summary

The goal of this department is to keep pets with their families through support intervention and proactive community-based programming. Our Community Support Specialists partner with our community to achieve the best outcome for the pets and people we serve. Community Support Specialists provide an empathetic and compassionate approach while assisting community members with a surrendered animal, admitting a found animal (often with the assistance of our dog wardens), helping an animal return home to an owner, or problem-solving ways to keep a pet in their home. Community Support Specialists must be organized, appreciate attention to detail and data gathering, be a good listener, be open to challenging implicit bias, converse with people to understand their needs and/or concerns, and display problem-solving skills. Must be able to think on your feet, stay calm under pressure, and have a background in customer services or social services.

Community Support Specialists work extensively with the public to provide services and help to keep pets in their homes by identifying barriers, assessing needs, providing consultation, support, and follow through. We believe people are the answer, not the problem so we are looking for candidates with a passion for people in our community. We are passionate about helping people find or obtain the resources they need with kindness, without judgment, and with a true desire to help people first. This is a fast-paced position that requires a high degree of organization, attention to detail, relationship-building skills, and a sense of urgency.

Our Community Support Specialists may occasionally work off-site with the goal of keeping pets with their families through proactive support intervention and community-based programming. Our goal is to become embedded into the community, become a household name, and build a bridge to and from the Hamilton County Animal Shelter. The ideal candidate will have significant understanding of systemic issues that affect underserved populations and commitment to serve the community. This position is highly collaborative with other departments in our organization so a commitment to teamwork and cooperation are a must.

Duties and responsibilities:

• Phone consultations with the public
• In-person consultations with the public
• Data entry
• Vaccinating animals
• Taking pictures of animals
• Off-site community events
• General cleaning
• Work alongside of and collaborate with other departments to ensure daily responsibilities and ongoing projects are optimal and high functioning.

Requirements:

• A high school diploma or equivalent
• One year of animal husbandry/care experience and/or customer service experience preferred
• Comfortable with all sizes, breeds, and species of animals
• Ability to understand and adhere to policies and procedures
• Possess empathetic communication skills
• Ability to handle sensitive issues
• Ability to work under general supervision
• Ability to maintain accurate records
• Ability to restrain animals
• Ability to exercise judgment, tact, and diplomacy
• Ability to understand and carry out oral and written instructions
• Positions within this classification may require a valid Ohio driver’s license data entry skills
• Ability to stand for extended periods
• Ability to lift at least 30lbs

Working Conditions:

• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently required to sit, stand, walk, talk and hear. The employee is occasionally required to use hands to finger, handle, or operate objects, controls, or tools listed above; reach with hands and arms; climb or balance; stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl; and taste or smell.
• The employee must occasionally lift and/or move more than 50 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, and the ability to adjust focus.
• While performing the duties of this job, the employee frequently works in outside weather conditions. The employee occasionally works near moving mechanical parts; in high, precarious places; and is occasionally exposed to wet and/or humid conditions.
• The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate to high.
• Exposure and handling unvetted animals and their waste is frequent.