Intake Manager

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Optimize Length of Stay for incoming animals, making responsible decisions regarding initial intake, emancipation, and return to owner, movement to adoption or treatment, and euthanasia.
  • Intake
    • Manage and coordinate process flow daily for incoming animals guided by humane practices and with the goal of reducing or eliminating unnecessary days of care and assisting with overall pathway planning.
    • Work in close coordination with operations management to ensure a smooth, efficient, and effective process flow for intake, including vaccinations, exams, blood tests, and any necessary veterinary treatment.
    • Ensure practices and protocols that ensure each animal’s first encounter and entry into HSHV is as fear free as possible and is in support of the mental well-being of those already likely dealing with fear, anxiety, stress, trauma and grief, and to prevent vulnerability to sickness and contagious disease and future behavior problems.
    • Ensure timely, accurate, and thorough gathering and recording of information on all animals’ files, including but not limited to: animal and person information, locations, stages, needed medical procedures and/or foster placements, memos, and incident data—so that staff is aware of next steps in the animals’ movement.
  • Emancipation & Return to Owner
    • Ensure the organization follows all applicable laws, contractual obligations, best practices, regulations, and internal protocols regarding the disposition of animals in the care of HSHV. Work with Animal Control and law enforcement to obtain and gather accurate and thorough information and communicate as necessary to ensure animals receive proper care and disposition.
    • Oversee and coordinate all Return to Owner activities, ensuring compliance with HSHV protocols and fee schedules, any applicable animal control requirements and fines, and local licensing regulations. Coordinate and manage materials and supplies for municipalities for which HSHV issues licenses.
    • Oversee and coordinate HSHV Lost and Found program with the goal of maximizing the number of successful reunions and maintaining a national high average RTO rate. Keep abreast of best practices in Lost and Found for dogs and cats; embracing innovation and implementing program changes and improvements accordingly. Monitor negative trends and make program changes or organizational recommendations to address. On a day-to-day basis, ensure proper information gathering, maintenance, and review; internal and public communication and customer service; training and supervision of staff involved; and collaborate with the Communications Department for regular Lost and Found social media posts.
    • Collaborate with the Cruelty & Rescue Department on animal intake and holding needs related to ongoing investigations and ensure Department is notified of suspected cases of abuse or neglect of incoming animals.
  • Euthanasia

• Oversee euthanasia training and certification protocols to ensure that animals that must be humanely euthanized are done so with the highest level of compassion, respect, and technical skill in accordance with a “good death,” and AVMA standards. Oversee and, with support from other operations management, conduct euthanasia training and certification of appropriate staff. Arrange offsite training when appropriate/required. Provide feedback on training modifications or needs of technicians already certified or in process to the appropriate management, and oversee re-training as needed. Organize any needed recertification of staff who are currently euthanasia certified. Communicate euthanasia certification status to Human Resources.
  • Oversee the administration of euthanasia to animals, and ensure compliance with HSHV euthanasia protocols.

2. Help drive intake prevention efforts/humane support services and assist in the development of intake prevention services and programs.

• Keep abreast of emerging and best practices in intake prevention and help lead innovation.
• Ensure staff are equipped and empowered to offer intake prevention solutions to customers in real time. Keep abreast of other human support services at HSHV and ensure their utilization by intake staff. Brainstorm with Intake Staff and other operations management to find other solutions. Maintain awareness of intake prevention strategies used or recommended by other organizations and determine if/how they may work at HSHV.
• Maintain private rehoming page of HSHV.org. Review, approve/publish, edit, and remove posts in WordPress. Enter person and animal information in shelter software to be able to track outcomes of animals using this service.
• Ensure information regarding intake and prevention methods is up-to-date on www.hshv.org.

3. Oversee and coordinate HSHV’s Love Train animal transfer and transport program.

• Maintain awareness of and compliance with HSHV and State of Michigan requirements to transport animals within and into Michigan, and with national standards and best practices.
• Responsible for selection of animals to be transported, coordinating travel logistics, scheduling needed volunteers and extra staff persons for arrival of animals, and reporting of illness.
• Be a part of population management at HSHV, and remain aware of the population/capacity, work with other operational leadership to determine when we can assist other shelters, if transports are needed for adoption programs, or when they may hamper operations related to capacity levels.
• Maintain excellent relationships and open communication with “source” shelter contacts. Look for new sources as needed.
• Admin HSHV Love Train Facebook group- admit new members, respond to questions, etc.

4. Coordinate rabies testing activities through Washtenaw County Health Department, ensuring compliance with state and local laws.

5. Set the standards for and be a model of great customer service, both externally and internally. Ensure the public’s questions (including but not limited to intake queries and lost & found) are answered courteously, accurately, and professionally. Handle customer problems and complaints, working to de-escalate emotional situations, and make serious problems and incidences known to the Chief of Operations. Courteously support and assist staff and volunteers with their questions and concerns.

6. Monitor the daily and other routinely scheduled maintenance, cleanliness, and sanitation of the Intake lobby, intake exam rooms, and freezer—focused on keeping a welcoming environment for human customers, a Fear-Free environment for animals, preventing the spread of disease, and consulting with other departments as appropriate.

7. Maintain the equipment and supply inventory for the Intake and Shelter Medicine departments and ensure staff has the tools they need to do their jobs effectively and safely.

8. Other duties as assigned.

Managerial

• Provide supportive management to staff. Monitor, mentor, and motivate staff performance.
  • Ensure training plan is in place, monitor to ensure timely, effective completion; and keep training ongoing for all staff to ensure their engagement and compliance with changing procedures, and support the overall growth and continuing education of staff.
  • Schedule & ensure adequate daily staffing as needed, approve/disapprove vacations, monitor daily attendance, and approve assigned payroll prior to deadlines.
  • Provide good communication and emotional support so that staff are engaged and equipped to do their jobs. Monitor staff stress and problems related to compassion fatigue—adjusting workload and referring to EAP as necessary to ensure a healthy and satisfied staff.
  • Review and evaluate staff performance – conduct performance reviews and recommend compensation changes.
  • Resolve staff issues and manage disciplinary actions.
• Participate in interview process for new hires.
• Ensure safety (OSHA, employee, environment) in Intake areas.
  • Promptly write and distribute incident reports for safety violations, accidents and injuries.
• Participate in setting department annual goals and budgeting.
• Serve as back-up to other operational management staff.

General

• Be an effective liaison to the community, positively promoting HSHV’s mission, goals and philosophies. Continuously seek to improve HSHV’s save rate without compromising public health or safety or causing or prolonging animal suffering.
• Keep abreast of best practices in the care of shelter animals, lost and found, intake prevention, and any intersection between animal control/field services and intake, and make recommendations regarding program improvements and new program elements.
• Respond to needs with the proper sense of urgency.
• Work effectively and sensitively with a diverse population of customers, volunteers and staff; and respond to the needs and concerns of a diverse socioeconomic community.
• Attend agency staff meetings and participate in monthly statistics review. Read email on a daily basis, and respond as appropriate.
• Keep informed of and abide by agency policies and procedures.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

While performing this job, you will be required to continually walk, stand, squat, twist, and kneel, reach and grab with your hands and arms, in addition to being able to lift and move animals, materials and equipment weighing 60 lbs or more. You will need to be able to use a computer keyboard, mouse, monitor and telephone. You may occasionally need to use a ladder. This position requires the ability to speak normally and to use normal or aided vision and hearing. Work is subject to frequent interruptions. You will be exposed to kennel/shelter setting, both indoors and outdoors. You will be exposed to disinfectant solutions used in cleaning. You will be consistently exposed to animals and animal allergens, including animal hair, dander, saliva, fecal matter, urine, zoonotic diseases, fleas and other mites or bugs. You may also be subject to potential danger including parasites and infectious diseases, animal bites and scratches. Tetanus and rabies (pre-exposure) inoculations are required or must be waived.

MENTAL DEMANDS

While performing this job, you will be regularly required to use written and oral communication skills; observe and interpret situations; analyze and solve problems; learn and apply new information and skills; perform repetitive work on multiple, concurrent tasks; fulfill intensive deadlines; and interact with staff, the public, volunteers and others encountered in the course of work. You will be exposed to others’ pain and suffering, and must be able to handle occasional volatile situations. As this job requires making difficult decisions and includes euthanasia, the person in this position must effectively manage their emotions.