Address
Form of workSocial Work Program Coordinator
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.
POSITION SUMMARY/OVERVIEW: We’re seeking an innovative, creative Social Work professional to facilitate our Pet Pals Program - a Humane Education Program for at-risk youth, and support staff, volunteer and foster wellness.
A critical part of our Social Work team, the Social Work Program Coordinator will facilitate our Pet Pals Program, an 8-week / 4-week (during Summer) Humane Education / Job Readiness program for working age teens considered to be at-risk (Interns). We facilitate three cohorts per year (Spring, Summer & Fall). The goal of the Pet Pals Program is to expose “at-risk” teens to the various career pathways in Animal Welfare, while earning an actual wage. This role requires consistent outreach to community partners, partnership and relationship building, working in an interdisciplinary setting with animal welfare professionals.
In addition to facilitating the Pet Pals Program, they will also provide direct support to staff, fosters and volunteers by facilitating trainings, providing resources and direct support around challenges related to compassion fatigue, trauma, burnout and euthanasia.
Wondering if you may be the right fit for this role in our organization? If you’re compassionate, creative, customer and client-focused, and understand the macro and micro Social Work aspects related to pets and people, you might be just who we are looking for! We are looking for an out-of-the-box thinker who has demonstrated the ability to facilitate and manage projects and programs and a desire to learn new things every single day.
ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:
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.
POSITION SUMMARY/OVERVIEW: We’re seeking an innovative, creative Social Work professional to facilitate our Pet Pals Program - a Humane Education Program for at-risk youth, and support staff, volunteer and foster wellness.
A critical part of our Social Work team, the Social Work Program Coordinator will facilitate our Pet Pals Program, an 8-week / 4-week (during Summer) Humane Education / Job Readiness program for working age teens considered to be at-risk (Interns). We facilitate three cohorts per year (Spring, Summer & Fall). The goal of the Pet Pals Program is to expose “at-risk” teens to the various career pathways in Animal Welfare, while earning an actual wage. This role requires consistent outreach to community partners, partnership and relationship building, working in an interdisciplinary setting with animal welfare professionals.
In addition to facilitating the Pet Pals Program, they will also provide direct support to staff, fosters and volunteers by facilitating trainings, providing resources and direct support around challenges related to compassion fatigue, trauma, burnout and euthanasia.
Wondering if you may be the right fit for this role in our organization? If you’re compassionate, creative, customer and client-focused, and understand the macro and micro Social Work aspects related to pets and people, you might be just who we are looking for! We are looking for an out-of-the-box thinker who has demonstrated the ability to facilitate and manage projects and programs and a desire to learn new things every single day.
ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:
- Recruit both interns and mentors for the Pet Pals Program
- Build and maintain relationships with other organizations to help ensure steady intern enrollment
- Assist in design & implementation of curriculum for the 8 week Pet Pals Internship program
- Facilitate weekly, on-going programming for several cohorts
- Help support mentors as they build relationships with interns.
- Facilitate trauma-informed trainings for mentors
- Assist in providing direct support to staff, fosters and volunteers facing challenges related to animal welfare - such as facilitate trainings, provide resources, discuss sensitive topics.
- All other duties as assigned
OTHER FUNCTIONS:
- 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 manage volunteers interested in and needed for 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
QUALIFICATIONS, SKILLS, & EXPECTATIONS:
- MSW or equivalent degree required.
- A minimum of 2 years working in the human services space is preferred.
- Must embody APA!'s core values of innovation, respect, drive, resourcefulness, and inclusion
- Commitment to APA!'s customer experience expectations
- Ability to communicate with a variety of people effectively and without judgment or negativity.
- Willing and committed to working well with volunteers, interns and staff in all roles
- Understanding that youth work is nuanced, and requires a flexible and non-judgmental approach
- Must have an interest in developing and implementing new programs of Social Work practice
- Experience with the human-animal bond, traumatic loss, grief counseling, complex emotional stress prevention, and/or conflict resolution preferred.
- Demonstrated experience in Social Work, as well as case management experience.
- Must be able to work in a high-volume, fast-paced, high stress environment.
- Ability to adapt quickly and be flexible in changing situations, ability to navigate stressful situations well.
- Willingness to engage authentically with team members.
- Ability to consistently meet deadlines and complete assignments within specified time frames and use time and resources effectively to meet goals and complete assignments quickly and efficiently with little to no supervision.
- Skills such as organization, critical thinking, and planning are important.
- Proficient in Microsoft Office and/or Google Workplace
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 cats who may carry zoonotic diseases such as ringworm, scabies, intestinal parasites, etc.
- Able to be on your feet for multiple hours of the day
- Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer
- Must be able to lift up to 15 pounds at times
- 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
WORK ENVIRONMENT:
- Standard office environment, with exposure to environmental conditions that include working with and near animals
- Uses own transportation to travel and transport
- Work Tuesdays - Saturdays during programming weeks. Alternate schedule outside of programming weeks can be discussed.
- Work is normally performed inside; some outside work is required
TIME COMMITMENT:
This is a full-time, exempt position with an average of 40+ hours per week. Some overtime, weekends and evenings may be occasionally required.
WORKING RELATIONSHIPS: This position reports directly to the Director of Social Work
LOCATIONS:
- Mostly APA! Main - Town Lake Animal Center 1156 West Cesar Chavez Austin, TX 78703
- May travel to offsite locations as needed.
SALARY: $47,000 - 50,000 annually (may vary based on experience)
BENEFITS:
Austin Pets Alive! is proud to offer a competitive benefits package for full-time employees, including up to 95% subsidy on employer sponsored medical coverage, up to 2% match on 401(K) retirement plan, 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, 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 a third week of PTO accrual upon completion of 12 months of employment. Employee’s 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.
BENEFITS:
Austin Pets Alive! is proud to offer a competitive benefits package for full-time employees, including up to 95% subsidy on employer sponsored medical coverage, up to 2% match on 401(K) retirement plan, 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, 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 a third week of PTO accrual upon completion of 12 months of employment. Employee’s 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.
