Grooming Team Lead

Job Description

Job Description

Benefits:

• Free uniforms
• Health insurance
• Signing bonus
• Training & development
• Vision insurance
• 401(k)
• 401(k) matching
• Competitive salary
• Dental insurance
• Flexible schedule

Position Overview

Bark & Mane is seeking an experienced Grooming Team Lead who can deliver high-quality grooming services while improving the performance, consistency, and professionalism of our grooming team.

This is a working leadership role. The Grooming Team Lead will maintain an active grooming schedule while serving as a coach, technical resource, and day-to-day leader. The ideal candidate is a strong groomer who communicates professionally, remains calm under pressure, exercises sound judgment, sets a positive example, and helps others improve respectfully and constructively.

Key Responsibilities

Grooming and Customer Service

• Perform safe, high-quality grooming in accordance with company standards.
• Evaluate each pet’s coat, behavior, age, health, and grooming needs
• Communicate recommendations, limitations, and concerns clearly to customers.
• Maintain accurate grooming notes, photographs, and service records.
• Follow all safety, pet-handling, comfort-grooming, and incident-reporting procedures.

Team Leadership and Coaching

• Provide day-to-day technical leadership and support to the grooming team.
• Set a strong example in safety, quality, attendance, communication, productivity, van care, and customer service.
• Coach groomers on technique, pet handling, time management, workflow, and customer communication.
• Provide clear, fact-based feedback with specific expectations and next steps.
• Support onboarding, ride-alongs, skills assessments, hands-on training, and groomer development.
• Help determine readiness for greater independence and more difficult grooms.
• Reinforce company standards, accountability, teamwork, and professional conduct.
• Communicate team concerns to management with facts, context, and recommended solutions.

Quality, Safety, and Operations

• Help maintain consistent grooming, safety, and customer-service standards.
• Assist management with quality concerns, customer complaints, incidents, and service recovery.
• Provide guidance on difficult, senior, anxious, aggressive, matted, oversized, or medically sensitive pets.
• Help determine when a groom should be modified, stopped, rescheduled, or referred out.
• Identify recurring issues and recommend corrective actions.
• Help maintain grooming procedures, checklists, and training materials.
• Work with management and dispatch to improve scheduling, groom-duration estimates, customer assignments, and daily workflow.
• Communicate delays, equipment issues, pet concerns, and customer problems promptly.
• Support van, equipment, supply, cleanliness, and safety standards.

Leadership Scope
The Grooming Team Lead will work closely with the Operations Manager and business owner. The role will address routine grooming, quality, training, and team-performance matters within the authority provided by management.

The successful candidate must understand when to coach directly, when to provide technical support, and when attendance, conduct, disciplinary, customer, or safety matters must be escalated. The scope of the role may grow based on performance, leadership ability, judgment, and the ability to earn the team’s trust.

Qualifications

• At least three years of professional grooming experience.
• Strong bathing, drying, brushing, deshedding, clipper, scissoring, nail-care, and finishing skills.
• Experience with varied breeds, sizes, coat types, temperaments, and grooming conditions.
• Strong commitment to pet safety, humane handling, and quality workmanship.
• Training, mentoring, coaching, or supervisory experience preferred.
• Strong communication, customer-service, conflict-resolution, organization, and documentation skills.
• Ability to remain calm, make sound decisions, and provide respectful feedback.
• Dependable attendance and punctuality.
• Valid driver’s license and acceptable driving record.
• Ability to meet the physical requirements of mobile grooming.

The Right Candidate

• Puts safety, quality, and pet handling before speed.
• Takes ownership and communicates facts, context, and solutions clearly.
• Coaches others without embarrassing or discouraging them.
• Addresses performance concerns directly and professionally.
• Avoids gossip, favoritism, negativity, and unnecessary workplace drama.
• Understands the realities of a mobile home-service business.
• Wants to build a stronger team—not simply hold a leadership title.

Schedule
This is a full-time position with an active grooming schedule. Leadership, coaching, training, quality review, and administrative responsibilities will be incorporated into the role.

Specific workdays and hours will be discussed based on business needs and candidate availability. Weekend availability may be required.

What We Offer

• An established customer base and company-provided grooming van and equipment.
• A working leadership role with influence over quality, safety, training, and team development.
• Opportunities to help shape training programs, operating standards, and the future grooming organization.
• A professional environment focused on safety, customer care, accountability, teamwork, and continuous improvement.