Adoption Counselor

Adoption Counselor

The working schedule for this position: Sunday 10am-6:30pm, Monday 11:30am-8pm, Tuesday 11am-7:30pm, Wednesday 11:30am-8pm, and Saturday 10am-6:30pm. OFF on Thursday and Friday.

ACC is one of the nation's largest open-admission animal shelters, whose mission is to End Animal Homelessness in NYC. We touch the lives of nearly 20,000 animals each year. ACC is more than an animal shelter; we are a resource to the community, always seeking ways to keep the human-animal bond intact. With a 90% placement rate, our progressive, life-saving initiatives contribute to the successful placement of our animals.

We strive to find loving homes for homeless and abandoned cats, dogs, guinea pigs and rabbits, both by adopting animals directly to the public and by partnering with more than 200 dedicated animal placement organizations (our New Hope partners). We also help keep NYC communities safe and rescue animals in need, responding to emergencies that involve animals as well as keeping our doors open 24/7 for people and animals in need.

The Adoption Program at ACC has a goal that is simple and powerful: we are looking to help end animal homelessness in New York City by connecting people and pets for adoption. ACC employs an open adoption approach where we understand that there is no such thing as the "perfect home" and we welcome all clients as potential adopters. Using an "open adoptions" approach, the adoption process is conversation based and non-judgmental. Our focus is on matching pets with people and providing resources to continue assisting these new families post adoption. Adoption Counselors are the voice of the homeless pet population and work to promote their adoptions. They will need to provide superior customer service skills and must be willing and prepared to answer a wide variety of questions regarding animal husbandry.

Required Qualifications :

• High School Diploma or GED required.
• At least one year of customer service experience is required.
• Strong computer literacy required.
• The ability to handle different breeds and sizes of dogs.
• Treating animals and people with respect and employing humane handling techniques whenever possible.
• Must be able to lift a minimum of 50 lbs.

Benefits

ACC values work/life balance and offers a generous paid-time-off (PTO) package that includes vacation time, birthdays off, personal days and sick pay. We also value physical and mental health by offering a great open access Cigna medical, dental and vision insurance at a low premium to our employees as well as 401K and Pension, Life Insurance. We also have on-the-job training for 2-4 weeks, periodic all staff trainings to include safety, DEI, cross training, and other growth opportunities.

Because ACC is a nonprofit, employees may be eligible for loan forgiveness, cancellation, and/or consolidation under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program (PSLF). Created under the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007, PSLF allows borrowers who work full time for nonprofits and government agencies to have their outstanding debt forgiven tax-free on Federal Direct Loans, after making 120 qualifying monthly payments under a qualifying repayment plan.

Essential Job Functions :

• Provide exemplary customer service to our adopters by effectively communicating and guiding them through the adoption process which includes helping them find a good match for their families and supplying them with the information and resources during counseling sessions to set them up for success.
• Routinely socialize and interact with dogs, cats, rabbits and guinea pigs.
• Process adoption paperwork; ensuring that it is filed and organized accordingly to policy as well as process payments. This includes closing animal records, entering rabies/dog license information, processing payments and donations in our Shelterbuddy database.

Other Responsibilities :

• Escort clients to view available animals for adoption to find out what they are looking for in a pet and explain kennel cards.
• Review adoption applications, interview prospective adopters and make decisions on the outcome of adoptions.
• Perform reference checks as needed.
• Check and provide answers via email on a shared adoption account.
• Occasionally attend offsite adoption events and participate in community outreach.
• Answer phones and check voicemails in a timely fashion.
• Provide follow-up post adoption to answer any questions or to address and work through common challenges.
• Interact with and get to know available animals in order to provide information and to provide the best matches.
• Handle and conduct interactions between animals and their potential adopters.
• Prepare animals to leave the shelter by properly fitting dogs with collars and/or harnesses and placing cats, rabbits, and guinea pigs into carriers using low-stress techniques.
• Conduct and write rabbit evaluations to promote their adoptions.
• Write bios and take photos to help increase adaptability.
• Photograph and keep track of positive adoption stories or "Happy Tails" to share with other members of the organization.
• Clean and organize adoption areas.
• Fear Free Shelter certification within 30 days of hire.
• Complete other duties as assigned by supervisor.

Preferred Qualifications :

• Bilingual (Spanish) preferred.
• Prior experience with Microsoft Office Suite preferred.
• Prior animal handling experience for dogs/cats/small animals preferred.
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced, often high-stress, ever changing environment.
• Customer-driven and focused on providing a positive, upbeat experience for all clients.
• High attention to detail, strong work ethic, and thrive working in a busy environment.
• Work well independently but also function seamlessly as a member of a team.

Work Environment

At ACC it's all hands-on deck. We work together as a team, which means you may be asked to help with tasks that involve working outside in all sorts of weather. As a busy animal shelter in one of the biggest cities in the world it can get noisy inside. Employees should have the ability to remain calm yet professional in stressful situations involving animals and/or members of the public. Animal Care Centers houses hundreds of animals in its facilities at any given time and with that comes fur, odors and other airborne particles in abundance.

ACC offers many low-cost services to pets and people in need. This includes compassionate end-of-life services for people who cannot afford to go to a private veterinary office but still want to provide a professional and peaceful transition for their beloved pet.

Reports to: Adoptions Manager

Overtime: This is a non-union hourly position and is eligible for overtime.