Intake Specialist

Intake Specialist

The Intake Specialist serves as a primary point of contact for people and animals entering the SPCA of Wake County through owner surrender, transfer partnerships, and other intake pathways. This role coordinates admissions, manages intake cases from initial inquiry through placement, gathers and documents accurate information, assists with intake medical processing, safely handles and transports animals, and collaborates across departments to ensure each animal receives timely and appropriate care. Working collaboratively with Medical, Animal Care, Behavior, Foster, and other departments, the Intake Specialist helps ensure animals receive timely assessment, appropriate housing, and coordinated care. Success in this role requires compassionate customer service, sound judgment, adaptability, attention to detail, and confidence using technology and case management systems in a fast-paced shelter environment.

Our Core Values: Hell, Yeah! Be Kind Do What You Say Forward Focused Loose & Wiggly Drop the Mic

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Customer Service & Case Management

• Provide compassionate customer service by phone, email, and in person.
• Conduct intake appointments and gather complete behavioral, medical, and historical information.
• Maintain accurate electronic records across organizational systems.
• Educate community members about available resources and pet-retention options when appropriate.
• Demonstrate resilience, professionalism, and emotional intelligence while working with sensitive situations, distressed community members, and animals experiencing illness, injury, fear, or neglect.
• Exercise sound judgment to prioritize incoming cases, identify urgent medical or behavioral concerns, and coordinate appropriate next steps.

Medical Intake Processing

• Perform routine medical intake processing for animals entering the organization's care in accordance with established shelter medical protocols.
• Assist with intake medical assessments, including obtaining weight, estimating age, assessing body condition, collecting medical history when available, and accurately documenting findings.
• Administer routine intake vaccinations, diagnostics, treatments, and preventive care as trained and within established protocols.
• Recognize medical or behavioral abnormalities and promptly escalate animals requiring additional assessment or treatment to the veterinary team.
• Maintain accurate medical records and communicate pertinent findings with Medical, Animal Care, Behavior, and other departments to support each animal's care plan.

Animal Handling & Operations

• Safely handle, restrain, move, and transport animals of varying ages, sizes, temperaments, and medical conditions.
• Use Fear Free® and low-stress handling techniques whenever possible while adapting handling methods to support animal welfare and staff safety.
• Prepare appropriate housing and coordinate timely placement with Medical, Animal Care, Behavior, Foster, and other teams to support each animal's individual care plan.
• Safely operate organization vehicles, including utility and transport vans, to transport animals between facilities, partner organizations, foster homes, veterinary appointments, and other approved locations.
• Ensure animals are appropriately secured and handled during transport and follow all applicable SPCA safety, animal-handling, and vehicle-use protocols.

Sanitation & Safety

• Maintain clean and disinfected workspaces, animal housing, vehicles, and equipment in accordance with established biosecurity protocols.
• Stock supplies and support efficient daily operations.
• Follow organizational policies, personal protective equipment requirements, infection-prevention practices, and safety procedures.
• Report supply shortages, equipment concerns, facility issues, and safety concerns to supervisors in a timely manner.
• Perform other duties as assigned, requested, or required by the organization.

Required Qualifications

• High school diploma or equivalent.
• Minimum of one year of professional experience in an animal shelter, veterinary practice, animal welfare organization, boarding facility, daycare, or similar setting.
• Strong written and verbal communication and customer service skills.
• Proficiency with computers and cloud-based software.
• Strong organizational skills, attention to detail, and ability to manage multiple priorities.
• Ability to work collaboratively with diverse teams and community members.
• Commitment to the SPCA of Wake County's mission, values, and humane-care standards.
• Ability to perform the essential functions of the position with or without reasonable accommodation.
• Must possess and maintain a valid driver's license and meet SPCA of Wake County driving eligibility requirements.
• Must be able and willing to safely operate an SPCA vehicle, as assigned, to transport animals, supplies, and equipment between SPCA facilities, veterinary partners, transfer partners, foster homes, and other approved locations.
• Must maintain an acceptable driving record and promptly notify the organization of any change in license status, driving eligibility, or ability to safely operate a vehicle.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• Compassionate, respectful, and trauma-informed communication skills when working with people from diverse backgrounds.
• Knowledge of companion-animal behavior, low-stress handling, and common veterinary terminology.
• Ability to safely handle animals of varying sizes, ages, temperaments, and medical conditions.
• Sound judgment, problem-solving ability, confidentiality, and professionalism.
• Strong documentation, time-management, and digital-workflow skills.
• Ability to work independently while contributing to a collaborative, inclusive, and psychologically safe workplace.
• Ability to adapt to changing priorities, troubleshoot basic technology issues, and maintain accurate electronic records.
• Ability to remain calm, safe, and professional in a fast-paced animal welfare environment.
• Ability to demonstrate resilience and emotional intelligence while working with distressed community members and animals experiencing illness, injury, fear, or neglect.
• Ability to recognize urgent medical or behavioral concerns and escalate them appropriately.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience using databases, customer relationship management systems, shelter management systems, or case management platforms to enter, track, and maintain records as part of daily responsibilities.
• Experience with Salesforce or a similar case management or customer relationship management platform.
• Experience using technology platforms such as Trello, Slack, Microsoft Office, scheduling systems, and communication tools.
• Experience with low-stress handling, Fear Free®, or other humane animal-handling approaches.
• Experience administering routine vaccinations, diagnostics, treatments, or preventive care under established shelter or veterinary protocols.

Work Environment This role operates within a fast-paced animal welfare environment and involves frequent interaction with animals, teammates, volunteers, pet owners, transfer partners, foster caregivers, veterinary providers, and other community members. Responsibilities are performed in intake spaces, animal housing areas, medical processing areas, offices, transport settings, and other SPCA facilities or approved locations as needed. The position requires maintaining safety, professionalism, sound judgment, and effectiveness while working in an environment that may include high noise levels, strong or foul odors, cleaning chemicals, disinfectants, animal waste, emotionally sensitive situations, distressed community members, and animals of varying sizes, temperaments, and medical or behavioral conditions. The position requires regular onsite presence and may involve work indoors and outdoors in varying weather and temperature conditions. Physical Requirements

• Ability to stand, walk, bend, stoop, reach, crouch, kneel, crawl, climb, balance, and remain physically active for extended periods.
• Ability to lift, carry, push, and pull up to 50 pounds independently and assist with heavier animals or equipment as needed.
• Ability to safely handle, restrain, move, and transport animals of varying sizes, temperaments, and medical or behavioral conditions.
• Ability to reach overhead, grasp, push, pull, and perform repetitive physical movements related to animal handling, cleaning, medical processing, and intake operations.
• Ability to safely enter, exit, and operate an SPCA vehicle; load, unload, secure, and transport animals and related supplies or equipment; and respond appropriately to animals during transport, including animals who may be fearful, stressed, fractious, ill, or injured.
• Ability to communicate effectively in person, by phone, and through electronic communication methods.
• Ability to work in environments with high noise levels, strong odors, animal dander, animal waste, and exposure to cleaning chemicals and disinfectants, including bleach and other approved sanitation products.
• Ability to work safely around fearful, stressed, fractious, ill, or injured animals.
• Ability to work both indoors and outdoors in very cold and very hot temperatures.
• Potential exposure to zoonotic diseases, parasites, viruses, bacteria, fungi, and other animal-related environmental conditions.

Benefits:

• Medical and Dental: Employer pays 90% of employee