Medical Operations Manager

ABOUT US
Wags & Walks is a 501c3 nonprofit dog rescue in Los Angeles and Nashville with a seasonal New York Pup Up. We are a community of dog lovers working to promote shelter dogs as the best dogs in the world through advocacy of our unique family-friendly foster and adoption programs. The organization has rescued 19,000+ dogs in its 15 year history and is looking for team members passionate about bringing their Vet Med experience together with rescue work. The organization recently added 

SUMMARY
Wags & Walks aims to rescue 20+ dogs per week, prioritizing dogs at risk throughout Southern California. We've opened a new space that will significantly expand our medical capabilities, including a surgery program serving both Wags & Walks dogs and ultimately the community. The Medical Operations Manager makes that growth possible by helping to work with key stakeholders to ultimately drive this new programming.

This role works to understand the challenges that the Medical team faces on a day to day basis and how that lines up with the organization’s other programs. This person leads the medical team, collaborates with our Veterinary partners, identifies and supports the builds of the systems and protocols that keep care consistent, and connects the team with the departments and partners they rely on. Working alongside our partner veterinarians, who guides diagnosis and treatment plans, and our Vet Partners, this role focuses on making great care happen reliably. At the same time, this role understands how sustainable program growth can also take place with the expanded footprint. 

The ideal candidate has hands-on vet med experience (RVT, vet tech, vet assistant, or shelter/rescue medicine), leadership experience, and a true passion for rescue. A strong Vet Tech skill set is preferred but not required with the Practice Manager skill set being valued in a candidate. We care most about your approach, leadership, and ability to build something new, and we'll support technical growth through our veterinarian and team.

DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES

Lead and develop the team

• Manage the medical team through weekly check-ins, performance reviews, and improvement plans.

• Own hiring and onboarding, including cross-department introductions (with Leadership support).

• Build training plans and continued education, identifying skill gaps in partnership with the veterinarian and RVT.

• Understand the biggest challenges the team faces and be the team’s biggest advocate while also setting the tone with the cross department collaboration style.

• Build a schedule that supports strong coverage 7 days a week.

Build the new space and surgery program

• Partner with Leadership and the supporting Veterinarians to develop workflows, protocols, and SOPs for the new space. A strong foundation of processes and protocols are in place for existing workflows with the most build out required for the expansion.

• Partner with the veterinarian and leadership on the surgery launch, including patient flow, scheduling, supplies, equipment, and communication with public clients.

• Consult on space layout, equipment and supply ordering, and staffing needs, and recommend next hires as the program grows.

• Serve as the public facing representative of the “clinic” space for customer service and operational needs as required.

Care and operations

• Oversee intake flow of new dogs and, with the veterinarian, decide when a dog needs to be seen externally or what treatment path makes sense.

• Be comfortable rolling up your sleeves to support the team as needed. The role and responsibility in the hands on work can be dictated by the individual’s Vet Med experience but this is an important part of the role. We’re still a scrappy non-profit organization and the ability to flex this muscle is important. 

• Ensure all dogs receive appropriate care, including vaccines, medications prescribed by Vet partners, dewormer, flea meds, diagnostics, and wellness exams. This role must be comfortable being hands-on as needed.

• Ensure medical records are accurate and complete, with regular audits and quality checks

• Lead efforts to educate, limit, and control infectious outbreaks

• Own inventory tracking and restocking with clear accountability

• Own the foster medical line: coverage schedule, quality control, triage, and system improvements.

• Report on weekly and monthly metrics around dogs in the organization’s care and their cost.

• Support in building out and reporting on the metrics for the new “clinical” space. 

Partnerships and communication

• Serve as the connective tissue between the medical team and internal and external stakeholders.

• Lead during medical escalations and difficult "customer" situations, keeping leadership (cost/health) and the team (health) updated

• Work with the Chief of Staff to identify and grow Vet Partner relationships, with an eye on cost and content goals for foundation support

• Set service-level standards for internal and external communication and report on progress.

• Work with the Foster and Volunteer teams to build the medical training and resource library.

• Be the medical team's main contact for content gathering, marketing, and foundation submissions

QUALITIES
Must be a dog lover and possess a strong knowledge of dog behavior and medical needs.

• Must be willing to get your hands dirty, be flexible and reliable.

• Must be able to lead and communicate clearly and effectively with a diverse group of employees and volunteers.

• Must have excellent people management, customer service experience, proven attention to detail, good organizational and time management skills.

• Must be a team player and have a positive attitude. Personable, professional, upbeat and energetic.

QUALIFICATIONS

Required:

• 5+ years of hands-on experience in veterinary, shelter, or rescue medicine

• 3+ years of leadership experience, formal or informal (lead tech, shift lead, supervisor)

• Passion for the rescue mission

• Ability to stand for most of a shift and lift up to 50 lbs

• Proficiency with Word, Excel, Slack, and Google Docs

• Valid California driver's license

• Flexible schedule, including evenings and weekends with a schedule that consistently includes 1 or 2 weekend days (ideally Tuesday - Saturday schedule).

Preferred:

• Vet Tech and/or Registered Veterinary Technician (RVT)

• Experience with surgical or high-volume clinic workflows, or shelter medicine

• Experience building SOPs, launching a space or program, or running hiring/onboarding