Recruiting & Onboarding Manager

Job Description

Recruiting & Onboarding Manager

Dogs On The Run® (DOTR)

Position: Full Time Employee

Location: Carlsbad, CA (onsite)

Founded in 2003, Dogs On The Run® (DOTR) is a pet care concierge that matches pet parents with trusted pet care professionals to deliver elevated services for pets of all kinds.

As a Certified Woman-Owned; Small Business, the DOTR concierge service model is rooted in expert matching; operating with a relationship-first approach, supported by high-touch communication, operational oversight, and a commitment to delivering a seamless experience for both pet parents and pet care professionals.

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The Role

We are seeking a highly organized, relationship-driven Recruiting & Onboarding Manager to lead and manage the Onboarding department through the recruiting and onboarding process, grow our community of qualified independent Pet Care Professionals, and oversee the Support Coordinator function. This role is responsible for building an effective recruiting pipeline, creating a seamless qualified candidate experience, improving the onboarding processes, and ensuring strong coordination between recruiting, onboarding, and ongoing Pet Care Professional support.

The Recruiting & Onboarding Manager plays a key role in supporting DOTR’s continued growth by identifying opportunities, tracking performance, strengthening processes, and fostering collaboration across departments. The ideal candidate combines strategic thinking with hands-on execution, demonstrates strong leadership and communication skills, and takes ownership of outcomes while maintaining DOTR’s high standards of professionalism and care.

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Key ResponsibilitiesRecruiting Strategy & Talent Acquisition

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• Lead recruiting initiatives to attract qualified Pet Care Professionals across DOTR’s current and future expanding service areas.
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• Develop and maintain a strong candidate pipeline that supports current operational needs and future growth.
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• Oversee candidate discovery calls, interviews, reference checks, and evaluations.
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• Identify recruiting opportunities, service-area gaps, and pipeline bottlenecks in collaboration with the Concierge, Reservations, and Marketing departments.
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• Monitor recruiting performance and use data to evaluate progress, identify trends, and recommend improvements.
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Engagement, Onboarding & Activation

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• Manage and oversee the candidate journey from recruitment, discovery, application, qualification/screening, online education, onboarding, compliance, activation and support.
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• Ensure onboarding processes, resources, communications, and records are organized, accurate, and consistently maintained.
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• Identify opportunities to improve the onboarding experience, reduce unnecessary delays, and strengthen candidate engagement.
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• Partner with relevant departments to identify emerging concerns, recurring questions, and opportunities to improve Pet Care Professional engagement.
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• Monitor onboarding progress and identify barriers that may affect activation.
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• Support a welcoming, professional experience that reflects DOTR’s brand and standards.
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• Review feedback and patterns to recommend improvements to onboarding and ongoing support.
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Support Coordinator Management

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• Manage and support the Support Coordinator function, including clarifying responsibilities, priorities, workflows, and cross-department handoffs.
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• Collaborate with Support Coordinator on professional-support activities to promote continuity throughout the Pet Care Professional journey.
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• Establish clear processes for tracking requests, follow-ups, outstanding items, and recurring issues.
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• Review workflows and performance indicators to identify gaps, resolve operational bottlenecks, and recommend process improvements.
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• Foster effective communication between the Support Coordinator, Recruiting & Onboarding, Concierge, and Reservations departments.
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• Provide guidance, resources, and feedback to support the Support Coordinator’s effectiveness and professional development.
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• Identify and track recurring questions, support needs, and communication gaps that may benefit from improved resources or processes.
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• Ensure appropriate communication, resources, and support pathways are available as Pet Care Professionals become familiar with DOTR’s systems and processes.
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Documentation, Compliance & Process Management

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• Maintain oversight of recruiting and onboarding records, documentation, and applicable compliance processes.
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• Support consistent, accurate recordkeeping and appropriate handling of candidate and professional information.
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• Review existing workflows and identify opportunities to improve efficiency, clarity, and accountability.
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• Help ensure Recruiting, Onboarding, and Support processes align with DOTR’s Independent Contractor model and applicable agreements.
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Cross-Department Collaboration & Reporting

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• Partner with leadership to align recruiting priorities with business needs.
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• Track and communicate recruiting pipeline status, onboarding progress, support trends, and operational challenges weekly and monthly to leadership.
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• Prepare regular reports on key performance indicators, progress toward goals, and opportunities for improvement.
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• Identify risks, propose solutions, and follow through on approved process improvements.
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• Contribute to broader operational planning as DOTR continues to grow.
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Who We Are Looking For

We are looking for a confident, motivated, proactive, solutions-oriented leader who can balance strategic oversight with hands-on execution. The right candidate is comfortable managing multiple workflows, supporting a coordinator, analyzing performance, and building strong relationships across the organization.

The ideal candidate is:

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• A strong leader and team partner: Able to provide clear guidance, useful feedback, and support that helps the Support Coordinator succeed.
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• Highly organized: Skilled at managing multiple priorities, maintaining accurate records, and keeping complex workflows moving.
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• A relationship-builder: Communicates warmly, professionally, and confidently with independent Pet Care Professional candidates, onboarded independent Pet Care Professionals, internal teams, and leadership.
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• Strategic and analytical: Able to evaluate recruiting and onboarding performance, identify patterns, and turn insights into practical improvements.
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• Proactive and resourceful: Anticipates obstacles, recognizes gaps, and develops thoughtful solutions.
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• Accountable and results-focused: Tracks progress, follows through on commitments, and takes initiative to improve outcomes.
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• Collaborative: Builds productive working relationships across departments and supports clear communication and handoffs.
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• Adaptable and comfortable with change: Can improve processes while responding to the evolving needs of a growing company.
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• Technology-confident: Comfortable learning systems, maintaining accurate data, and using tracking tools to support operational visibility.
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• Aligned with DOTR’s values: Demonstrates integrity, compassion, professionalism, and a commitment to ridiculously high expectations.
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Above all, we want someone who loves people, loves pets, and takes pride in building strong professional relationships, developing effective processes, and helping a growing organization operate at a high level.

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Experience, Background & Qualifications

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• Experience in recruiting, onboarding, talent acquisition, human resources, operations, or a related field.
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• Previous experience coordinating workflows or supporting the work and development of another team member; formal management experience is beneficial.
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• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including experience conducting interviews, managing candidate relationships, and communicating across departments.
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• Experience managing multiple priorities, timelines, records, and process handoffs with a high level of accuracy.
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• Ability to review performance data, track key indicators, identify trends, and recommend improvements.
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• Strong problem-solving, organizational, and time-management skills.
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• Confidence using technology, learning new software, and maintaining accurate information across multiple systems.
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• Ability to exercise sound judgment, work independently, and collaborate effectively with leadership and cross-functional teams.
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• A practical, solutions-oriented approach to process improvement and operational challenges.
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• A genuine interest in people, pets, relationship-building, and professional excellence.
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• Experience in the pet care industry or familiarity with independent contractors is beneficial, but not a required qualification.
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Growth Opportunity: This role offers the opportunity to help continue to develop DOTR’s recruiting and onboarding strategy, strengthen the Pet Care Professional support experience, improve operational processes, and contribute to the company’s continued growth.

Compensation: $27-30/hour ($56,000–$62,000 annually), commensurate with experience

Work Location: In person