Cat Care & Behavior Manager

Job Description

Job Description

JOB DESCRIPTION

JOB TITLE: Cat Care & Behavior Manager

EMPLOYER: Tree House Humane Society

DEPARTMENT: Shelter Operations

REPORTS TO: Senior Director of Operations

EFFECTIVE DATE: 6/2026

SUMMARY:

At Tree House Humane Society, we believe every cat deserves a life filled with care, enrichment, and understanding. The Cat Care & Behavior Manager leads the Behavior & Cat Care Department, advancing feline welfare across all touchpoints from intake and housing to foster care, adoption, and post-adoption support.

This role ensures cats in our care thrive physically and emotionally through high-quality daily husbandry, structured enrichment, and evidence-based behavior support, while maintaining the environmental and operational standards that make our shelter a safe, enriching space for cats, staff, volunteers, and visitors.

The Manager embeds behavior-informed decision-making into shelter operations, contributes to feline population management, and ensures humane capacity standards are met. Beyond the shelter, this position serves as a trusted community resource, overseeing behavior consultations for adopters, fosters, and local cat caregivers, and developing innovative programs that strengthen the human–animal bond, support pet retention, and contribute to organizational sustainability.

Through leadership, behavioral expertise, and growing operational oversight, the Manager supports Tree House cats in achieving lifelong success, both in our programs and in the homes they enrich.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Leadership & Department Operations

• Lead, manage, and develop department staff and supervisors. Onboard, train, coach, schedule, and provide performance management to staff.
• Recommend hires and promotions, direct and evaluate employment decisions for assigned positions; address employee relations and performance issues in collaboration with the Senior Director and HR.
• Evaluate and recommend updates to department policies, procedures, and safety protocols for compliance with federal, state, and local regulations, including OSHA standards; implement approved changes with Senior Director oversight.
• Monitor industry trends and practices at peer organizations to keep Tree House current on best practices in animal services and sheltering; bringing relevant recommendations to the Senior Director.
• Identify and address employee, volunteer, and visitor safety and risk management concerns; escalate issues that exceed department authority or require organizational-level response to the Senior Director.
• Promote positive morale, creativity, teamwork, and a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement within the department.
• Collaborate with the Senior Director of Operations, staff, and other departments to support the department’s mission, vision, and strategic priorities, and to contribute to emergency animal sheltering plans.

Feline Welfare & Behavior Management

• Ensure consistent, high-quality daily care, enrichment, and humane handling for all cats in shelter programs.
• Monitor individual cat welfare, housing assignments, and adoption readiness status; collaborate with the Foster & Intake Manager to ensure behavioral and medical needs are communicated and support efficient animal movement through pathways.
• Oversee behavior assessments, behavior modification plans, and complex case management, including post-adoption follow-ups to reduce returns.
• Serve as a behavioral resource to staff, foster families, and adopters to support successful placements.
• Collaborate with veterinary, adoption, and foster teams to address medical and behavioral needs.
• Maintain a safe working environment for staff, volunteers, and cats during all care, enrichment, and behavior activities.

Behavior Services, Community Engagement & Accountability

• Oversee internal and community-facing behavior consultation services, ensuring consistent documentation, follow-up, and measurable outcomes.
• Manage the behavior services budget, tracking revenue and expenses and reporting variances to the Senior Director; identify and surface opportunities for mission-aligned, fee-based growth for leadership review.
• Monitor service utilization, client satisfaction, and behavior-related outcomes; report trends and recommendations to leadership.
• Partner with the Volunteer Manager to integrate volunteers into the department activities, including caregiving, enrichment, socialization, and behavior-support roles.
• Track and analyze key performance indicators related to welfare, length of stay, behavior outcomes, and service utilization, providing regular reports to leadership.
• Engage with community members and pet parents through behavior education, consultations, and outreach programs, strengthening the human–animal bond and supporting pet retention.

Performs other duties as assigned

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES: Directly supervises department leadership and team members within the Behavior & Cat Care Department.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• 3–5+ years of progressive experience in animal sheltering, feline welfare, or animal behavior programs
• 2+ years of supervisory experience
• Demonstrated experience in behavior assessment and modification planning
• Experience managing or contributing to fee-based services preferred
• Familiarity with shelter software and data tracking systems
• Fear Free, Cat Friendly, or behavior-related certification preferred (or willingness to obtain)

COMPETENCIES:

• Communication - Expresses self--orally and in writing--in manner that is clear, well-organized and appropriate to the situation. Uses appropriate grammar, punctuation/spelling, and tone. Listen carefully and sincerely consider others' ideas. Maintains confidentiality and expresses good judgment about what to say and when to say it. Keeps others informed
• Customer Service - Treats customers (internal and external) with respect and courtesy. Shows interest in, anticipates, and responds timely to customer needs and concerns. Goes beyond basic service expectations to help customers. Responds appropriately to and resolves difficult and emotional situations. Seeks ways to improve service delivery.
• Diversity - Enthusiastically works with all employees, regardless of race, gender, culture, and age. Values contributions of people from diverse backgrounds. Demonstrates respect for the opinions and ideas of others. Shows awareness of and sensitivity to cultural and individual values.
• Judgment - Gathers data and others' input as appropriate when making decisions and handling diverse situations. Considers cost, organizational resources, and efficiency, as well as both long- and short-term outcomes. Can explain rationale for a decision. Observes safety and security procedures; uses equipment and materials properly. Recognizes when to consult higher-level management.
• Managing People - Includes staff in planning, decision-making, facilitating, and process improvement. Aligns the right work with the right people. Ensures staff have skills and resources to fulfill their job duties. Informs staff of what is expected of them and holds them accountable. Gives staff ongoing, constructive feedback on their performance and progress in light of expectations and goals. Rewards and recognizes hard work and results. Addresses performance issues promptly and corrects poor performance. Works to create a strong team.
• Problem Solving - Identifies problem in a timely manner. Gathers and analyzes factors or causes. Generates and evaluates alternative solutions. Implements plan to solve problem. Assesses effectiveness of intervention.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS AND WORK ENVIRONMENT:

● Regular exposure to animals, allergens, cleaning agents, and noise

● Ability to lift up to 50 lbs and perform physical shelter duties

● Availability for occasional evenings or weekends to support operational or consultation needs

The above is intended to describe the general content of and requirements for the performance of this job. It is not to be construed as an exhaustive statement of duties, responsibilities or physical requirements. Nothing in this job description restricts management’s right to assign or reassign duties and responsibilities to this job at any time. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.