Animal Science Jobs in Colorado (NOW HIRING)

Job Title: APC Officer
Department: Animal Protection and Control - 03
Job Classification: Full time; Hourly Non-Exempt Position.
Job Relationships:Reports to Director of Animal Protection and Control; APC Sergeants
General Purpose: Responsible for enforcing State, County and City codes and ordinances governing animal control functions (e.g. field enforcement, licensing, animals at large, animal bite investigations, etc.), and performs the duties of an Animal Control Dispatcher

NOCO Humane is an independent nonprofit working to further the compassionate, safe, and responsible relationship between animals and people.NOCO Humane is a trusted, responsive community leader, providing programs and services essential to the high quality of life for animals and people in northern Colorado

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Investigates reports of animal ordinance violations and conducts follow-up investigations and keeps Director of APC and APC Sergeants informed of progress and potential issues.
• Assists citizens with interpretation and understanding of animal ordinances, department procedure and responsible animal ownership.
• Issues warnings and legal summonses for violations of animal ordinances as well as testify in court cases relating to animal control ordinance violations.
• Maintains accurate logs, reports and statistics of daily activity.
• Responds to requests for assistance from jurisdictions and departments as assigned.
• Patrols jurisdictions, initiates contact with citizens and animals to ensure compliance with animal control ordinances and the humane treatment of animals.
• Represents the Organization and the contracted jurisdictions in a professional, courteous and ethical manner at all times.
• Promotes the Organization's programs, services, and development.
• Follows all safety protocols and processes. Meets safe driving standards and maintains insurable driving record.
• Stays abreast of current industry trends, and changes in ordinances/procedures.
• Impounds and/or transports domestic and wild animals of differing temperaments. Vaccinates animals as required.
• Completes a minimum of three compensated overnight "on-call" shifts per month.
• Performs the duties of a dispatcher and/or assists dispatch by responding to citizens' calls regarding animal rescue, public safety, the enforcement of animal ordinances and more; assigns and dispatches calls to Animal Protection and Control Officers, oversees Officer location and monitors Officer safety while in the field; appropriately monitors and assigns follow-up calls to Officers.
• Maintains confidentiality regarding information relating to clients, the Organization and the department as required.
• Meets expectations for attendance and punctuality.
• Adheres to Standards of Professional Conduct.

Other Duties and Responsibilities:

• Responds to requests for assistance from other jurisdictions and departments as assigned.
• Ensures applicable equipment and work areas are cleaned and maintained.
• Performs wildlife capture, rescue, and/or euthanasia as required.
• Other duties as assigned.

October 2023

Job Qualifications:
Education/Experience
Minimum of a high school diploma or GED; Minimum of 21 years of age for insurance purposes, valid Colorado Driver's License and insurable driving record. Eligibility for commission as an Officer required. One full year of work experience required. Proven work ethics and integrity. Advanced and completed education in an applicable field of study such as, but not limited to Animal Science, Wildlife Science, Criminal Justice, Criminology, Veterinary Technology a plus. Previous animal care, animal welfare and/or animal handling experience strongly desired. Experience reading and interpreting ordinances desired. Experience prioritizing duties and multi-tasking within a busy work environment.
Previous enforcement or animal control experience a plus, as is previous applicable dispatch experience. Experience using Chameleon software desired.

Knowledge/Skills/Abilities:
Bilingual English/Spanish (speaking, reading, writing and understanding) a plus and includes additional compensation. Ability to establish and maintain effective and positive working relationships with staff, community partners and citizens. Ability to remain calm and level headed in stressful and emotional work situations. Must be able to interact with a wide-variety of clients and provide professional, courteous and ethical customer service at all times. Emotional intelligence, ethics and integrity skills required. Sincere interest in the mission of the Organization. Must be able to exercise discretion and good judgment when dealing with confidential and sensitive information. Ability to prioritize and coordinate work assignments and multi-task within a busy work environment. Ability to assess situations and identify options. Ability to communicate information to the public and coworkers in a concise, clear manner. Knowledge of animal breeds, behavior, and health is helpful as is experience and skills in handling aggressive or injured animals. Ability and willingness to work in direct contact with and handle animals of all temperaments and in all conditions, including aggressive, injured, ill and deceased required. Ability to obtain vaccination and euthanasia certification and perform the skills within six months of employment. Able to read and interpret ordinances.
Computer and basic clerical, writing and math skills required. Knowledge of, and ability to use, Chameleon software helpful. Must be comfortable initiating public contact, relaying information, and providing courtroom testimony. Effective verbal and written communication skills. Must be able to operate animal control equipment and vehicles and follow safety instructions and expectations. Ability to be rabies vaccinated, remain current with vaccination and be periodically titer tested. Ability to maintain an insurable driving record required. Able to work a flexible schedule including evenings, weekends and holidays as required. Ability to successfully pass the exam to be Colorado certified as an Animal and Protection Control Officer within three years of employment in position.

Work Environment/ Physical Requirements:
For Animal Control Officer duties: Work is generally performed in a shared office environment and in the outdoors with exposure to noise and all types of weather. Must be able to work weekends, holidays and on-call shifts. Capture, handling, restraint and exposure to domestic and wild animals, aggressive animals. Exposure to animal waste, and zoonotic diseases. Vaccinates animals and handles needles and syringes. Lifting and carrying of objects/animals weighing up to 50 pounds without assistance and more with assistance. Must be able to withstand driving for extended lengths of time. Much lifting, bending, squatting, walking, running, sitting, standing, performing data entry, full range of body movements, hand and foot coordination for operation of equipment, listening and speaking. Wearing of body armor is required. Cleaning and use of cleaning products. Must be able to drive and talk on radio simultaneously. Work schedules are regularly 5x8- hour or 4x10-hour shifts (subject to change due to business need), including weekend and holiday shifts. Rabies vaccination, boosters as needed and periodic titer testing. Officers complete a minimum of three overnight "on-call" shifts per month. Living arrangements within 30 miles of Shelter required due to on-call duties.

For additional Dispatcher duties: Work is generally performed in a shared office environment. Sitting, data entry, writing, filing and answering telephones, listening and speaking, using dispatch radios and other office equipment up to 10 hours a day.

NOTE: This job description is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all duties, responsibilities or qualifications associated with the job.
NOCO Humane conducts background checks, DMV checks and requires drug testing of all employment candidates.
We are an Equal Opportunity Employer. Benefits for full-time employees include options for medical and life, dental, vision and supplemental accident insurance; STD/LTD insurance; a matching 403b plan; paid time off (PTO) accrual; 9 paid holidays and more. Benefits for part-time employees include paid time off (PTO); a matching 403b plan and more.
October 2023