Part Time Animal Rescue Jobs in Austin, TX (NOW HIRING)

Cat Careworker (Part-Time)

APA! BACKGROUND: Austin Pets Alive! (APA!) is one of Austin’s most dynamic and beloved nonprofits. The organization leads the No Kill movement nationally and is considered a national thought leader in animal welfare. APA! locally rescues, treats, and adopts out 10,000 homeless dogs and cats each year, providing the safety net for Austin’s most at-risk shelter pets, which helps Austin to be a No Kill city, while also assisting other communities in saving homeless animals. The organization is distinguished by its large volunteer workforce and the scrappiness of its grassroots and its non-traditional, community-based animal rescue work.

The organization continues to innovate best practices to save lives and spreads its impact by offering resources and mentorship related to its renowned lifesaving model through American Pets Alive!, APA!’s national division. In 2020, American Pets Alive! began the Human Animal Support Services (HASS) - an innovative initiative aimed at rethinking the traditional model of animal sheltering. It focuses on supporting both people and pets in the community to reduce the number of animals entering shelters and improve outcomes for both. The project encourages collaboration between animal welfare organizations and community-based services, with a goal of providing personalized, proactive support that positions animal welfare as a social service.

BRIEF POSITION SUMMARY/OVERVIEW:

The Cat Careworker plays a key role in advancing the goals of APA!’s Cat Program, with a focus on cat husbandry and care. This position contributes directly to APA!’s mission to increase the live release rate across Texas by supporting a sustainable, inclusive, and high-impact model for shelter operations.

The Cat Careworker is responsible for managing their daily responsibilities, maintaining clear priorities, and delivering consistent, high-quality work that aligns with APA!’s values and goals. This includes staying organized, using data or feedback to inform decisions, and following through on key tasks and responsibilities with minimal oversight. This is a hands-on, mission-driven role focused on results, reliability, and teamwork.

APA! is a volunteer-powered organization, so every staff member is expected to work alongside and support volunteers. The Cat Careworker collaborates closely with volunteers to complete day-to-day tasks, helps create a positive and inclusive environment, and actively contributes to a culture of shared effort and mutual respect.

This position may involve shift flexibility, weekend hours, and responsiveness during times of high need.

Every individual at APA! is responsible for working in collaboration with volunteers; making sure volunteers are recruited, trained and feel impactful through their efforts at APA!. A core part of this role is creating a welcoming and empowering experience for volunteers, including assisting with onboarding, training, and volunteer engagement as part of the day-to-day workflow.

Careworkers may be assigned primarily to kennel technician duties at the outset of their employment, until the team has capacity to provide training for more advanced responsibilities.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:

• Actively contribute to a volunteer-powered culture by partnering with volunteers during every shift and helping create an inclusive, welcoming environment
• Work alongside volunteers to complete daily tasks, ensuring the work is shared and collaborative—not siloed
• Support the recruitment and onboarding process by welcoming new volunteers and helping them get oriented to the program
• Help retain volunteers by offering encouragement, guidance, and feedback during shared work
• Recommend strong volunteers for deeper involvement or specialized roles to your supervisor or volunteer manager
• Contribute to a positive culture by recognizing volunteer contributions through appreciation, gratitude, and shoutouts
• Help set volunteers up for success by clearly explaining tasks, providing hands-on guidance, and offering in-the-moment support
• Serves as animal “caseworker” who provides outcome-focused care to pets in team or caseload
• Cleans and sanitizes animal enclosures to ensure health and wellness
• Provides animals with fresh water and nutritious food
• Handles, transfers, walks, and physically transports animals across campuses
• Observes and tracks animal feeding habits, bowel movements, weight charts, and basic functions
• Maintains an orderly and pleasing environment by performing laundry, dishwashing, supply stocking, litter box cleaning, carrier cleaning, sweeping, and mopping floors
• Performs administrative tasks such as software data entry, inventory tracking, clinic/intake coordination, and records management
• Explores higher-level needs in populations, such as that of socialization, comfort, trust, belonging, etc.
• Translates animal case progress, observations, and data into care plans, care notes, and cross-team functional resources
• Steps into operational support roles as needed, such as assisting with intakes, adoption counseling prep, medical handling, customer service, or transporting animals between locations
• Collaborate with other departments (e.g., Volunteer, Development, Operations) to support cross-functional initiatives, strengthen internal communication, and integrate volunteer support into broader organizational activities.
• At the II and III level, performs more complex animal case management tasks like enrichment routines, personality tracking, behavior tracking, counseling, and mentoring/training
• Job duties may include some or all of the above, and other duties as assigned by manager

OTHER FUNCTIONS:

• Must demonstrate dependability, accountability, time management, use of reasoning, and good judgment skills
• Attend and participate in all required training sessions and meetings
• Maintain open and consistent communication with Program Manager or designee, supervisor, and other colleagues
• Partner with Volunteer Managers to learn about the volunteer programs and support volunteers interested in your department on an ongoing basis
• Able to react to change productively and perform other related duties as assigned
• Able to work evenings, weekends, and holidays as needed
• Able to work in a high-volume, fast-paced, high-stress environment
• Comfortable working autonomously when given goals and deadlines
• Adapts quickly to evolving shelter needs—this may include supporting offsite events, crisis intake, supply distribution, or public-facing roles

QUALIFICATIONS, SKILLS amp; EXPECTATIONS:

• Committed to embodying APA!’s Core Values: Innovation, Respect, Drive, Resourcefulness, and Inclusion and cultural values: Humble, Hungry, Smart
• Commitment to APA!'s customer experience expectations