60 Happy Paws Jobs Hiring Near You

Part-Time to start (about 25 hrs/week), growing to Full-Time | $20 to $26/hr | Hybrid (admin + field)

ABOUT THE ROLE

Love dogs AND people? We're mainly a recurring dog walking and group hiking company (with pet sitting, overnights, and our new Doggie Adventure Bus on the way), and we're creating a dedicated Hiring & Training Coordinator role to own how we recruit, train, and develop our team. Until now the owner has handled hiring and training personally, and this is a brand-new role you'll get to shape and build as we scale.

Our group hikes take 2 to 4 dogs at a time onto wooded trails, so safety and a real understanding of pack dynamics are at the heart of what we do.

It's a hybrid role: you'll split your time between admin work at our office in Old Saybrook (hiring, training, building systems) and real pet care visits in the field across our service area. This is not a work-from-home position.

This is primarily an employee-facing role, growing and supporting our team, though you'll also interact with our customers. It is not a sales or client-acquisition position (at least not for now).

You'll grow, too: ongoing learning is built into this role. You'll keep developing yourself in HR best practices, leadership, people management, team culture, employee happiness and retention, healthy conflict resolution, and emotional intelligence, through webinars, recommended books, and podcasts, setting you up for long-term growth with us.

REAL TALK ABOUT FIT

In pet care, a lot of people join because they "love animals more than people". This role is the opposite. You'll talk with our team and our clients all day, so being an outgoing, exceptional communicator is the job, not a nice-to-have. If people energize you, you'll thrive. If you'd rather keep to yourself, this isn't the right seat, and that's okay.

THIS ROLE IS PERFECT FOR YOU IF YOU:

It takes a special kind of person to wear this many hats well. This role is for you if you:

- Have real hiring, training, or team-management experience and genuinely love developing people

- Light up when someone you trained grows into a confident pro

- Can hold a high standard with warmth, and aren't afraid of an honest conversation

- Read dogs and people equally well

- Thrive splitting your week between admin and the trail, never stuck at a desk all day

- Are organized, dependable, and take ownership without being asked

- Believe great pet care starts with a great, well-supported team

You also take the care of people's pets and homes seriously. This is a big responsibility. Our clients hire us for the reliability, professionalism, and animal expertise that the kid next door simply doesn't have, and we hold every member of our team to that standard.

WHAT YOU'LL DO (PHASE 1, STARTING NOW, ~25 HRS/WEEK)

- Hire ahead of demand: post ads, screen, interview, run shadow shifts, check references, and make conditional offers. Reply to every applicant within 24 hours.

- Onboard and train: deliver hands-on field training, decide who's field-ready, and keep our SOPs and handbook current.

- Own hiring and training SOPs: maintain and improve our hiring and training SOPs specifically, create new ones where needed, and keep refining the program with ownership.

- Turn incidents into coaching: capture incidents as they happen, turn them into coaching moments for the team, and create or amend SOPs from what you learn.

- Invest in your own growth: keep developing in HR, culture, leadership, people management, employee happiness and retention, healthy conflict resolution, and emotional intelligence through webinars, recommended books, and podcasts.

- Own the first 100 days: milestone check-ins so new hires feel welcomed and stay.

- Own safety: train the team on bite, lost or injured dog, and emergency protocols, and keep Pet CPR skills current.

- Keep records clean: timesheets for training hours, and continuing-ed for payroll; certification renewals; I-9 and W-4 before the first solo shift.

- Be in the field: cover regular dog walks and small-group trail hikes (2 to 4 dogs) to support the team when needed.

- Own hiring and training for the Doggie Adventure Bus: recruit and train the team for this new, safety-first service. (The owner handles its marketing.)

WHAT YOU'LL GROW INTO (PHASE 2, FULL-TIME)

- Lead the field trainers: identify, develop, schedule, and recognize the team leads and trainers who run shadow shifts.

- You move from trainer to training manager: deliver new-hire orientation and the core training presentation yourself, then hand off field shadowing to your team leads and trainers, review their shadowing and training reports, and take action (field-ready calls, coaching, and program updates).

- Build and grow continuing education for the team.

- Build the hiring and training systems and SOPs so we grow consistently.

- Manage performance and retention: regular feedback, 30/60/90 reviews, and exit interviews.

- Grow the pipeline: own recruiting channels and the referral program.

- Watch for any turnover trends and run recognition that keeps great people here.

WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR

- Required: you've managed people or owned new-hire training before.

- Required: professional pet-industry experience (vet, grooming, training, boarding, daycare, dog walking, or pet sitting) with exemplary, hands-on knowledge of working with animals.

- Required: outdoorsy and comfortable hiking wooded trails in all seasons, able to safely handle and hike 2 to 4 dogs at once.

- Required: a strong grasp of dog pack dynamics, and able to teach and train others to lead a group safely.

- Required: ample knowledge of dog body language and behavior in professional settings.

- Required: deep familiarity with the Connecticut shoreline area. You know our towns, roads, and trails, and you understand the local community and clientele, what matters to people here and how to earn their trust. This isn't the right fit for someone brand-new to the area.

- An outgoing, exceptional communicator who loves people as much as animals.

- Highly organized; calm under pressure; firm but kind when standards slip.

- Trustworthy and discreet with keys, codes, and client information.

- Can efficiently use a smartphone and pick up apps for scheduling and tracking.

- Valid driver's license, reliable insured vehicle, clean driving record, and willing to pass a background check.

NICE TO HAVE

- Formal pet-care credentials (Pet CPR, Fear Free, dog-training certifications, or similar).

- Familiarity with Time To Pet or Notion.

HOW YOU'LL LEAD

- Lead with DIP first: we hire, train, and coach for Discernment, Integrity, and Professionalism before anything else. You'll live these values and hold the team to them.

- Protect the 4 C's: everything you build protects how clients experience us, Care, Connection, Concern, and Consistency.

- Feedback is a gift: keep it frequent and two-way (real-time notes, weekly huddles, one-on-ones) so no one is ever surprised at a review.

- Positive friction, with warmth: hold a high standard kindly, and lean into the hard conversations.

- Grow your people: spot potential and develop it, the calm, consistent, generous, honest, and teachable qualities we look for in our leaders.

PAY & PERKS

- $20 to $26/hr, based on experience.

- Tips, mileage reimbursement, paid time off, holiday pay, and end-of-year bonuses.

- Paid Pet CPR certification and an education stipend.

- Costco membership, employee discounts, and a referral program.

- W-2 employment with workers' comp and liability insurance.

- Full-time managerial positions also include a 401(k) and a health insurance stipend.

THE DETAILS

- Schedule: part-time to start (about 25 hrs/week), growing into full-time. Weekdays 8 AM start.

- Some weekends required when training and coaching weekend hires.

- Hybrid split: admin (hiring, training, systems) plus pet care visits in the field.

- Hourly to start; a salaried position will be considered as it grows to full-time.

- Outdoors in all weather, on your feet, walking several miles on training days.

- Tools: Time To Pet for scheduling; Notion or our CRM for tracking.

WHY IT MATTERS

This role builds a stronger company from the inside out. By bringing in the right people, training them to our standards, and helping them grow, you protect the quality of care every family trusts us with, and build the structure that lets us grow in a healthy way.

This is work you get to be proud of: building a team that keeps tails wagging and gives families total peace of mind while they're away. You'll watch new hires grow into confident pros, and you'll know every great person you bring on makes a real difference for the pets we love. If that lights you up, we'd love to meet you.

Click Apply and submit an updated resume and cover letter. Tell us what draws you to this work. Can't wait to learn about you! :)