MSW for Animal Welfare

Are you a passionate social worker with an MSW degree who is bilingual and loves animals? WAGS Pet Adoption is looking for a dedicated individual to join our team in the animal welfare sector, focusing on community outreach.

Objective: The WAGS Social Worker’s (WSW) primary responsibilities are to provide many facets of emotional support to guests, consult with WAGS staff regarding guests, and provide support services, short-term interventions, and psychoeducational programs for all animal shelter employees. The WSW also serves as a field instructor for a social work internship program within the animal shelter and is the primary community outreach personnel.

Tasks and Job Duties:

1. Guest Care

· Provide support and counseling to guests as per need or by request from admin or staff.

· Establish and maintain consistent documentation of guest intervention via one source for all staff and another source that maintains the confidentiality of guests.

· Facilitate, organize, implement, maintain, and promote community outreach programs.

· Consult doctors and staff about WSW assessment of guests to facilitate treatment and communication with guests.

· Attend staff meetings or weekly admin meetings.

2. Community Outreach

· Enhance the animal shelter’s service about care of animals, relinquishment and return to home, community engagement, staff care, school outreach programs, and guest relations.

· Develop brochures and resources for guests with regard pet services and community resources, WAGS social work services, and the human-animal bond.

· Enrich and enhance the facility environment concerning community outreach.

· Write grants to promote DEI and community outreach to meet the needs of the local citizens.

· Develop website materials for guests about housing, food, veterinary care and training.

• Human-Animal Bond

• Lost Reunification of pets

• Re-homing/Diversion Resources

• Pet Support Services

• Foodbanks

• Veterinary Services

• Spay/Neuter

• Sheltering options for the pet or person

• Behavioral Resources

• Transport and alternative intake options.

• Safety net Programs

• Volunteer capacity of care- Foster Care growth.

• Community Partnerships: Active in the community- offsite requirements

3. Staff Care

· Provide informal debriefing individually or in groups.

· Provide other short-term interventions such as mediation of conflict, assessment, and referral for outside/EAP counseling.

· Consult with Human Resources/Owners/Administrators regarding the wellness of staff to enhance animal shelter functioning.

· Develop and present topics of expertise such as compassion fatigue, stress management, work/life balance, communication skills, grief, and pet loss.

Skills/Abilities:

1. Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal.

2. Excellent organizational skills.

3. The ability to work independently.

4. Able to provide services guests and staff need in an emotionally intense, fast-paced setting.

5. Proficient in several computer programs, such as Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Canva, Google Sheets, and social media, for work-related purposes.

6. Ability to create metrics to measure performance.

7. Ability to research to keep up-to-date on the latest trends in social care work

8. Ability to work with governmental and animal welfare services to improve WAGS.

Education:

1. A master’s degree in social work (MSW) or LCSW is required.

Experience:

1. Experience working successfully with veterinary or animal welfare teams is preferred.

2. Bilingual in either Spanish or Vietnamese and English is required

3. Excellent communication and organizational skills.

4. Ability to work independently in a fast-paced setting.

5. Experience team collaboration and developing offsite education opportunities for pet owners, adopters, students, and the community.

If you are ready to make a difference in the lives of animals and communities, we want to hear from you! Join us in creating a world where every pet has a loving home. #SocialWorker #AnimalWelfare #CommunityOutreach #JoinOurTeam

Working Conditions: In a clinical/animal shelter setting, employees are exposed to animal dander and waste (we are a “no-poop” zone).

*The preceding job description has been designed to indicate the general nature and essential duties and responsibilities of work performed by employees within this classification. It may contain a partial inventory of all duties, responsibilities, and qualifications required of employees to do this job and is subject to change at any time as deemed necessary.