Community Cat Coordinator
Who We Are
ACC is one of the nation's largest open-admission animal shelters, whose mission is to End Animal Homelessness in NYC. We touch the lives of nearly 30,000 animals each year. ACC is more than an animal shelter; we are a resource to the community, always seeking ways to keep the human-animal bond intact. With a 90% placement rate, our progressive, life-saving initiatives contribute to the successful placement of our animals.
We strive to find loving homes for homeless and abandoned cats, dogs, guinea pigs and rabbits, both by adopting animals directly to the public and by partnering with more than 200 dedicated animal placement organizations (our New Hope partners). We also help keep NYC communities safe and rescue animals in need, responding to emergencies that involve animals as well as keeping our doors open 24/7 for people and animals in need.
Summary
New York City is home to an estimated half million community cats living throughout the five boroughs. These cats include fearful to social Community Cats and indoor/outdoor pets. Though these cats adapt to the demands and challenges of living outside, the people who care for and encounter them often reach out to the Animal Care Centers of NYC for help and/or to better understand how to live harmoniously with outdoor cats. ACC strives to have open communication with the public, advocate for Community Cats both in and out of the shelter system, and find the best placement outcomes for all our animals in our care; for many of these Community Cats, preventing them from coming into a shelter through candid and open communication with the client in advance, or once in care, returning the cats to their original caretaker meets these goals. Leveraging surrender prevention resources along with appropriate placement options allows us to decrease shelter populations and increase our lifesaving capacities.
The Community Cats Coordinator helps achieve our goals assisting with ACC's Community Cats department by ensuring the smooth operation of our current protocols and driving the development of a more robust program that touches all five boroughs and includes communication with our community, Shelter/Neuter/Return (SNR) in conjunction with the cat's caretaker, targeted TNR, and appropriate alternative placement for cats who cannot return to their outdoor homes.
Required Qualifications:
High School Diploma or GED required.
TNR certification and at least three months past experience trapping or caring for cats is required.
Valid driver's license and clean diving record required.
Must be forward thinking and anticipate challenges, responding to them quickly and completely.
Must be adaptable and receptive to rapidly evolving protocols.
Treats animals and people with respect, considering all individuals as potential collaborators with something to offer.
Able to humanely handle cats of varying temperaments with compassion.
Must be able to lift a minimum of 50 lbs.
Benefits
ACC values work/life balance and offers a generous paid-time-off (PTO) package that includes vacation time, birthdays off, personal days and sick pay. We also value physical and mental health by offering a great open access Cigna medical, dental and vision insurance at a low premium to our employees as well as 401K and Pension, Life Insurance. We also have on-the-job training for 2-4 weeks, periodic all staff trainings to include safety, DEI, cross training, and other growth opportunities.
Because ACC is a nonprofit, employees may be eligible for loan forgiveness, cancellation, and/or consolidation under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program (PSLF). Created under the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007, PSLF allows borrowers who work full time for nonprofits and government agencies to have their outstanding debt forgiven tax-free on Federal Direct Loans, after making 120 qualifying monthly payments under a qualifying repayment plan.
Please see the attached flyer for more details on our benefits package.
Essential Job Functions:
Coordinate and oversee TNR projects including driving to and from trapping sites and surgery drop off/pick up, trapping and returning cats to their habitats, and providing adequate housing, setup, and food/water for community cats after trapping and during surgical recovery periods.
Provide education, guidance and surrender prevention resources to the public on community cats and coordinate intakes for SNR when appropriate.
Other Responsibilities:
Working with the VP Animal Health & Welfare contribute to the process of continuous revision and execution of a shelter medical plan focused on population based preventative health care.
Run and review intake reports to locate and identify potential program cats.
Manage a high-volume email and phone account, responding to inquiries in a timely manner.
Update records as appropriate to indicate program participation, relevant information, and timing of services.
Review and escalate appropriate surrender requests to Admissions team for follow up.
Work with Admissions to lower our future intakes by aiding in communication with clients who surrender kittens or present with nuisance issues that can be resolved with spay/neuter.
Maintain basic programmatic statistics.
Liaise with other departments including but not limited to Vet Services, Animal Care, and Admissions to achieve goals of the program.
Communicate effectively to a variety of personnel in a timely manner.
Prepare and compile paperwork including for surgery, for placement or transfer, etc.
Liaise with partner groups as necessary to facilitate transfer and return of community cats to their homes outdoors.
Liaise with partner groups on working cat placements.
Keep inventory of program supplies.
Work with Foster team regarding cats who need a longer length of stay to recover ensuring fosters properly house and care for the Community Cats while in their care.
Collaborating with the Animal Care and Community Cats staff, ensure clean and maintained humane kennels, cat traps, cat dens, transfer cages, and other humane handling tools.
Ensure cats being held in the care center scheduled to participate in the program are appropriately marked.
Humanely handle cats using low stress techniques and in conjunction with Feline Behavior provide training and guidelines for staff on reducing FAS.
Communicate compassionately and empathetically with finders and caretakers to notify them of outcomes.
Canvas potential TNR trapping sites and build rapport with community members.
Fear Free Certification within 30 days of hire.
Complete other duties as assigned by supervisor.
Preferred Qualifications:
Bachelor's degree preferred.
Previous experience humanely handling cats of all temperaments preferred.
Bi-lingual in Spanish is preferred. Russian, Polish, Korean, Mandarin, Cantonese, or ASL are also desirable but not required.
Ability to excel in a fast-paced, often high stress environment.
Is an expert communicator, a people person, and a team player.
Is organized, detail oriented, and able to maintain composure when faced with emotional situations including medically and behaviorally compromised animals.
Work Environment
At Animal Care Centers it's all hands-on deck. We work together as a team, which means you may be asked to help with tasks that involve working outside in all sorts of weather. As a busy animal shelter in one of the biggest cities in the world it can get noisy inside. Employees should have the ability to remain calm yet professional in stressful situations involving animals and/or members of the public. Animal Care Centers houses hundreds of animals in its facilities at any given time and with that comes fur, odors and other airborne particles in abundance.
Animal Care Centers offers many low-cost services to pets and people in need. This includes compassionate end-of-life services for people who cannot afford to go to a private veterinary office but still want to provide a professional and peaceful transition for their beloved pet.
This position can be based in any of our three Care Centers (Manhattan, Queens, or Staten Island) but will require traveling to other ACC locations throughout the five boroughs as well as out in the community on a consistently revolving basis.
Reports To: Community Cat Manager.
Overtime: This position is eligible for overtime .