Supervisor Of Animal Care

Job Title

The purpose of the class is to provide direction to and assist in supervising animal care officers in daily department operations; to coordinate the resolution of animal control issues and problems; to enforce County ordinances governing the care and keeping of domestic animals and livestock in an effort to maintain public safety and welfare, and to perform related work as required. The class works within a general outline of work to be performed and develops work methods and sequences under general supervision. Reports to the Manager of Animal Care. Supervises Animal Care Officers.

Essential Tasks

The tasks listed below are those that represent the majority of the time spent working in this class. Management may assign additional tasks related to the type of work of the class as necessary.

Supervises animal control activities, ensuring compliance with all applicable laws, regulations, policies, procedures, and standards of safety.

Supervises subordinate animal care officers, to include instructing, coordinating daily work schedules, maintaining standards, allocating personnel, acting on employee problems and recommending employee discipline.

Assists in interviewing and selecting Animal Care Officers.

Assists in establishing guidelines and procedures for Animal Care Officers.

Initiates risk management protocol for injured Animal Care Officers, to include the processing of the First Report of Injury and Safety Analysis forms.

Reviews the work of subordinates for completeness and accuracy; evaluates performance and makes recommendations for improvement; offers training, advice and assistance as needed.

Receives and responds appropriately to public complaints and requests for assistance regarding animal control problems; dispatches calls to officers as required.

Coordinates daily work schedules for Animal Care officers, supervises and participates in daily activities, including capturing and transporting stray and unwanted animals.

Responds to and provides back-up and assistance to officers in the field as necessary for emergencies and after regular working hours.

Inspects the premises of and offers recommendation for approvals for citizens seeking to obtain a commercial breeder license.

Coordinates the resolution of problems with the public and other departments as necessary; investigates complaints associated with department personnel and activities and reports findings to supervisor.

Investigates animal cruelty cases and enforces related laws; assists law enforcement personnel in situations involving animals as requested; issues warnings and citations for violations of ordinances governing the care and keeping of animals; and interprets the ordinance.

Prepares warrants and testifies in court as needed.

Provides public education regarding animal control; explains ordinances related to the care and keeping of animals.

Compiles data for and prepares a variety of records and reports required by the department, County and / or other agencies.

Monitors inventory as needed for daily operations.

Operates a vehicle, traps, restraining / capture devices, two-way radio, hand tools, telephone, etc.; exercises care and safety in the use and maintenance of assigned vehicle and equipment.

Performs routine clerical / administrative duties as required, including but not limited to greeting and assisting customers, preparing forms, reports and correspondence, entering and retrieving computer data, answering the telephone, copying and filing documents, etc.

Attends training, meetings, workshops, etc., as necessary to maintain job knowledge, skills and required certifications.

Performs dispatching duties when necessary.

Works on call 24 hours.

Must be proficient in Microsoft Office.

Involvement with Data, People, and Things

Requires coordinating or determining time, place or sequence of operations or activities based on analysis of data or information and may implement and report on operations and activities.

Requires persuading or influencing others in favor of a service, point of view, or course of action; may enforce laws, rules, regulations or ordinances.

Requires handling or using machines requiring moderate instruction and experience such as animal control equipment.

Cognitive Requirements

Requires performing supervisory work involving policy and guidelines, solving both people- and work-related problems.

Requires using addition and subtraction, multiplication and division, and / or calculating ratios, rates and percentages.

Requires reading technical instructions, procedures, manuals and charts to solve practical problems; composing routine reports and specialized reports, forms and business letters with proper format; speaking compound sentences using normal grammar and word form.

Requires doing clerical, manual or technical tasks requiring a wide range of procedures and requiring intensive understanding of a restricted field or complete familiarity with the functions of a unit or small division of an operating agency; requires normal attention with short periods of concentration for accurate results or occasional exposure to unusual pressure.

Vocational / Educational and Experience Preparation

Requires Associate's degree, vocational technical degree or specialized training that is equivalent to satisfactory completion of two years of college education with emphasis in, business, code enforcement, law enforcement or a closely related field.

Must possess a valid state driver's license.

Must possess Animal Control certification; may be required to possess or obtain other certifications as deemed necessary by department head.

Requires over three years and up to and including five years.

Americans With Disabilities Act Requirements

Requires medium-to-heavy work that involves walking, standing, stooping, lifting, climbing, pushing or raising objects and also involves exerting between 20 and 50 pounds of force on a recurring basis and 50 to 100 pounds of force on an occasional basis. Requires routine keyboard operations.

The job may risk exposure to bright / dim light, dusts and pollen, extreme heat and / or cold, wet or humid conditions, animals / wildlife, fumes and / or noxious odors, traffic, heights, disease / pathogens, toxic / caustic chemicals, violence.

The job requires normal visual acuity, depth perception, and field of vision, hearing and speaking abilities, color perception.

Judgments and Decisions

Responsible for actions of others, requiring almost constant decisions affecting co-workers, customers, clients or others in the general public; works in a moderately fluid environment with guidelines and rules, but frequent variations from the routine.

ADA Compliance

Richland County is an Equal Opportunity Employer. ADA requires the County to provide reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities. Prospective and current employees are invited to discuss accommodations.