Director Of Animal Care (Volunteer/Work Trade)

The Director Of Animal Care
To coordinate, oversee, maintain, and promote the health of the Sanctuary residents through diet formulation, quality care, and preventative, supportive, and medical treatments.

• Oversees the sanctuarys animal health database, e.g. Shelter Manager
• Coordinates routine health exams, vaccinations, and de-worming for residents
• Oversees fecal examinations for residents
• Oversees training and management of all animal care staff/volunteers
• Oversees animal hoof and tusk care
• Determines feeding, enrichment, and cleaning requirements for residents and oversees animal care shifts
• Oversees veterinary/medical supplies inventory
• Collaborates with offsite veterinarian(s) when required
• Serves as the point of contact for animal care questions and concerns
• Actively fosters a culture of strong communication and reliability of the animal care team

Supervises

• Feeding, Hoof Care, and Fecal Analysis volunteers (weekly/biweekly)
• Animal Health Manager (full time)
• 3-4 Animal Care Interns, including a Lead Intern and an Animal Health-focused Intern (full time)
• Special Care Coordinator (part time)

Supervision

• Direct supervision by Executive Director
• Collaborates with other Directors, especially the Director of Operations, as well as the Recruitment Manager

Commitment

• One-Year commitment
• 2-4 week trial and training period
• Approximately 30 hours/week, with 2 full days off each week

Accommodations
The Director of Animal Care has their own private housing provided onsite. We are completely off-grid, so staff must be conservative with electricity and water usage.
Applicants must be appropriately licensed to drive a car in the U.S. If you do not have your own vehicle, we try to make the sanctuary van available for staff to grocery shop and explore the island one day per week.
We do not allow any smoking or excessive drinking, and no animal products onsite out of respect for our rescued cows, pigs, chickens, goats, etc. Food is not provided with this position and will be one of your only expenses while staying with us, though we do receive frequent food donations to the sanctuary.
Please note: We require all live-in staff members to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 (including boosters if eligible) before arrival at the sanctuary.
Our Team
We are a completely volunteer-run organization, and at this time there are no paid positions available. We sincerely appreciate the time our staff members and other volunteers generously donate to caring for the animals and supporting our cause, and hope that you feel well compensated by the love they will shower you with every day.
Requirements

• Experience with veterinary software (Shelter Manager or similar preferred)
• Excellent communication and organizational skills
• Must be a team player and passionate about animal welfare
• Strong leader who can delegate effectively
• Leadership/management experience preferred
• Experience in veterinary medicine (1-2 years required), preferably with ruminants
• Basic computer competency (e.g., Excel, Word, etc.)
• Previous animal sanctuary experience preferred
• Minimum undergraduate/bachelors degree, additional veterinary degree/certification(s) preferred
• Knowledgeable in farm animal care and sanctuary operations

Benefits

• Lots of quality time with our 90+ residents and 10+ onsite staff members
• Flexible working hours
• Team appreciation events and activities throughout the year
• Create relationships with like-minded individuals through partnerships in the sanctuary community
• Private onsite accommodation
• Gain experience with farmed animals, learn about ruminant anatomy and large and small animal medicine, shadow veterinarians, develop leadership skills, and more