The Best Friend's Mission is to do nothing short of making history by bringing about a time when there are No More Homeless Pets. Our goal is that every animal shelter in every community in the country be no kill by the end of 2025. The fact is, we have a great culture, populated by fun, dedicated and brilliant people. But we’re always looking for talented people who can help us make history, and that’s where you come in. If you want to be a part of history and end the killing of shelter pets by 2025, apply today for one of our open job opportunities!

Best Friends Animal Society is looking to fill our new Senior Manager, Lifesaving Programs position at our center in Soho. We are seeking a candidate with 8+ years of experience in leading and managing a team of stellar customer service representatives with a retail/hospitality mindset to lead the day-to-day operations of our New York Lifesaving Center. The focus of this role is to create a memorable and unique experience for our visitors, adopters, donors, and stakeholders at our Soho Center, while also being able to continue our lifesaving work in the form of adoptions, foster programs, partnering with other organizations, and community outreach. The ideal candidate needs to be ready to create an atmosphere that is fun, bright, and exudes Best Friends values and mission. Is that you? If so, apply today!

Location: Best Friends NYC Lifesaving Center (Soho) - onsite.

Hiring Range: The hiring range for this position is expected to be between $85,000 to $110,000 annually, depending on experience.

Summary: The Senior Manager of Lifesaving Programs leads the daily operational expression of Best Friends Animal Society’s mission and vision. Responsible for working with leadership to develop, prioritize and implement local program strategy, Best Friends’ Senior Managers of Lifesaving Programs oversee location-based facilities, programs, and people. They serve as the primary community connection and function with autonomy.

Culture Statement and Responsibility: We value attitude over aptitude, and we treat Kindness as a discipline because it is paramount in our culture along with our other Guiding Principles. Culture is how we talk to and treat ourselves and one another, it’s how we generate and respond to change, it’s how we plan and make decisions, it’s how we do what we do.

Essential Duties / Responsibilities:

• Treat people around you as our most valuable resource by leading with compassion and kindness in all your actions, build trust by demonstrating authenticity and following through on your commitments, encourage self-care and work-life balance through your own example, and work to build strong relationships with your team by creating communication loops to share and receive honest feedback. You are responsible and accountable for the culture of your team.

Leadership & Lifesaving

• Lead by example through direct and impactful personal and organizational contributions towards Best Friends’ no-kill 2025 goal; act with urgency and efficiency on behalf of animals still at risk of being killed in shelters across the region and the country; lead teams in their important role as ambassadors representing Best Friends’ mission and in achievement of its no-kill goals.
• Participate in the development of lifesaving goals as well as any other quantitative and qualitative measures of success; lead the execution strategies and programs to achieve those lifesaving goals through general management of all lifesaving programs.
• Represent the vision as well as the strategies to achieve that vision. Communicate the status of the execution of those strategies to staff, supporters, and stakeholders; participate in meetings with donor prospects as arranged by development staff; co-lead the development and local execution of the Best Friends’ brand and public relations strategies with communications teams; represent Best Friends with coalition partners, at events, conferences and public speaking opportunities.
• Purposefully and thoughtfully create an environment where Best Friends is the best place to work for a career in animal welfare, providing opportunities for growth, and for maximizing individuals’ lifesaving impact.

Operational vision

• Lead human resource matters in conjunction with the Human Resources and Employee Relations departments regarding staff selection, management, development, and retention; oversee headcount controls and position creation or realignment; build individual capabilities and capacity through performance measurement, goals setting, reporting and analysis.
• Oversee division and departmental budgets including managing expenses, revenues, and reporting on result; oversee the physical facilities, equipment procurement and management of supplies, inventory, and building upkeep; participate in capital improvement project planning.

Skills and Experience:

• 8+ years of people management experience, including overseeing budgets and operations. Experience in animal operations with a lifesaving focus is a plus.
• Experience in utilizing statistical information to inform plans; proven attention to detail with advanced organizational and time management skills.
• Customer-centric, non-judgmental approach to engaging with adopters, partners, visitors, volunteers, and colleagues; familiarity and comfort with nonjudgmental philosophies.
• Ability to work with, leash, kennel, walk, and handle all cats and dogs, including those with health and/or behavior conditions/concerns; basic ability to identify and speak to medical and behavioral characteristics of dogs and cats.
• Strong leadership skills with the ability to act decisively with a get-it-done attitude in difficult and fast-paced situations; strong interpersonal skills, a team player, upbeat, energetic, tactful, and diplomatic, able to get along with people from different backgrounds, as well as the ability to handle sensitive and confidential situations.
• Excellent communication skills, public speaking, and presentation experience with the ability to professionally advocate Best Friends’ position on issues; experience in supporting, engaging with, and developing relationships with volunteers and donors.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office products; familiarity with shelter software/animal management software, or desire to learn, comfort learning new systems, including online information systems.

Physical Requirements

• Must be able to:
• Work at a computer or driving a car for extended periods of time with repetitive typing, sitting, arm, and hand motion.
• Work indoors and outdoors in a variety of weather conditions including extreme heat and cold.
• Exposure to dogs, cats and other animals of all sizes, temperaments, and medical status.
• Valid driver’s license with ability to travel, including overnight stays, when needed.
• Daily hours and days of the week may vary according to the needs of the department schedule; position includes weekends, nights, and holiday work.
• Bilingual or multi-lingual skills preferred but not required.

About Best Friends

Best Friends recently received a 2022 Top Workplaces USA award from Energage. Visit the Best Friends Animal Society page on the Energage Top Workplaces award winners’ site here to learn more. Not only do we take pride in cultivating a welcoming and supportive community and culture for our employees, but we also offer competitive benefits that make it easy to see why we were granted such an awesome award! We offer competitive pay including the opportunity to receive a discretionary bonus based on performance. We offer medical, dental, vision, basic and supplemental life insurance, short and long-term disability, dependent care reimbursement, pet sitting reimbursement when traveling for work, flexible spending account, and health savings account. We offer generous paid time off up to 9 hours per month for full time employees, nine paid holidays annually, auto insurance discount, and legal and identity theft coverage. For added well-being support, we offer Pawternity Leave for employees to have time to care for their personal pets, mental health support, and an employee assistance program. We also offer a generous 401k savings plan. Do you want to love where you work and make history and end the killing of shelter pets by 2025? Look no further and apply today!

Thank you for your interest in pursuing a career at Best Friends Animal Society. Best Friends Animal Society is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to their race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, disability, marital status, or domestic partner status.

Applicants for employment in the US must have valid work authorization that does not now and/or will not in the future require sponsorship of a visa for employment authorization in the US by Best Friends Animal Society.