Casual Animal Care Assistant Taunton, England
Job description
Contract: Casual - hours will be offered to cover absence, holidays and peak periods at the centre
Salary: £11.68 per hour
Closing date: 11 April 2023 at 11.30pm
Interviews are expected to take place on 21 April 2023
Are you looking to work on the frontline of an organisation that ends cruelty, promotes kindness and alleviates suffering to animals?
We're looking for a casual Animal Care Assistant to help our amazing team as and when the need arises, for example, if a member of the team is on annual leave or during peak periods.
Our Centre nestles in beautiful and quiet countryside at West Hatch, east of the county town of Taunton in Somerset, and is within easy reach of the M5 at junction 25.
The Centre has 42 kennels, 40 cat pens and a small animal block that can house a variety of animals, including rabbits, guinea pigs, birds, ferrets and much more.
As an Animal Care Assistant you'll be providing care for all animals in the Centre, establishing good customer relations with members of the public and RSPCA staff, and maintaining administration and health and safety procedures in use.
Our vision is a society where no animal suffers unnecessarily. Some animals that come to us have been mistreated, kept in awful conditions or left without free access to food or water. They may arrive terrified and it's up to us to try and work out why and bring them round to trusting people again. We do this on a daily basis with a dedicated team that we're extremely proud of. The work can be tough, both physically and emotionally, but very rewarding.
What you'll be doing
- Cleaning of animal accommodation for all animals to the required standard set by the RSPCA
- Preparing and providing food and water for all animals in the centre's care
- Performing regular health checks on all animals and giving medical treatments as prescribed by the centre's consulting Veterinary Surgeon
- Attending to the needs of the individual animals, including exercise/socialisation and grooming for all domestic animals
- Communicating with supporters/adopters, staff and volunteers both face to face, by phone and email
- Completing all relevant animal paperwork and updating the centre's computer data base for all animals at the centre
You'll have...
- Experience working with domestic animals and good animal handling skills. Preference will be given to candidates with experience of working with large dogs in a kennel or rescue/welfare environment.
- Good communication skills and the ability to work as part of our fantastic team.
- Our Animal Care Assistants are responsible for record keeping, so you'll have the ability to create and maintain computerised records.
- The ability to be flexible and get stuck in.
- Animal Care qualifications are desirable, but we really value experience as well as passion about our cause and the animals we care for!
- As we are located in a rural area we recommend candidates have their own reliable means of transportation to and from work.
What's in it for you
It's an exciting time to join us in the decade of our bicentenary as we focus on our Strategy to 2030. The RSPCA works 365 days a year, rescuing all animals of all types from abuse, neglect, and injury.
- Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) -RSPCA employees have free access to a 24/7 ‘Employee Assistance' Programme. This service is confidential, free and independent and offers support, information, expert advice and specialist counselling for personal and work issues. It also provides guidance to help staff stay fit and healthy and enjoy physical, mental and emotional wellbeing.
- Many other family friendly and wellbeing benefits are also provided to ensure the RSPCA has an inclusive culture and is a great place to work. These include: Maternity leave, Adoption leave, Paternity leave and Shared Parental leave
Please note that all of these benefits are offered with their own terms and conditions.
Our values
* We are compassionate * We are inspirational * We are committed * We are expert * We act with integrity *
How to apply
To make an application please visit our website using the following link:
https://jobs.rspca.org.uk/jobs/vacancy/animal-care-assistant-0409-animal-centre---west-hatch-/427/description/
All online information and documents are available in alternative formats, including Braille and large font, upon request from the Resourcing Team. Our contact details can be found using the link above.
Early applications are encouraged as we reserve the right to close this advert once sufficient applications have been received.
We strongly believe in being an innovative, diverse, and inclusive organisation and recognise that diversity in all of our people will help achieve that purpose and our mission more effectively. We actively encourage and seek applications from a wide diversity of candidates and in particular welcome applications from minority ethnic, black, and candidates with disabilities, who are currently under-represented at the RSPCA.
Please note we are not accepting unsolicited CVs from agencies for this opportunity.
Ending cruelty, promoting kindness and alleviating suffering to animals.
Job Type: Zero hours contract
Salary: £11.68 per hour
Benefits:
- Bereavement leave
- Company pension
- Life insurance
- On-site parking
- Sick pay
- Wellness programme
Work Location: In person
Application deadline: 11/04/2023
Reference ID: 0409
