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Job description

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.

Leybourne Animal Centre opened in 1996 and has the capacity to care for a large number of cats and dogs in our cattery and kennels. We also have a small animal house which caters for just about everything else, including ferrets, rodents, birds and even sometimes farm animals. We are also a temporary holding centre for wildlife casualties and have an equine rehoming unit.

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.

Here's some of the key work you will 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 database for all animals at the centre

What we are looking for in you

• It is essential that you have experience of working with domestic animals in a professional or voluntary setting
• The ability to work mainly at weekends – this is often when we have our greatest need for our casual colleagues
• 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

So if this sounds of interest to you we can't wait to see your application - remember to really bring your skills to life in terms of your animal management skills and why you'd be a great new team member. This is a popular role so it's great to hear why you stand out above others!

What we can offer 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.

We value and recognise our employees' contribution and are proud to offer the following benefits:

• Hourly Rate of Pay -The RSPCA is committed to paying the Real Living Wage, as a minimum, to all casual workers.
• 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.

Our values

* We are compassionate * We are inspirational * We are committed * We are expert * We act with integrity *

How to apply

Please visit our website to complete an application form and upload a copy of your CV:

https://jobs.rspca.org.uk/jobs/vacancy/animal-care-assistant-0307-leybourne-animal-centre/325/description/

Please note we do not accept applications via Indeed. All applications should be submitted via our website.

We review applications as they are received, so early submissions are highly encouraged. We reserve the right to close this advert once sufficient applications have been screened and progressed.

All online information and documents are available in alternative formats, including Braille and large font, upon request from the Resourcing Team - our email address can be found on the advert on our recruitment page.

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: £11.11 per hour

Benefits:

• Company pension
• Life insurance
• Sick pay
• Wellness programme

Schedule:

• Weekend availability

Work Location: One location

Application deadline: 26/02/2023
Reference ID: 0307