Summary:  The Veterinary Technical Assistant plays a key role in the care of animals at the SPCA of Wake County and is responsible for the daily medical monitoring, care, and treatment of all pets at the SPCA Adoption & Intake Centers and foster care. This position is also responsible for assisting in surgeries, including prepping before, and monitoring during & after surgery. The medical team works closely with the staff veterinarian & surgeon, in addition to multiple departments, to provide routine health care, vaccinations, bloodwork, medical assessments, and treatments of pets in the care of SPCA Wake.

Duties include ensuring that every animal’s medical needs are met, serving as a liaison between the staff veterinarian/surgeon and other shelter staff and foster volunteers, and providing compassionate, humane treatment to animals under the guidance of the Medical Team Supervisor. 

Qualification Requirements:  To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily, with or without accommodations. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. 

Required Qualifications:

• Minimum 2 years experience working in veterinary hospital as veterinary assistant or technician
• Passion for the mission and core values of the SPCA of Wake County
• Highly organized and detail-oriented, with flexibility for fast-paced, daily change
• High degree of professionalism and customer service skills
• Passion for animal welfare, shelter pets, and spay & neuter 
• Must have a positive attitude and collaborative, team-oriented spirit 
• Must be high energy, self-starting and able to work with little supervision

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Strong animal handling skills for canines, felines and small mammals
• Knowledge of or willingness to learn fear free animal handling techniques
• Knowledge of animal health, care and welfare
• Previous experience in the field of animal sheltering preferred 
• Understanding of animal biosecurity and disease control
• Knowledge of basic spay & neuter surgery protocols preferred
• Ability to help teach other staff members in basic medical care and low-stress handling techniques
• Excellent organizational skills, attention to detail, and accurate data entry
• Strong time and priority management abilities
• Ability to work on evenings and weekends

Supervisory Responsibilities:

This position has no direct staff reports.

Essential Duties:

• Handle and restrain animals in a low stress and safe manner for medical care

• Perform medical care as requested by the Medical Team Supervisor in a timely manner

• Create and maintain detailed medical records for each animal upon arrival at the shelter and continue to maintain detailed medical records while in the shelter

• Provide routine and minor health care for animals housed at the SPCA, keep an accurate and timely record of medical treatment for each animal, ensure that daily treatments are completed as prescribed, monitor the progress of treatment, and complete follow up action as needed

• • Perform laboratory procedures such as venipuncture, fecal flotation exams, heartworm tests, FeLV/FIV tests, Parvo tests, skin scrapings, urinalysis, and fungal cultures
  • Work directly with the Medical Team Supervisor & staff veterinarian/surgeon to assure the safety and health of animals at the SPCA and ensure that all procedures are performed in a highly efficient and effective manner
  • Serve as liaison between animal care staff and staff veterinarian
  • Assist in the scheduling of offsite appointments, including some after-hours needs, and communication with offsite vet clinic staff 
  • Coordinate with the foster team to assess foster placement needs for pets, provide education and training as needed to foster volunteers, communicate directly with foster volunteers to answer questions, relay information, and schedule medical appointments

• Provide in-person and telephone customer service to foster volunteers

• Assist with contacting and scheduling medical appointments for pets in foster

• Assist in the medical treatment of SPCA animals. Perform and document routine health checks; recognize and properly assess an injured or ill animal and provide supportive care as needed

• Assist in the spay & neuter surgery of SPCA and public pets 
• Provide post-operative instructions to foster volunteers during spay/neuter post-op discharge
• Maintain medical inventory and supplies
• Responsible for the daily cleaning and sanitization of the medical treatment area
• Understand and implement biosecurity protocols to help prevent disease outbreak

Physical Demands and Work Conditions:

• Must be able to meet all physical requirements including: standing, walking, lifting (50 lbs) carrying (50 lbs), pushing (50 lbs), pulling (50 lbs), climbing, balancing, stooping, kneeling, crouching, crawling, reaching overhead, handing, seeing, depth perception, and hearing 
• Exposure to fractious animals
• Able to work in an environment with high noise level and foul odors
• Able to work with canines and felines of all ages
• Must be able to work in very cold and very hot temperatures, indoors and out
• Is likely to be exposed to parasites, viruses, bacteria, and fungi which could be zoonotic
• Fast paced and changing workload which at times can be stressful

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by individuals assigned to this job.  They are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills required of the position.  All employees may have other duties assigned at any time. 

Only the most qualified candidates will be contacted for interviews. No phone calls, please — we’ll have our people call your people!