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Operations Director

Animal Friends Humane Society

Reports To: Board of Trustees

Primary Board Liaison: Board President

Status: Full-Time, Exempt

Position Summary

Animal Friends Humane Society is seeking an experienced, hands-on Operations Director to provide senior leadership for the day-to-day operation of the shelter and ensure that programs, employees, resources, facilities, and animal-care practices operate safely, efficiently, compassionately, and consistently.

The Operations Director leads shelter operations, animal care and welfare, staffing and workforce deployment, intake and adoptions, foster and rescue activities, customer care/front desk operations, facility operations, veterinary and medical operations, safety, capacity management, and operational performance.

The Operations Director works collaboratively with the Business Director, who leads the organization’s business, financial, administrative, fundraising and development, human-resources systems, volunteer and event, compliance, and community-relations functions. Neither Director supervises the other; each has clear areas of accountability and decision-making authority while working together on matters that affect the organization as a whole.

The Operations Director has decision-making authority within assigned operational responsibilities and is expected to manage routine matters within established authority, act promptly when animal welfare or safety requires it, and escalate matters requiring Board governance or approval through the established Board liaison process.

The ideal candidate is an experienced animal-welfare operations leader who combines strong shelter-management knowledge with hands-on people leadership, sound judgment, disciplined execution, data-informed decision-making, and compassion. This individual must be comfortable making difficult and time-sensitive decisions in a fast-paced and emotionally demanding environment.

Key Responsibilities

Daily Shelter Operations

• Direct and oversee daily shelter operations and maintain an active, visible leadership presence throughout the shelter.
• Ensure appropriate staffing, resources, workflows, equipment, and facilities are available to operate the shelter safely and effectively.
• Establish clear operational priorities and coordinate activities across shelter departments to prevent gaps, duplication, and communication failures.
• Ensure shelter policies, procedures, sanitation standards, safety requirements, and animal-care protocols are consistently implemented.
• Oversee customer care/front desk operations and coordination with intake, adoptions, and other shelter functions.
• Address operational problems promptly and improve workflows and systems within established authority.

Animal Care, Welfare & Population Management

• Provide leadership for high standards of animal health, safety, enrichment, behavior, sanitation, humane treatment, and overall welfare.
• Monitor shelter population, capacity, available resources, length of stay, and animal flow, and take appropriate operational action.
• Develop and implement strategies related to intake, adoption, foster care, transfers, rescue partnerships, placement, and length of stay.
• Use animal-welfare and outcome data to identify trends, risks, and needed corrective action.
• Ensure AFHS’s approved multi-person process for identifying and reviewing potential euthanasia candidates is consistently followed. The Operations Director is accountable for process adherence and operational follow-through but does not make unilateral euthanasia decisions outside that approved process.

Veterinary & Medical Operations

• Provide administrative leadership and organizational oversight for veterinary and medical operations, including staffing, scheduling, workflow, resources, budget integration, facility needs, and coordination with shelter operations.
• Ensure the veterinary/medical team has the resources, information, staffing support, and organizational coordination necessary to provide appropriate animal care.
• Respect and uphold the independent clinical authority of licensed veterinary professionals over diagnosis, treatment, prescribing, and other matters requiring professional veterinary judgment.
• Ensure clinical and operational leaders coordinate effectively when medical recommendations affect capacity, staffing, placement, resources, or shelter workflow.
• Monitor medical-service demand, access, costs, outcomes, and operational impact and address system-level issues within assigned authority.

Staff Leadership & Workforce Management

• Exercise direct supervisory and personnel authority for employees assigned to Operations, including hiring, onboarding, scheduling, coaching, performance management, development, discipline, and termination within established policies and authority.
• Provide managers and employees with clear expectations, direction, feedback, coaching, and accountability.
• Promote a workplace culture based on professionalism, teamwork, accountability, respect, compassion, and effective communication.
• Identify staffing, training, leadership-development, and succession needs and implement appropriate solutions within Operations.
• Evaluate staffing levels and deploy employees based on shelter population, workload, operating hours, safety requirements, service expectations, and available resources.
• Monitor overtime, attendance, vacancies, turnover, workload, and staffing risks and take appropriate corrective action.
• Partner with the Business Director for HR systems, documentation, compliance guidance, compensation and benefits administration, and organization-wide workforce practices. HR process support does not replace the Operations Director’s supervisory authority over Operations employees.

Operational Performance, Customer Care & Volunteer Integration

• Establish and monitor operational performance measures consistent with Board-approved goals and professional sheltering standards.
• Track and evaluate shelter capacity, intake, adoptions, foster placements, transfers, rescue outcomes, length of stay, animal outcomes, staffing, customer care, medical-service integration, and safety.
• Use operational data to identify problems, resource needs, and opportunities for continuous improvement.
• Ensure customer care/front desk employees provide professional, compassionate, consistent, and efficient service.
• Lead the operational response to difficult customer situations involving shelter services, animal care, intake, adoptions, safety, or other Operations responsibilities.
• Work with the Business Director and Volunteer & Events function to ensure volunteers are safely and effectively integrated into shelter operations and receive appropriate operational training, supervision, safety, animal-handling, confidentiality, and animal-welfare guidance.
• Maintain positive operational relationships with veterinarians, animal-control agencies, rescue organizations, foster partners, and other shelter-service partners.
• Provide operational data and context needed for budgeting, fundraising, grants, donor communications, community relationships, and Board reporting.

Budget, Safety, Compliance & Emergency Leadership

• Participate in development of the annual operating budget and manage operational expenditures within the approved budget and delegated financial authority.
• Monitor staffing costs, overtime, supplies, medical costs, equipment, facilities, purchasing, and resource utilization, and identify efficiencies without compromising animal welfare, safety, or service quality.
• Develop and implement operational procedures, protocols, workflows, and management practices consistent with Board-approved policies, applicable laws, professional requirements, and organizational standards.
• Maintain a safe environment for employees, volunteers, visitors, and animals, and ensure significant incidents are appropriately addressed, documented, reviewed, and reported.
• Provide operational leadership during emergencies and critical incidents, maintain appropriate emergency-preparedness plans, and take reasonable and timely action within organizational policy and delegated authority to protect animals, people, facilities, and continuity of shelter operations.
• Coordinate with the Business Director when operational decisions or emergencies create material financial, HR, insurance, contractual, external-communication, donor, community, or reputational implications.

Leadership, Collaboration & Board Partnership

The Operations Director reports directly to the Board of Trustees and works with the Board President as the primary management-to-Board communication liaison. The Operations Director and Business Director serve as collaborative senior leaders with distinct areas of responsibility and authority. They are expected to share information, consult when decisions cross functional boundaries, resolve routine management matters at the management level, and maintain an organization-wide perspective.

The Operations Director is accountable for leadership of animal care/kennel, cat care, intake and adoption, customer care/front desk, foster/rescue, facility operations, veterinary/medical operations, and other shelter-operational functions assigned through the organizational chart. The veterinarian and veterinary/medical function report administratively through Operations while licensed veterinary professionals retain independent clinical authority for professional medical judgment.

For sensitive incidents arising within Operations, the Operations Director leads the factual and operational assessment and response, provides the Business Director with timely and accurate operational information needed for external communications, and helps ensure operational facts and animal-welfare considerations are accurately represented.

The Operations Director regularly provides the Board with accurate information and recommendations related to shelter operations, staffing, animal outcomes, capacity, safety, customer care, operational budget performance, significant incidents, accomplishments, risks, and corrective actions.

Required Qualifications

• Meaningful management experience in an animal shelter, humane society, rescue organization, veterinary operation, or closely related animal-welfare environment, with responsibility for employees and day-to-day operations.
• Demonstrated knowledge of animal-sheltering operations, population and capacity management, animal-care standards, intake, adoption, foster/rescue, safety, and related shelter programs.
• Proven ability to supervise employees, managers, supervisors, or department leaders and establish accountability.
• Strong organizational, leadership, communication, prioritization, conflict-resolution, coaching, and problem-solving skills in a fast-paced operating environment.
• Ability to make difficult and time-sensitive decisions professionally, compassionately, and within defined authority.
• Ability to develop, implement, and improve operational procedures, protocols, and performance systems.
• Ability to use operational data and performance measures to guide decisions and corrective action.
• Ability to manage staffing, schedules, resources, and departmental budgets responsibly.
• Ability to work effectively with licensed veterinary professionals while respecting independent clinical judgment and organizational policy.
• Ability to work collaboratively with another senior organizational leader and a Board of Trustees while maintaining clear management accountability.
• Commitment to animal welfare and the mission of Animal Friends Humane Society.
• Ability to maintain confidentiality and appropriately handle sensitive personnel, animal, medical, customer, and organizational information.
• Ability to work a flexible schedule based on shelter needs, including emergencies and nontraditional hours.

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in animal science, business or operations management, nonprofit management, organizational leadership, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.
• Experience managing managers, supervisors, or multiple shelter departments.
• Experience overseeing veterinary or medical operations in collaboration with licensed clinical professionals.
• Experience with adoption, foster, intake, rescue, transfer, customer-service, and animal-care programs.
• Experience with shelter data, capacity management, length-of-stay improvement, or outcome-focused performance systems.
• Experience with employee scheduling, performance management, training, and leadership development.
• Experience managing departmental budgets, purchasing, facilities, equipment, and organizational resources.
• Experience with emergency planning, critical incidents, risk management, or safety programs.
• Experience working with a nonprofit Board of Trustees and cross-functional business, HR, finance, fundraising, or administrative leadership.

Work Environment & Schedule

This position operates primarily in an animal shelter environment and may involve frequent exposure to animals, noise, cleaning products, odors, animal waste, zoonotic risk, and emotionally challenging situations.

The Operations Director is expected to maintain an active presence throughout shelter operations and may periodically assist employees with operational responsibilities for which they are appropriately trained. The position requires the ability to perform reasonable physical activities associated with shelter operations, with or without reasonable accommodation.

A flexible schedule is required, including occasional evenings, weekends, holidays, emergencies, Board meetings, and special events.

This posting summarizes the primary responsibilities and qualifications of the role. The full Board-approved position description provides additional detail regarding delegated authority, governance, professional requirements, and cross-functional responsibilities.