Our Animal Care Assistants have a key role in our fast-paced hospitals, providing a high standard of care to the pets in our hospitals and providing support to their owners. They do this by providing the highest level of animal care and customer service with empathy and a non-judgmental mindset in all situations. 
 
Each day will see you providing care to the pets in our hospitals which includes cleaning, feeding, exercising, grooming, laundry and administering treatment, dealing with clients on our busy reception, dispensing medication and taking payments. You will be monitoring our patient’s health, wellbeing and behaviour as well as those recovering from anaesthetic. 

Working closely with our Vets and Nurses, you will be assisting them with the preparation of preparation of patients and operating theatre for surgery. 
 
This is a part time position working 34 hours per week with a one hour paid lunch break on a rota to include weekends and public holidays. Due to the nature of the work of Blue Cross, and this post, it may be necessary to exceed these hours when the workload demands. 

The ideal candidate for this role is someone who has previous experience in a veterinary support role which may have been in a vet practice, or kennel setting. As well as the practical animal handling skills, we would ideally like someone who has experience working in a busy reception alongside their animal care role who feels confident in both animal facing and customer facing environments, however this is not essential. 
 
With great communication skills they will be able to speak to a wide variety of people. Working in an animal hospital can involve supporting clients that are distressed, therefore, you will be able to work in an emotionally charged environment and have excellent ‘bounce back ability’ and resilience, with ability to keep calm under pressure and re-prioritise tasks where needed. This person will be emotionally intelligent, showing empathy and knowing how to support clients and colleagues.  
 
You will have a genuine desire to improve the lives of pets and their clients and be proactive in the promotion and delivery of Blue Cross aims. 

Our commitment to diversity and inclusion

At Blue Cross, we want you to feel that you belong, without the need to hide any part of who you are. Diversity and inclusion at Blue Cross means creating a workplace where all people, regardless of gender, race, sexual orientation, religion, nation or country of origin, disability, age, and socioeconomic backgrounds are welcome, respected, supported, and have access to equal opportunities.  

We are working hard to reflect the world we live in and the communities we serve at every level of our organisation. As much as we have made positive advances, we consider diversity and inclusion to be a work in progress – a continual commitment that remains a priority for all of us. 

Disability Confident Employer. 

 Knowledge, skills, and experience:

• Experience working or volunteering in a veterinary practice or within a similar role   
• Good communication skills, both written and verbal  
• IT literate with MS Office and web-based databases and platforms

Although not essential, it would be great if you also had: 

• Experience within a reception or client care role  
• Qualification in Animal Care or similar  
• The ability to observe changes in animals health and wellbeing  
• The ability to interact face to face with clients and visitors and communicate effectively with a range of people