Do you thrive in an active and exciting veterinary clinic or hospital environment? Imagine taking your management and leadership skills to the next level while working at the heart of Best Friends Animal Society, our headquarters in Utah. We are the largest no-kill sanctuary for companion animals in the country! Come live among the beautiful red rock canyons and support the lifesaving medical care for the 1,600 dogs, cats, bunnies, birds, horses, and the thousands of additional clients and pets the Best Friends’ Sanctuary clinic serves. You'll be part of a professional medical team that performs lifesaving work, providing animals with top-of-the-line medical care.

Our medical facilities include a 13,000-square-foot clinic facility with dedicated surgery and dental suites, state-of-the-art laboratory, x-ray suite, ultrasound room, and many more features to provide animals with all they need. In addition, Kanab is in beautiful southern Utah – an outdoor enthusiast's paradise. We are surrounded by world-renowned parks and nature sites such as the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, Antelope Canyon, Lake Powell, Horseshoe Bend, Coral Pink Sand Dunes, and many more. If you are looking for a spectacular work-life balance and want to live in the outdoor playground of southern Utah, contact us today!

You can check out the sanctuary in this short video, or better yet, visit us and see for yourself!

As the Veterinary Hospital Manager, you are a key leader responsible for the daily functions, efficient operations, and growth of the Sanctuary’s veterinary services clinic. With a role encompassing wellness, surgery, hospitalization, and emergency services, the Veterinary Hospital Manager acts with urgency, leading teams to accomplish important tasks and play a direct role in achieving Best Friends Animal Society’s no-kill mission, goals, and organizational success.

We value attitude over aptitude, and we treat Kindness as a discipline because it is paramount in our culture along with our other Guiding Principles. Culture is how we talk to and treat ourselves and one another, it’s how we generate and respond to change, it’s how we plan and make decisions, it’s how we do what we do.

Essential Duties/ Responsibilities:

• Demonstrate kindness and the Golden Rule in our everyday actions by practicing inclusion and respect for every person for the value they bring to the table. Be a role model for the spirit of authenticity, kindness and positive influence with each other, our visitors, and volunteers as well as to the animals every day. This includes listening, being present, being supportive of others and demonstrating compassion and curiosity in conflict.
• Lead and manage teams, provide strategic direction, and promote lifesaving objectives; oversee, coordinate, and ensure efficient operations of high-quality veterinary care teams of staff and volunteers; contribute to strategies for operational efficiency, superior customer service, and increased lifesaving.
• Provide support, training, mentoring, and performance feedback; conduct performance conversations; participate in recruitment and hiring; ensure teams meet expectations for Best Friends’ program requirements and procedures; lead teams so that each person achieves their fullest potential as contributors to Best Friends mission and goals.
• Prepare and manage the department’s operational budget, forecasting, and performance metrics; participate in the maintenance of physical facilities or vehicles; develop a comprehensive knowledge of Best Friends’ programs to advise teams.
• Work collaboratively with and assist Best Friends’ team members in all areas of operations to support efficient processes and achieve veterinary services and organizational lifesaving goals; follow policies, procedures, and task lists, including accurate and timely communications, work completion, data entry, and recordkeeping; support the achievement of daily activities across teams.
• Maintain a safe workplace, value, and model safe work practices, adhering to organizational safety practices and rules, and addressing or communicating to leadership about unsafe practices and conditions.

Skills and Experience:

• Three years of experience in leading teams or managing people, including staff and volunteers, with a record of program growth.
• Minimum of one year working in an animal shelter or hospital required.
• Excellent communications skills: comfort with public speaking and presentation experience; ability to professionally advocate Best Friends’ position on issues.
• Bilingual or multi-lingual skills preferred but not required.
• Customer-centric, non-judgmental approach to engaging with adopters, partners, visitors, volunteers, and colleagues; familiarity and comfort with a conversational adoption process.
• Ability to work with, leash, kennel, walk, and handle cats and dogs, including those with health and/or behavior conditions/concerns; basic ability to identify and speak to medical and behavioral characteristics of dogs and cats.
• Strong interpersonal skills, a team player, personable, professional, and able to get along with people from different backgrounds, as well as the ability to handle sensitive and confidential situations.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced environment with well-developed organization skills to juggle multiple competing tasks and demands.
• Resourceful, get-it-done attitude; initiative to assist in any area or process; problem solving, seeking answers independently and enthusiastically; flexibility to persist until goals are achieved.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office products; familiarity with shelter software/animal management software, or desire to learn.

Physical Requirements:

Must be able to:

• Routinely lift 40 pounds and perform daily strenuous activity including, but not limited to lifting, carrying, reaching, stooping, squatting, cleaning, and bending.
• Perform repetitive tasks for extended periods of time including typing, sitting, walking, arm, and hand motion.
• Work indoors and outdoors in a variety of weather conditions including extreme heat and cold.
• Exposure to dogs, cats and other animals of all sizes, temperaments, and medical status.
• Valid driver’s license, meeting Best Friends Animal Society’s driver qualification standards; ability to travel, including overnight stays, when needed.
• Daily hours and days of the week may vary according to the needs of the department schedule; position includes weekends, nights, and holiday work.