Job Details

Join to apply for the Executive Director Seattle Animal Shelter role at Seattle Finance and Administrative Services.

Position Description

The City of Seattle seeks a collaborative, forward-thinking Executive Director dedicated to animal welfare and public safety to bring their leadership and operational talents to the Seattle Animal Shelter (SAS). This leader has an unrelenting commitment to equity, social justice, and a world where human and animal welfare organizations work together to serve people and their pets.

The Executive Director is responsible for managing City animal welfare services for maximum effectiveness and efficiency, supporting an organizational culture that builds bridges and engagement opportunities, and empowers employees and volunteers to do their best work.

SAS was founded in 1972 as the Division of Animal Control, whose primary focus was public health through rabies abatement. Today, the shelter protects public safety through park patrols and dangerous animal cases, runs proactive animal welfare programs, like the Spay and Neuter Clinic and the community Pet Vaccination Clinic, cares for thousands of animals annually and operates a robust volunteer and foster program.

Like Shelters Around The Nation, Seattle's Municipal Shelter Has Experienced Overcrowding, Resource Constraints And Other Challenges Heightened In The Wake Of The Pandemic. SAS Has Committed To a Transformational Organizational Roadmap Informed By Input From Employees, Volunteers, Community Members And National Animal Welfare Experts. SAS Is Committed To

• Implementing a progressive, collaborative and transparent model to keep animals out of the shelter and in their homes with their families.
• Removing barriers to adoption, fostering, and volunteering to ensure people from low-income, Black, Indigenous, and People of Color communities form a part of the shelter.
• Meeting communities where they are and ensuring a thriving pet population—both in the shelter and in the community.

SAS is a division of the Department of Finance and Administrative Services (FAS). The 500-plus employees of FAS span across 10 divisions and work behind-the-scenes providing critical functions - like managing 120 City facilities, including police and fire stations - overseeing the City's neighborhood customer service centers and Customer Service Bureau, and making sure minority-owned businesses can equitably compete for City contracts.

Job Responsibilities

The Executive Director guides the development of SAS goals, policies, and programs, and provides leadership on strategic planning for the city's animal welfare activities. They provide oversight and direction for the Seattle Animal Shelter and are accountable for supporting FAS and City goals, initiatives and policy. Centering the values of equity and social justice in the division's work, they champion an inclusive, respectful organizational culture and empower innovation. As the supervisor of the SAS executive team, they provide administrative direction and oversight for community centric animal welfare services and programs. The Executive Director provides oversight of Animal Control for the City of Seattle, which enforces laws and codes involving animals within the city of Seattle. They provide expert counsel on issues related to animal welfare and foster cooperative working relationships with advocacy groups, community members, City departments and volunteers. The Executive Director is an active contributor to the FAS Leadership Team and reports to the FAS Chief Administrative Officer.

Accountabilities

Improve the animal adoption process and experience:

• Enhance animal well-being through the development and refinement of processes and policies
• Support volunteers and staff through development of communications and organizational tools
• Improve community access through information and resources so that the opportunity to adopt is more inclusive and equitable.

Enhance The Foster Experience

• Provide orientations and training to better support foster volunteers and teams.
• Improve organizational structure for foster volunteers to help move animals through the foster process quickly and seamlessly.
• Increase promotion of foster opportunities to help grow the program and better support existing foster volunteers.

Advance Organizational Development

• Prioritize organizational culture to better support SAS teams and development of processes that serve the public.
• Continue to build bridges and engagement with communities, with a specific focus on BIPOC and underserved communities, through programmatic and policy shifts and increased outreach.
• Direct implementation of fundraising to sustain SAS programs, community involvement and physical space needs.

Create Process Improvements

• Prioritize health and safety process improvements that ensure volunteers, staff and pets operate in the safest possible environment.
• Review onboarding and training processes to ensure consistency and accuracy of information shared with employees and volunteers.
• Clarify roles and responsibilities and develop standard operating procedures.

Oversee Animal Safety And Welfare

• Strategize effective and community-focused dispatch of field services to ensure pet health and safety throughout the City of Seattle.
• Implement strategies to keep staff and animals safe and healthy while in shelter care.
• Sustain and expand strategies that improve animal health and community engagement, including vaccination and spay and neuter clinics.

Leverage Technology To Improve Information Sharing And Processes

• Utilize technology to improve foster and volunteer visibility of individual animal needs, behavioral profiles, shelter opportunities and more.
• Improve public-facing websites and social media to better promote and explain the shelter's services, available pets and how to get involved.
• Modernize and streamline processes so customers have a more seamless, convenient and inclusive experience.

Please note this job advertisement is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive list of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the SAS Executive Director. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

Qualifications

The SAS Executive Director will be a results-oriented leader whose work is grounded by a commitment to animal welfare, community centric services, and resilient partnerships. They serve as a trusted partner known for listening and their expertise in the management of animal shelters and/or animal welfare organizations. Equity centers their decision-making and active engagement with community, staff and stakeholders inform their leadership. To the work they bring a strategic mindset, service delivery acumen and operational expertise complemented by an engaging personal style. They have a reputation for exercising a high level of tact, good judgment, discretion, and diplomacy in working with executive leaders, employees at all levels and the public.

Well qualified candidates have empowered innovation in service delivery, have successfully raised funds to achieve financial goals and growth, and aligned diverse stakeholders to take collaborative and unified action. They inspire trust, act with compassion, and their actions consistently reflect integrity, accountability, and collaboration. They effectively balance the emotional demands of the position with meeting the competing needs of diverse stakeholders. As a leader they value transparency, keep their commitments, and hold people accountable. They actively promote an inclusive culture and the organizations and people they have led are regarded as capable, progressive, and trustworthy.