Behaviour and Welfare Advisor (2474)

Are you a passionate and experienced animal welfare professional looking for a rewarding new role?

The RSPCA is seeking a dedicated Behaviour and Welfare Advisor to join our team at the Leybourne Animal Centre. This is a vital role where you'll be instrumental in providing expert behaviour and welfare support for dogs, cats, and small animals in our care. You'll be making a profound difference to their lives, helping them to thrive and find their forever homes.

This is a permanent, full-time role working 35 hours a week. You will work a 6 week rolling rota that includes working 2 weekends.

Face to face interviews will take place on the 7th & 8th of October.

If you're ready for this challenging yet incredibly rewarding role, we encourage you to apply now.

Here at RSPCA no two days are the same, as a Behaviour and Welfare Advisor  we've added a short summary of what a typical day might look like, for a full insight please refer to the attached job description.

• Assessing and Planning: You will be responsible for assessing the behaviour and welfare of animals at intake and throughout their stay. You'll use this information to devise and implement tailored behavioural and training plans.

• Training and Support: You will provide proactive advice, training, and support to our staff, volunteers, and the public on animal welfare and behaviour modification techniques.

• Complex Cases: You will be the first point of contact for animals with more complex or challenging behaviours, working closely with the National Behaviour Team and our Regional Clinical Animal Behaviourist (RCAB).

• Adoption Support: Your expertise will be crucial in providing pre-adoption meetings and post-adoption support to help new owners and ensure a smooth, successful rehoming process.

• A Level 5 qualification in dog welfare, behaviour, and training.

• Practical experience in the care, husbandry, and handling of dogs, cats, or small animals within the animal welfare industry. Ideally you will have a minimum of 2 years experience.

• Proven experience in applying theoretical behaviour modification and training principles.

• Strong communication and customer care skills, a pragmatic approach to animal welfare, and the ability to lead on euthanasia decisions.

• A full UK driving licence is required, as the role involves some travel to other locations

Successful candidates for certain RSPCA roles will need to undergo a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.

Applicants must have the legal right to work in the UK - We are unable to sponsor visas at RSPCA

We want to ensure we do all we can to give you a positive candidate experience through our recruitment. Whilst we do try to give feedback where we can, sometimes due to receiving high levels of applications, this may not always be possible

We are building the future of a diverse Society, and our priority is to support animal welfare by finding people from all backgrounds who are committed  to our mission.  For this reason we actively encourage a wide diversity of applications - in particular from members of minority ethnic groups, and people with disabilities - as these candidates are currently under-represented at the RSPCA. Your transferable skills & lived experiences could make you a valuable addition to our RSPCA Family! 

Should you need any support with your application or interview process please contact resourcingteam@rspca.org.uk / 0300 123 0685.

Our mission is to ensure animals have a good life by rescuing and caring for those in need, by advocating on behalf of all animals and by inspiring everyone to treat them with compassion and respect