Medical Director, Manhattan Veterinary Services

About the role

Animal Care Centers of NYC is the only open-admission shelter in the city with an annual intake of 25,000 animals of all species. Currently we operate 3 brick-and-mortar shelters in Manhattan, Staten Island and Queens. In spring of 2027, ACC will open a state-of-the-art, 50,000 sq. ft. shelter in the Bronx, and our Brooklyn rebuild is slated to open in fall of 2027. We are growing and need forward-thinking talent that can help guide strategic initiatives and impart vision and wisdom to sculpt the future of sheltering in NYC.

The Medical Director provides medical leadership and oversight for the shelter’s veterinary program, ensuring that all animals receive timely, humane, evidence-based medical care while supporting the department’s mission to protect animal health and welfare. With guidance from the Director of Shelter Medicine, the Medical Director will implement and uphold medical standards, protocols, and systems that promote high-quality individual patient care and effective population health management within an open-admission shelter environment. Working collaboratively with shelter leadership, veterinary staff, animal care personnel, behavior and placement teams, animal rescue, foster programs, and external veterinary partners, the Medical Director oversees the delivery of veterinary services and serves as the shelter’s primary medical resource for complex clinical and population-health decisions.

Leading with heart and empathy, your approach must be one of collaboration and team-building. We foster and nurture and create a safe space for people to speak, learn, make mistakes, and grow. At ACC we treat our colleagues with the same compassion as we do our animals. Therefore, a successful candidate inspires the team to want to come to work every day and shows them how they make a difference in the lives of every animal that enters through our doors. With a team of five veterinarians, you endeavor, through your actions, to motivate, collaborate, initiate, stimulate, communicate, appreciate, and sometimes commiserate with your team and colleagues.

The position requires strong clinical judgment, leadership skills, knowledge of shelter medicine, and the ability to balance individual animal needs with the health and welfare of the overall shelter population.

Responsibilities

• Direct supervision of shelter veterinarians, including scheduling, payroll, feedback and corrective actions.
• Provide clinical leadership, mentoring, and ongoing professional development to team veterinarians.
• Participate in recruitment and onboarding.
• Provide guidance and escalation support for complex medical, surgical, behavioral, and quality-of-life cases.
• Promote consistency in clinical decision-making and adherence to ACC medical standards and protocols.
• Monitor medical conditions, infectious disease, population health and emerging health concerns.
• Lead shelter response to infectious disease outbreaks.
• Ensure efficient and proficient surgical processes.
• Provide guidance in end-of-life and quality-of-life decision-making.
• Participate and/or lead shelter medical rounds.
• Participate in group euthanasia decision-making.
• Collaborate with other departments and cultivate positive working relationships.
• Complete clinical work as required.
• Obtain Fear Free certification within 30 days of hire.
• Complete other duties as assigned by supervisor.

Requirements

• NYS Licensed DVM, or license eligible with five years of shelter medicine practice.
• Demonstrated competency in managing high-performing veterinary teams.
• Ability to lift at least 50 lbs.

Preferred Qualifications

• Advanced surgical skills.

Benefits

• Generous paid-time-off (PTO) package including vacation time, birthdays off, 40 hours of paid continuing education time with a small stipend, personal days and sick pay.
• Open-access Cigna medical, dental and vision insurance at a low premium.
• 401(k) and pension.
• Life insurance.
• On-the-job training for two to four weeks.
• Periodic all-staff training including safety, DEI and cross-training.
• Eligibility for Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) for qualified federal student loans.
• No contract or non-compete clause.

Schedule

Full time, working 40 hours per week.