Part-Time, Customer Care Representative

Founded in 1868, Oregon Humane is the Northwest's oldest and largest animal welfare organization with one of the highest adoption rates in the nation. We are working toward our vision of a world where all animals are treated with compassion, kindness, and respect. With campuses in Portland and Salem, Oregon Humane is an Oregon-based nonprofit that relies on donor support for its adoption, education, medical, and humane law enforcement programs.

About the role

The Customer Care Representative is a vital member of the OHS Shelter Operations team responsible for providing education about the animals in residence at the Oregon Humane Society to interested adopters and facilitating interactions between the animals and clients. This part-time role is approximately 22 hours per week.

Schedule

• Wednesday: 11am - 4pm
• Thursday: 10am - 7pm
• Friday: 11am - 4pm
• Saturday: 11am - 4pm

Benefits

• Paid Time Off + Sick Time + Holidays
• 401(k) with employer match
• Professional Development Opportunities
• One free Oregon Humane adoption per year
• Perks & Discounts

Responsibilities

Personal Leadership

• Consistently strives to exceed expectations; demonstrates flexibility, resilience, and the ability to maintain positive relationships and composure, even under difficult circumstances.
• Maintains high ethical standards, including exhibiting behaviors and actions that embrace and align to our organization and customer service values, while treating all people with respect and dignity.
• Demonstrates an awareness of individual personal strengths and development needs, modeling non-defensive behavior and openness to feedback; builds a culture of feedback and learning.

Learning

• Contributes to regular dialogue and accountability with the leadership team and across the organization to review progress and course correct if necessary.
• Utilizes data and insights to identify, understand, and articulate the key inputs and metrics that tell the story of the organization/team strategy and its progress.
• Builds appropriate feedback loops to measure if we are meeting key milestones and if the impact planned is being felt across the organization.

Influence & Representation

• Communicate effectively to executive and other stakeholder groups to ensure they are informed and able to actively engage.
• Liaise with and maintain productive relationships with all stakeholders, including other departments and donors; build mutually rewarding professional relationships inside Oregon Humane at all levels.
• Leverage our best practices externally and grow Oregon Humane’s reputation as a leader in the animal welfare space.

Primary Responsibilities

• Act as a vital member of the Shelter Operations team by interacting with the public, showing animals to potential adopters, providing education about a variety of animals, and processing adoption paperwork.
• Navigate complex conversations with diverse clientele in person and over the phone, providing education on different animal behaviors as well as discussing medical needs and diagnoses.
• Handle animals with a variety of behaviors and facilitate introductions of client dogs to shelter dogs.
• Manage a high-traffic reception desk answering in-person questions, providing resources as needed, and using various software platforms to set up client meet-and-greets.
• Use a POS to ring up purchases for clients in the retail store, while providing information about products and food nutrition.
• Educate clients and collaborate with them to create long-term in-home management plans and demonstrate positive training methods.
• Collaborate and communicate effectively, provide excellent customer service – internally and externally.
• Reliably and accurately complete work by following up on requests, checking work for errors, completing requests on or before deadlines, and assuming responsibility for successes or errors.
• Assist in training new staff/volunteers.
• Perform any other duty as requested by management.

Requirements

• 1 year of related work experience in customer service, retail, food service, animal care/handling, and/or a high-pressure, high-volume work environment.
• Able to communicate verbally and in writing with a diverse population.
• Able to solve problems in a constructive and positive manner.
• Able to exercise sound judgment during all interactions with the public, staff, and volunteers.
• Basic working knowledge of computer software programs.

Work Environment & Physical Requirements

This position interacts and collaborates with all levels of the organization, including Oregon Humane staff, executive team members, donors, the general public, external vendors, volunteers, and supporters. Contact and communication are carried out through face-to-face, telephone, and digital interactions. Excellent customer service skills are essential to success. Communication must be clear, understandable, professional, and respectful in all circumstances.

• Work performed concurrently in an office and animal medical center/shelter environment.
• Pace of work is active and demanding, requiring a high degree of multitasking and ability to adapt to changing priorities while managing concurrent projects to completion.
• Weekend, evening work, and holidays may be required.
• Animal contacts and related injuries may occur.
• Noise exposure in the work environment is moderate.
• Must be able to lift objects weighing up to 50 lbs. on a regular basis.
• Frequent moving of equipment requiring lifting, carrying, pushing, and pulling.
• Prolonged standing, walking, and/or stooping may occur.
• Frequent stair and ladder climbing, bending, stooping, crawling, lifting, and carrying.
• Frequent pushing and pulling of carted items weighing up to 100 lbs.
• Frequent use of hands and arms at or above shoulder level.
• Must be able to grasp handles and hold tools.
• Frequent driving on public roadways in varying weather and traffic conditions.
• Must wear personal protective equipment including but not limited to gloves, eye protection, and ear protection.

Qualifications

We are interested in finding the best candidate for the job, and that candidate may be one who comes from a less traditional background. We welcome applicants who bring a diversity of identity, culture, experience, perspective, and thought. We encourage you to apply, even if you do not believe you meet every one of the qualifications described. You are also encouraged to address how your professional and lived experience, scholarship, mentorship, and/or service will contribute to the Oregon Humane.