Adoption Counselor at LYNCHBURG HUMANE SOCIETY – Lynchburg, Virginia

Job Title: Adoption Counselor

Working Relationships: Reports to the Adoption Center and Foster Manager, works closely with the Behavior and Training Manager, foster and medical teams

Job Summary: This role is responsible for creating positive, meaningful experiences for adopters while ensuring each pet is thoughtfully matched with potential adopters through conversation-based relationship building. This position upholds and exemplifies the core values of LHS, playing a key role in promoting adoptions, engaging the community, and advancing the organization’s mission.

Responsibilities:

Adoption:

• Communicates with all staff and volunteers to foster mutual understanding and teamwork.
• Provides positive customer service interactions, follows the philosophies, core values, adoption guidelines, and protocols of the Lynchburg Humane Society.
• Thoughtfully matches adopters with pets using conversation-based relationship building.
• Ensures the highest quality of client services are offered to all visitors, adopters, donors, and all members of the public in person, on phone, and via email.
• Knowledgeable about front desk/reception duties and provides coverage when needed.
• Efficiently and accurately utilizes shelter software.
• Responsible for collecting payments and reconciliation for adoptions, retail items, donations, and services in a timely manner, with efficiency, honesty, and punctuality.

Public Engagement:

• Create daily social media posts of adoptable pets, adoption recaps, and other engaging content via Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. Posts must include encouraging language to help promote adoptions and increase follower interaction.
• Create engaging text, image, and video content to promote pets
• Maintain pet profiles by creating bios, uploading quality photos, and recording positive pet notes.

Communication:

• Monitors adoption email accounts and responds to email inquiries in a timely manner.
• Communicates any issues or potential customer service complaints immediately to management.
• Ability to communicate with the public respectfully and professionally, even under pressure.

Cleaning:

• Cleans and maintains all areas of the Adoption Center and front lobby to ensure staff, volunteers, clients, and pets are given an environment that is safe, clean, organized, and welcoming.
• Responsible for maintaining and organizing the adoption center inventory.
• Maintain a regular laundry rotation and an organized and sanitary laundry room

Other:

• Promotes savings, material donations and monetary donations.
• Properly fundraises in the Adoption Center activities and off-site events.
• Is knowledgeable about and ensures that state regulations, LHS policies, procedures, and protocols are being followed.
• Walk and handle dogs of various sizes, ages, and behavioral categories.
• Performs other tasks as assigned by management.
• Personifies LHS Core Values.

Education, Experience, Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

Emotional/Mental Requirements:

• Must be able to work under stressful conditions and work efficiently and effectively under those conditions
• Ability to rapidly and accurately process information
• Ability to recognize a need for assistance and ask for help
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team
• Ability to make decisions

Animal Handling

• Must be able to learn characteristics of animal behavior (for example: be able to identify aggressive or fearful behavior)
• Must be able to use appropriate safety equipment for fractious or feral animals the use of safety equipment is mandatory
• Must possess excellent reflexes
• Should be able to identify own limitations and be willing to ask for help
• Become “Fear Free Certified"

Qualifications:

• High School Diploma or equivalent
• Excellent customer service skills.
• Ability to work efficiently with limited supervision.
• Ability to maintain composure and excel in a fast-paced environment while remaining organized and accurate.
• Ability to problem solve.
• Excellent work ethic.
• Competent computer skills and data entry experience required, shelter software knowledge a plus.